Think about your t-shirt business. Are you looking to move major volume? Do you currently have a wholesale ID to fill large orders? If you are looking to go into a t-shirt business guns blazing, then purchasing a domain name and having your own site is your best fit. You want the t-shirt brand to have a face and a place where consumers can visit to find out about the company and purchase goods.

For the smaller t-shirt business that may be a side job, consider a store on a website such as Etsy or eBay. While the look may not be as sleek and enticing as your own website, it will take far less investment and work to get yourself up and running for the small volume of merchandise you’re looking to move. As sales increase and you see there is a demand for your t-shirts, you can then venture out into a third party host site or your own website.

Identify your audience as they buy.

You probably started out making t-shirts for fun. Maybe they were for yourself and then friends and friends of friends started inquiring. Look at who is buying your t-shirts. What type of music do they listen to? What other brands are they fond of? Identifying these things early on will give you a solid idea of who your demographic is and what you can do to further satisfy them.

Get comfortable with e-commerce.

Whoever thought selling clothes on the internet would never work out clearly was wrong. Consumers love spending money online because they can click and buy. It’s a form of instant gratification so to speak, and in this age, that’s highly prized. Become comfortable with handling money online. Open a Paypal business account or merchant account with Google Checkout to give consumers the option of buying online.

Keep your website slick.

If t-shirt lovers know anything, it’s that design matters. This is true of any website. The more slick and professional, the better. If it looks thrown together, no one will want to spend money at your site because they won’t feel secure. Be sure the site is easy to navigate and create a FAQs page with basic questions to avoid tons of emailing with individual clients. Always have wholesale information available. You never know who is checking out your site.

Social networking is your friend.

Just like a traditional businessman networks while at conventions, you can network on the internet. It’s far less costly and puts you in touch with far more people. Get to know bloggers and editors of online magazines so you can pitch new designs as you release them. It always helps to have friends in high places and when you’re behind a computer screen, it’s important to reach out to the consumer and the powerful people that can put your garments front and center.

Red – Red can symbolize passion and love, but is also a common colour for those who love to stand out in a crowd. Red is a colour that men gravitate towards to, whether it’s for themself or on a partner. Red also implies excitement.

Yellow – Yellow displays happiness, spontaneity, and optimism. It shows a positive outlook. Yellow is a unisex colour that comes in a bevy of shades from neon to marigold. Yellow is a wise option for dark backgrounds or outlining graphics for a pop of colour.

Brown – Brown represents loyalty. Chocolate brown paired with neon or very bright hues looks especially modern.

Orange - Orange implies fun, excitement and enlightenment. Orange works like yellow for adding a sharp contrast to cool tones.

Remember warm and cool colours can be used together. Using colours from both ends of the colour spectrum ensures a balanced look on a t-shirt. With fashion trends pushing the boundaries, even colours that are typically though of as clashing such as pink and orange can make an appearance together. Research colours by searching for a colour wheel and placing different Pantone shades together in a program like Adobe Photoshop.

Scanning and uploading your design to Photoshop will allow you to change the colours in the graphic design as your leisure with no commitment. Keep a folder with different colour combinations that catch your eye. Just because it doesn’t work on a current design doesn’t mean you should trash it. Keep WIPs (or works-in-progress) on file since they may be useful for a future design you come up with.

- Samantha

Organic Prints
Trees, birds, landscapes and flowers are all big trends for t-shirts in the coming seasons. Whether you take the hippie route and create organic tees with vegetable dyes or simply capture the vibe of organic landscapes onto a t-shirt, it looks like these will be big sellers in the coming months. For men, this may be a difficult trend to design for, but think in terms of abstract and more artistic graphics. After all, a flower doesn’t have to be a standard flower. It can be angular, saturated in color and make a masculine statement.

Paint Prints
Splattered apparel made its way down the runways for the SS10 fashion shows in Milan and Paris. This trend easily translates to t-shirts for men, women and children.

Is there any recent trends that you have noticed that I have missed? Please leave a comment below.

Last time in our series about Screen Printing Techniques we looked at Metallic Screen Printing. This week we are looking at a popular screen printing technique, Puff Printing.

What is Puff Printing?

Puff printing is a screen printing technique, whereby you are left with a “puffed up” 3D print of your image. It is one of the more popular alternative screen printing techniques.

How does Puff Printing work?

Puff printing is very similar to the regular screen printing process. With puff printing the ink is prepared by being mixed with spandex. The design is then printed as normal onto the garment, and put through a heater, once the heater reaches around 350 degrees fahrenheit the spandex expands, leaving a puff effect on the garment.

