Custom art

In the news recently, there have been many stories that have stayed on the front headlines for weeks which should mean dollar signs to t shirt business owners. In Cleveland and many other cities the front page headlines of sports pages for the past few months have speculated on the decision Lebron James faces about leaving the Cleveland basketball scene. If a story such as this has been in the headlines consistently over a period of time, there’s opportunity for t shirts to sell. Try to think outside of the box when designing a t shirt that relates to a current event.  Simple lines of text such as “LBJ STAY” sell quickly!

 The recent disaster in the Gulf has been the BP oil spill which will be on the minds of Americans for months and years to come. T shirt shops are already starting to profit off of funny t shirts that protest and raise awareness about the issue. Because of the cultural relevance witty sayings gain attention and appeal to today’s shoppers.

 Using custom transfers allow you to be creative and offer designs that can be applied to different types of t shirts and sweatshirts of any size and color without sitting on inventory. Since these designs may not have been ordered by a group, you can store the transfer sheets until someone buys. Keep a few sizes in different colors and styles on hand for when customers come to you and make their decision. In just 4 seconds of application time, the screen printed transfer and be heat applied to the shirt!

Hotronix® Fusion™ Heat Press

Whether you are just getting started in the t shirt printing business or you are expanding your business to make room for more sales, June is the perfect month to purchase your heat press. Purchase any of our Hotronix® and Maxx™  heat presses and receive “Free Ground Freight” to anywhere in the United States until June 30^th!

Investing in a quality heat press like the Hotronix® line of heat presses insures your business is working with the most accurate and reliable equipment in the industry.

Not sure which heat press is right for your business? Visit www.transferexpress.com and see the complete line of heat presses available. For even more information, watch a recent webinar hosted by Great Garment Graphics which details the the reasons why Hotronix® is the best!

QLW-5 White Goof Proof® Plastisol Transfer

One of the most recognizable t shirts worn as a uniform is worn by a group that every city has. Fire Departments are a perfect place to offer your decorating services and gain recognition within the city.  The t shirts they wear on a normal basis are quite similar from one department to another in terms of decoration however some departments look for something a little different.

The most common decoration for firefighter t shirts is the Maltese Cross located on the left chest or full size on the front.  Transfer Express has a collection of popular parts of the Maltese Cross which can be used to arrange your fire departments logo. We can also print custom designs provided by your local fire department.

For the back, large bold text spells out the department’s name in common formats that can be found in the Text Only portion of the Idea Book™.  Choose from simple text or add an outline or a shadow to make the text stand out. You can use the Easy View™ design program on our website to show the local department different designs if they want to step outside of the box.

With the firefighters wearing their shirts almost everyday they will often be coming back for more.  Screen printed transfers are perfect for these last minute fill-in orders. You only have to print what you need and can store the transfers until the next time they stop in for a couple more.

 So you have the transfers to use to test your application settings, but what fabric do you use to test on?  The best scenario is to order an extra garment when you place your order with your clothing distributor. This way you have the exact fabric you will be printing on.

 Another cost saving idea is to use any scrap fabric you have left over from other jobs you have done.  Using the same type of fabric is preferred to get an accurate test. Place a box off to the side and anytime you make an application mistake, toss it into the box instead of into the garbage.  Use these scraps as your testing fabric.  Soon you will have a box full of different types of fabrics and different colors that can be cut apart and used as test fabric.

Follow the application instructions specific to the type of transfer product you are using and adjust your settings if you are not seeing the desired results during your transfer testing. If you have any questions before you start applying your custom transfers, contact our Dealer Services Reps.

1. Tell People What You Do – Have a sign in your window, or a window decal in your car if you are a home business. Let them know what you can do for them.
2. Have Your Staff Wear Decorated Shirts – This shows what you can do and how it can be used.
3. Ask for the Sale - You would be surprised how often this is not done – if you sell them a shirt ask if they want matching shorts or a bag. Or add a personalized name.
4. Add Dates to Custom Shirts – Incorporate the date and a new shirt will be needed the next year.
5. Add Your Business Logo to Shirts - This lets your customer know who to come back for reorders and future orders. Use your business card as a hang tag.
6. Sell two color prints - Another version of asking for the sale. Let the customer see two colors (Next week we will be offering multi-color Easy View™ to let you show your customer the improved look of a 2 color. ) If your customer needs numbers, remind them all the pro teams wear 2 color numbers. Make more money from the same customer.
7. Create a sign up sheet – Make it easy for the customer to take orders. Include the Easy View™ design. Leave a space for personalization with the added price; include a column for size and color.
8. Be Your Own Walking Billboard - Wear different prints you have done wherever you go! Carry business cards.
9. Take the Show on the Road - Take your heat press to an event, bring a rack of apparel so they can choose the shirt and apply the print as they wait
10. Print Your Own Money – Print up coupons for add on items that will cost you nothing. For example, for every team order of 12 or more, free tote bag. These bags cost about $1 and you can use an over run to print it.

 The students want to remember their Prom night for years so a custom t shirt is a common party gift they can take home. The Idea Book™ is filled with design ideas for their t shirts. Transfer Express has added a Dance Section with several layouts that can be customized with the schools name and theme of the prom. If you don’t find something here, don’t forget to check out the rest of the Idea Book™ sections. Even the Work and Sports sections contain layouts that can be changed to fit your school’s Prom theme.

 Here are some creative examples to get you started.

Prom Tshirt Designs - Ready to Customize

Hotronix® Auto Clam Heat Press

If you are just getting started in the t shirt business and are looking into getting a heat press, Transfer Express will be presenting a Free Webinar next week all about the differences in types of heat presses and which one will work best for you. If you haven’t seen a Hotronix® heat press in action this webinar will also have several videos showing how they work and how easy it is to get started.

This webinar is hosted by Great Garment Graphics who has several videos and past webinars that are available to view on their website, GreatGarmentGraphics.com. This is a great place to see the profit potential of heat printing and decorating apparel.  

Registration is free for any Great Garment Graphics webinar. Also, check out the schedule for more upcoming webinars that cover different heat printing topics.

Hotronix® Fusion™ Heat Press

Released at the ISS Atlantic City trade show this past weekend was the brand new Hotronix® Fusion™ heat press. We were lucky enough to have one in the Transfer Express booth and had the chance to use it and be able to show customers what a brilliant press it is! Not only is it a Swinger and a Draw press all-in-one but, it’s also the first press to feature a LCD touch screen display! Digital time, temperature and pressure readings display on this screen as well as the fact that it has unlimited preset options. One customer thought this was the best feature on the new press. “There’s no need to keep going back to my instructions when I use the same product over and over again” he explained. Just preset your time, temperature and pressure settings and you’ll never have to set them again!

Another great feature of the press is the “horse-shoe” shaped base which allows the garment to be easily “dressed” on the lower platen. For those of you who are unsure of what this means to a heat printer, just try applying a transfer to the back of a few hooded sweatshirts with a press without this base feature and you’ll quickly see the difference.

Tell us what you think of this new press, even if you haven’t ordered one yet. For those of you who have not placed your order for a new Hotronix® Fusion™, we are now taking pre-orders for them. They will ship by April 1^st …it’s worth the wait!

1)      Write on your Wall about Easy Prints®. Next to where it says “Attach” click the icon that says “Link” when you mouse over the icons.

2)      Type in the Easy Prints® website and click “Attach”.

3)      Then choose the image you’d like to be displayed next to the link. Click “Share”.

4)      It will then be displayed when you click on the “Links” tab.

Don’t forget to add the Easy Prints® website to your list of websites in your “Info” section.