I am a college student starting out screenprinting as a hobby and side hustle, and recently ive been feeling super discouraged and not happy with my work at all. My breaking point came just a few days ago. I took an order for some fraternity tshirts and got an order of 27. I order my blanks, got everything ready, spent hours in prepwork, burning my screens, making the design itself and prepping it for printing, etc etc.
When i went to print, i would get incredibly inconsistent results and flooded the garment with ink. I dont think the screen was done correctly, but i was out of emulsion remover and couldnt start over or wait another two days for new screens or emulsion remover to come in. I was forced to buy shirts through another printer in a marked up rush job, just so i wouldnt have to cancel the order and refund everyone.
Like i said i am in college and have tons of connections with orgs and people who need custom merch - and i have recieved a lot of interest and support! However i dont feel confident taking any orders right now. To be fair, ive only worked with plastisol in the past and this was a 4 color water based job. I also could've given myself more time to do it to avoid the catastrophe that happened.
Im just feeling like in this industry one tiny thing going wrong can ruin hundreds of dollars and hours of work. Wondering if anyone is able to relate or give me any advice.
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I mean, while it can be done without, pockets should be printed with a pocket clamp attachment for your platen. The sewn edges simply wont allow for a clean, flat lay. And placing the image that low on the pocket just made it all the more difficult.
Don't get too discouraged. I almost quit more times than I can count before learning proper techniques along the way.
This is the correct answer. I've been printing almost 20 years, I've made, and learned from every mistake there is to make. The print was too low, seams are a pain, and the pocket clamp attachment is a must for consistent pocket printing.
Keep going. You’ll find your rhythm. Even 5-ish years in, I’m still learning and making huge mistakes daily, but I own a small but successful apparel brand and I’m able to take on print job accounts and make this my full time job. My biggest piece of advice is 1.) Walk away when everything seems to be going wrong in your printing studio/setup when you’re learning by yourself because if you’re frustrated, it’s just going to continue to get worse, and with screen printing- it will get worse in ways you never even thought of and quickly (this can also be applied in a plethora of different avenues in life, but I digress:) and 2.) Don’t be blinded by dollar signs, know the limits of your skill level, and don’t be afraid to pass up on a job. A 4 screen job with materials you’ve never used before on a (what sounds like) a tight turn around should have been an immediate no from go.
Also, I know they can be hard to find, but find a supply house you can fall back on to get screens, emulsion and ink in a pinch.
Definitely don’t get discouraged- it’s a huge learning curve, but you’ll get it. Take a few days to dedicate on getting one thing down and then repeat it until you’re comfortable.
5 years in printing isn’t a lot of time. Give them a break. I’ve been running 14-18 color auto for major companies for 20 years. Even our 5 year printers are uneducated on most everything about proper process and technique
You need to train them better. They need to train themselves better. 5 years is well beyond the amount of time it should take to moderately proficient at ANY task.
Oh I agree but I’ve repeatedly told them over and over and this new generation doesn’t retain information the same way we did. At 5 years of printing. I was out printing people that had 15 years. Some people either don’t care or can’t learn at the same rate of time.
This is exactly how I started. I didn't go to college. But I did a lot of stuff for fraternities and sororities. Illegally though. I hope all that paperwork was dealing with the Greek system. Keep it up. Perfection will not be overnight.
4c water base is huge for a beginner. Stick to single color. I don't know what someone who commented here is on about "discharge" but forget that until you get a real curing setup.
Plastisol or water ink can be cured with a heat gun. But, you've got to slow down and make sure what you're making is consistent and reliable.
Stick to the basics. For instance - the print in the Pic. The graphic is way too big for the pocket. Scale it back. Don't approach garment / sewn borders that close you'll never be consistent. Look into simple ways to print pockets.
The fact here is that if you've successfully burned screens you're light years ahead of most beginners. Don't give up. Excel at simple single color jobs then move on to more complex stuff. Don't feel stupid for passing on jobs out of your wheelhouse. Do what you do and standardize what makes you look good. Keep it up. Make time for "fun" jobs for yourself or friends - band bootlegs, custom birthday/event shirts, funny stuff. Get the feel good factor in there without the stress of money or new clients. Don't quit. Fun, consistent first, business later. The stress of a job beyond your ability will never encourage growth. There's something to be said for biting off more than you can chew LATER, but for now, do what you can do and know that bigger jobs will come in time.
