How to Create Iron-On Shirt Designs at Home: A DIY Guide

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around creating iron-on shirt designs at home, exploring methods, materials, and the quality of printed designs. Participants share various approaches, including DIY techniques and professional options, while also touching on related topics such as printing costs and ethics in using printers.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant recalls using sticker-like transfers from comics and seeks information on how to replicate them at home.
  • Another suggests using ink-jet compatible iron-on transfer sheets and emphasizes the importance of inverting artwork before printing.
  • A participant questions the factors affecting the quality of printed designs, citing examples of varying durability after washes.
  • Some propose that screen printing is a better option for high-quality designs, while others mention the cost and accessibility of such services.
  • One participant notes that iron-on transfers are made from rubber-based ink and offers tips for prolonging their lifespan, such as washing shirts inside-out.
  • Concerns are raised about the high costs associated with professional screen printing, prompting discussions about cost-effective printing methods.
  • Several participants engage in a debate about the ethics of using school printers for personal printing, with differing views on what constitutes theft.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of opinions on the best methods for creating durable shirt designs, with no consensus on the most effective approach. The discussion about printer ethics also reveals conflicting viewpoints, indicating a lack of agreement on the morality of certain printing practices.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention various assumptions about the quality of materials and printing techniques, as well as the costs associated with different methods, but these factors remain unresolved and are subject to individual interpretation.

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Back in the early ages I remember there was a sticker in some issue of Donald Duck comics, you could stick on your shirt, then iron it, and had a nice shirt. More precisely, I'd like to know how these 'stickers' are done, or how can I make them at home. I'm talking about these various letterings, logos and pictures, (f. ex http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=shirt+inscription&btnG=Search)

Thanks,
 
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Heartless, you can buy ink-jet compatible iron-on transfer sheets from photography shops and probably computer places. Just remember to invert your artwork before you print it, since it reverses when applied.

edit: Also remember that the transfer material itself, unlike the backing paper, is transparent. The base colour of the shirt or whatever will therefore show where there's supposed to be white (no ink), and can interfere with light colours. It's best applied to white fabric.
 
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Ok, thanks a lot Mr. Danger

What does quality of a printed stuff depend on?

For example, I have a shirt with printed - funny lettered ny, however some of it went off after several washes and on the other hand I have an old nike t-shirt with big nike logo, and after hundreds of washes it isn't even touched at a large step, just minor wear downs after years.
That's the kind of stuff I would like to get, to make sure I can share with people my message for years, and so that they can still look and read or see what my t-shirt's got to tell them.

I'd appreciate if you can also answer this question Dan, (above paragraph is trying to ask, how to improve the quality of printed stuff so that it doesn't go off after several washes)

Thanks,
 
You have go get it painted on with a screen. You can find a place to do that for you and pay them.

:smile: Always with the weird questions...:-p

I saw one T-shirt with a white bronco. It said drink apple juice, 'cause OJ will kill you! :-p
 
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Yeah, for a good quality design, or if you want to make a lot of t-shirts (such as for an organization), you can bring your design to a place that does the silk screening for you. But, if you just want to have fun making cheaper t-shirts for yourself, you can find the kits to make the iron-on transfer designs at pretty much any fabric or craft store. The iron-on design won't last as long as the silk-screened design.
 
Mr. Danger?! That was my father.
Iron-on transfers are made from rubber-based ink, so they fuse into the underlying fabric. The best way to prolong the life is to turn it inside-out before washing. The main secret to longevity, though, is to keep the art file so that you can print a new one whenever you want to.
I worked for several years as a screen printer. Most shops don't have a T-shirt press (we sold ours to a skateboard company after it had been sitting unused for a decade or so). In any event, having a customized shirt done up by a shop would cost you at least $200 Canuk, so maybe $170 or so in Yank currency (I can't keep up with the exchange rate). It costs a lot of money to maintain a screen, a lot more to coat one, plus you have the art setup and negative production to deal with. And ink is not cheap. Figure to increase the cost by 50% for every additional colour that you want. You'd be a lot farther ahead by getting half a dozen transfers (which is one package, here), and just printing them as you need them.
 
Too high costs for this screening, unless I find myself a follow at screening company.

I also have another question, how to print a lot for small costs? For example In a bookstore I pay $30 for 500-page book, with color or not, doesn't matter. Real cost of printing such a book must be about 80% or less of the price they sell for. And, printing 500-page book at home costs me nearly $40 for paper, and ink. That's why I'd been doing it in school, running 3 printers instantly, pretending I'm in need of materials for classes. Nobody complained but if some of them would realize, that I print 50 pages a day on one printer, I'd get into very serious troubles. Sometimes I would hide a book in an essay :-x - that was the funny part. So, I'd like to know which printers allow me to print a lot for relatively low costs, even if the price of such printer seems quite high at a first glance.
 
Man, if I were you, I'd keep on doing what ur doing and use those free printers. Printer Ink is expensive. The worst they can do is tell you not to print there anymore. :wink:
 
Hang on there, cyrus... he's stealing. Don't encourage him. If he keeps doing it now, he'll keep doing it after he's working for a big company... and then he'll go to jail for it. Better to nip this **** in the bud.
 
  • #10
That's not stealing. He's not taking something that's not his. He is just printing on a printer.

But fineeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, ask if its ok first Heartless. If they say no, ask them if it's ok to print out a chapter. Then you can print out new a chapter after your done reading the last one, and still get your book :devil:

Oh, everyone here at school finds ways to rip off the printers. They charge you 10 cents a copy. You have to swipe your school id to pay. If you swipe it fast and press cancel, you can get free prints. I sure as hell ant paying the school for prints. I pay them enough with tuition as it is. If the community college can give its students all the free prints they want, my big ass school can find the money too. I already have given them about $200 bucks in parking fines. My school is the cheapest of the cheap. They try to take every last dime from you if they can.

Viva la Printerlution!
 
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  • #11
However you chose to justify it, it's still theft. If it isn't inculuded in the terms of your enrolment, it isn't a given right.
 
  • #12
You and your morals, :-p.

Don't steal heartless.
 
  • #13
Ethics, thank you very much.
I have no morals, since I define that as something imposed by a religious faction.