What are the Pro’s for using Puff Screen Printing?

• Cool puff effect
• Similar price to regular screen printing
• Avaliable in almost any colour

What are the Negatives about Puff Screen Printing?

• Because the print is 3D it can sometimes rub off more easily than a regular screen print

Can I see an example?

Sure, check out our example below with white puff ink on a red t shirt.

365 – Day 112 – Too many t-shirts? No such thing. from Threadless.com on Vimeo.

Awesome video from the guys at Threadless.

To choose your colors, think of the message you want to send with the t-shirt’s individual screenprint design. Yes, the t-shirt will probably be made in a few colors, so there’s no reason to lock yourself in to just one color scheme. The idea is to choose a color (or set of colors) that is consistent in mood from one t-shirt to the next or to totally change the idea of a graphic design simply by switching up the color. Both are achievable and work to your advantage as a t-shirt designer.

Contrasting colors work best. If you are printing onto a light colored t-shirt, you want to choose a bright color to place on top. If you are working with a bright or dark t-shirt, you want a contrasting shade that pops. This is especially true when designing t-shirts for youth, as they are a crowd that likes for designs and images to make a bold statement from afar. Because contrasting colors work best, you may feel limited in what colors can be used. Don’t! There are always adjustments that can be made, and you’re the artist that implements these changes. Be creative and remember there is no wrong or right in design. The key is properly executing a plan that may not be the norm when it comes to graphic design. If you want to use a light color on a white t-shirt, try outlining the image to give it a cutout point from the body of the t-shirt. This allows you to use the color scheme you want without losing the image in the midst of a tonal t-shirt.

To come up with unique or unusual color schemes, play with colors until you get a combination you don’t usually see, but is still appealing to the eye. Use small paint swatches, which can be acquired for free at a local hardware store and place colors next to each other to get an idea of what tones mix well.



- Samantha

White - White represents clarity and a sound mind. It is commonly associated with purity, a new life and miracles. White can also stand for a new beginning or outlook.

Gray – Implies security and maturity. Think about it. Gray is as no-fuss of a color as one can get, and it doesn’t compete with colors when thrown into the mix. That said, gray is powerful on its own, especially when texture is implemented.

Blue – Blue is a fantastic color for graphic t-shirts for both it’s bold appearance and the items it’s commonly associated with. Blue identifies with spirituality (religious or otherwise), truth, calmness and youth. Blue is proven to create a serene feel when seen, which is why hospitals often use blue paint on walls.

Indigo – Dark blue is known for focus and deep thought. There is a reason philosophers are known for wearing dark colored clothing such as black and dark blue. Dark blue is stark and gives the onlooker little to contemplate other than a cool, collected palette.

Purple – Purple is the color of royalty and also creates mystique. Various shades of purple work well on t-shirts because it is unisex and still has a regal air in modern society.

Think about the colors above and the themes commonly associated with them. When creating designs don’t let these themes dominate your thought process of choosing colors for your t-shirts, but give them some consideration since they may surprise you and turn out an innovative new design. Also think of the contrast of feelings or moods when selecting multiple colors to go on a t-shirt, as pairing opposites can create a sense of balance.



- Samantha

This is the next part in our series about different screen printing techniques. Last week we looked at Foil Printing as a luxury way of producing a metallic effect on clothing. In this next part in our series we will be looking at regular Metallic Screen Printing and how it differs from the foil printing technique.

What is Metallic Screen Printing?

Metallic Screen Printing is a process whereby an image is screen printed onto an item of clothing (t shirt, polo shirt, hoodie, etc) with metallic ink. In our example we have used the 010fuss logo in gold.

How does Metallic Screen Printing work?

Metallic Screen Printing is very similar to the regular screen printing process. The main difference is the ink, which has slightly different properties and consistency to regular screen printing ink. Because of this a screen with a larger mesh is normally used.

Most t shirt printing companies will stock metallic screen printing ink in gold and silver.

What are the Pro’s for using Metallic Screen Printing?

• Perfect for a glittery/sparkly metallic effect
• Very similar process to a regular screen print, and therefore the same kind of price

What are the Negatives about Metallic Screen Printing?

• If you are looking for a shiny effect, then this may dissapoint, as it is more of a glittery/sparkly effect. (For shiny see Foil Printing)

Can I see an example?

Sure! Check out our sample below, printed with gold metallic ink, and our side by side comparison of Metallic Ink and Foil Print.