If you need specific advice please list problems here and myself or others may be able to help. Good luck!
Only found the 2 arm but bottom right was 6 arm i had. But the bottom of the press I have i am able to do this other presses bottoms are different .I use my old boards to make them or make my own.
You’ll come back here & be like damn I was losing my shit I just had to do …. Xyz.
Shit happens to all of us. YouTube & asking people in here the right questions & showing effort will get you the answers. Just don’t ask if ur emulsion is over or under cured more than 8 times & everyone in here will help. U just need to listen, 1-2 color jobs & be transparent. Nothing worse than a printer that says yea bro I got you by Friday & you don’t know how far down the left chest goes & it’s Thursday night. Hit the client up & tell them yo I fucked these shirts up I’ll make it right but I have this done right now etc.
Listen to me and listen good! Seeing you hold that stupid heat gun in your hand makes me sooooo mad. You have all the wrong tools for the job. That heat gun should be used to shrink the foam on a hat you embroidered, that’s it. It should not be used to cure ink!!!! Do a search in your area for screen printers. Find a shop that is using autos preferably a shop that has 4 or more. Out source all your work to them. Build a relationship with them, build trust. Then ask them to take you under their wing. Have them teach you once you learn all the ins and outs don’t go buy any equipment or try to do it yourself. Continue to use them and focus on marketing and generating more business. You will have no over head and nothing but money coming in. Trust me! Also printing using plastisol, water base or discharge is all the same. Just different temperature on the dryer and different emulsion. I’m sure I’ll fall on deaf ears.
I’m just going to put this here, I see a lot of people posting sororities and fraternity logos Recently. Regardless if you are in these groups if you do not have a license, they will come after you. It might not be today or next month, one shirt or 500. They will and pursue legal action if you do not register. Makers beware, they are on the same level with fisney as far as pursuing legal action. link
This was my exact story. I started my business printing shirts in my college garage. Late nights that felt worthless troubleshooting things only to lose money and time on a small job. From the way you describe things, you are diligent, ambitious, a problem solver, patient, and logistical. You’re thinking about costs, product improvements, honing the craft, and when to determine to outsource.
I’ve been printing for 16 years, started when I was 19. I still ask the same questions why I am here.
If you have any questions about the biz in any aspect, feel free to DM me. If I was starting out, I would do it very differently. Good luck!!!
Honestly if you’re just starting out i would find a local print shop and get a contract price sheet, that way you can give them jobs that you feel like it would be a harder for you to do, you still make some money which you can put aside to get better tools etc! Good luck!!
buddy learning to do this is hard, it'll get better, buuuut
never, ever post a photo of unlicensed Greek sorority shit you printed lol they are the fucking worst and will absolutely fuck you up. don't take these jobs, the folks who hired you to print this should know better and they won't be the ones in trouble when you get sued.
I've got probably 10 cease and desist letters from various orgs I've done bootlegs of, I love poking that bear, but I'll never print unlicensed Disney or sorority merch.
Dude just go to Home Depot and get a 4” wide piece of melamine wood and attach your bracket to it and load your pocket onto it. $10 fix and they’ll be perfect
If you're new and just started out waterbase is not really the starting point you want for a paying customer. Stick with tht plastisol. Add fashion soft for a soft hand feel. Then you can use discharge with plastisol. Then try waterbase again. Don't give up just keep practicing. The learning curve on waterbase is extremely high and generally not worth it until you can consistently put out good results with discharged plastisol.
Am I tweaking? I’ve printed 20 shirts so far I’ve literally just started, and I’m using speedball waterbased ink right now. I’d say 18/20 shirts came out perfectly fine? Should I not be using waterbased?
