I was a t-shirt screen printer for a few years in college and it paid the bills quite nicely. It can be a pretty lucrative business if you don’t mind working hard hours and meeting close deadlines. I finally gave it up once I graduated and got a job less physically demanding. You can set up a small screen printing business for a relatively low amount of cash.
At the time that I started printing, I wasn’t really looking to make a business out of it. It was something that I was genuinely interested in learning how to do. It wasn’t until later on down the road that I started getting offers to make t-shirts for a price. After that, a lot of my customers came to me from word-of-mouth around town.
The initial equipment investment is somewhat pricey but compared to other self-starting businesses it’s not too bad. The prices below are rough estimates. Here’s the basics of what you’ll need:
1. BBC Conveyor Dryer ($1500)
2. Workhorse Press, 4 Colors, 4 Stations ($2200)
3. Plug-N-Go Quartz Flash ($300)
4. Point Exposure System ($2000)
As previously stated, a lot of these prices are estimates. If you shop around, you’ll probably be able to find some decent deals on Craigslist or in your local Yellow Pages. Bear in mind, if you do decide to purchase this equipment online, you’ll probably spend a large amount of start-up cash on shipping.
Now you’ll want to find blank t-shirt distributors. A simple Google search will yield hundreds of cheap wholesale shirt sellers. Just pick the one that has the quality shirts you desire (it helps if you have some sample shirts in your closet to get a feel for the cut and true texture) at the price you want.
When dealing with customers, the best way to communicate is through e-mail. If your business really takes off, you’ll probably want to get a professional-looking website along with an official e-mail address. I never reached this level, but then again, my Yahoo e-mail address always worked fine. Not only does correspondence through e-mail make it easier to keep things straight when you have multiple clients, but it also allows your customers to attach an image file with the design that they’d like printed. Most customers also prefer this method, because they typically have the picture they want on their computers.
Once you’re ready to ship your shirts, always purchase the shipping insurance and delivery confirmation. There’s nothing worse than the Post Office losing 50+ shirts in the mail (it happens!) and then not reimbursing you for it. The delivery confirmation allows you to go online and check to see when and to whom the package was delivered.
There are quite a few fine points to this industry besides the money. What other job allows you to sit around at 2AM in your underwear making shirts? You get to be your own boss and listen to heavy metal while you play with paint. As for the drawbacks, the paint smell can get to you after awhile, so make sure your work area is well-ventilated. Also, always remember that the customer’s view of a quality print will typically be lower than yours, since they aren’t used to looking at prints all day. Don’t get too stressed about it.
That’s all there is to it! Enjoy your new screen printing business!
