To start a T-Shirt buiness, should I buy equipment and print my own t-shirts or use an online company?

If I buy my own equipment for t-shirt printing – should I screen print or get a hot press for transfers.

What kind of t-shirt business are you looking to do? Local screen printing for towns and small businesses, creative designs for mass markets, starting your own brand, etc?

I think you should test out the market in order to see if people actually like your designs before you make a large investment in equipment. There are two routes you can take. You can start using existing screen printers to print out your designs, or you can test out your designs on websites like cafepress or zazzle. These websites handle all expenses & fullfillment and then send you a check for the remaining profit. Your only responsibilty is maintaining your website. After a few months of sales, reevaluate if opening your own operation would be more profitable and cost effective than these two options. If you find you have a large market or a high demand, I would use your profits to invest in your own equipment.

My friend and I took this same route. We opened a store at cafepress and also outsourced some print jobs to local printers for larger orders. We’ve managed to run a nice side business without investing too much of our own money into it.

Good luck!

Taking Vastex Screen Printing Equipment for a Spin

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