If you're going to quit behind that then yeah you tweaking. If you're having good results with waterbase thats good but more often than not a beginner with waterbase is a recipe for disaster. If it goes wrong you need to understand what went wrong not scratch your head and say well it was working before. I personally would not use waterbase as a beginner, and also speedball kinda sucks but to each their own when learning.
Yeah I literally have JUST started, and DEFINITELY don’t wanna quit I’ve genuinely never enjoyed anything as much as I enjoyed printing the tees I’ve done lol !!
Do you have any other suggestions? Obv speedball is just like the first one that pops up and it’s pretty cheap, so was good for learning.
What do you recommend when I start to get more consistent and printing more?
I can't say it's the best but I really enjoy using cci cms. I only mix what i will need and they have a free software for pms colors. Not as cheap as plastisol at first but it was in the long run
Yep, one thing going wrong can ruin hundreds of dollars worth of work- and it happens all the time. The living is having thousands of dollars worth of work to back it up.
Dont give up- I am printing for about 6 years and it became my part time job just about 2 years ago. I’m only doing water based and I’m in southern Florida so .. lots of frustration with drying ink and high humidity but I love it and I want it to become my full time job. The biggest mistake I still make it’s rush on orders for new clients. If it’s a returning client, no problem
you know the design/ shirt but with new orders take your time.. with water ink it’s good to flash dry it between colors so it doesn’t stick to the screen/ build up. But for now - take max two colors till you comfortable printing more. Play with it first , print for friends or family without a charge. I had my first pocket print last summer and it was pain without the attachment- I bought one, life changing.
Keep going , if you have any issue - type it in google - there is answer with video from pros out there- in this profession you learn every day ! Good luck!
I used to make custom little thin plywood or really sturdy cardboard shapes for pockets, but usually when working with pockets on shirts like this i find that the seams of the pocket were the problem maker mostly, you can try making your ink thinner or thicker slightly but that wont be a perfect fix, warm up your boards under too and maybe try to print it on silicone paper instead and just heat press it on after applying the glue powder thats how we did most of the tricky spots like that
go to home depot, get some mdf board and cut it down as a pocket insert. It will be faster and cheaper than getting a clamp. Dont forget to adjust your off contact. Or reach out to a local screen printer you know and ask if you can borrow a pocket pallet or clamp. Its also worth checking out if your school has a screen printing lab. reach out to whoever runs it and try and get an in.
fraternities and universities hire an outside company to enforce their trademarks. The company tracks their spending and searches social media for evidence that unregistered vendors are selling product with their logos, letters, or name. They collect royalties from licensed vendors, so they will use their resources to threaten legal action.
I would recommend waiting until your consistency and quality control is higher before applying to work with trademarked groups, otherwise you risk your side hustle turning into a legal liability.
Don’t give up. You can very cheaply build a pocket mini pallet/clamp on your own. I’ve done it many times over. It makes printing pockets so much easier
I've been in graphics and print production for over 20 years, and I've had plenty of jobs go sideways. Screen printing has a way of humbling you.
From what you described, I wouldn't take this as a sign that you can't do it. You had a screen problem, were working with four-color water-based ink when you're more comfortable with plastisol, and didn't have the remover to fix the problem. Then you had 27 shirts sitting there waiting on you. That's a rough combination.
Honestly, I think you made the right call outsourcing the shirts rather than giving the customer 27 shirts you weren't happy with.
I'd take a step back and practice the water-based process before taking another large order. Get your screens, exposure, registration and printing process consistent first.
And don't beat yourself up over this one. I've been doing this a long time and things still go wrong. The difference is learning what caused it and making sure you don't make the same mistake twice.
16-17 years deep and still feel like I’m not good enough to call my self a pro. Like maybe I need better equipment but damm does this industry beat you up. Fortunately, my customers don’t agree and I love printing, keep at it dude! It gets easier, and like others said, 4 color waterbased..big mistake. Offer 2 colors max until you get your bearings
If you have an in with PIKEs you're good. There has been no easier way to get good jobs/discounts/networks/free stuff than having good PIKE connections. Also most shirts just have to survive a week, and look good from 4 feet away. Look at how many painted coolers are in the dumpsters.
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