The Basics of Making Money with Hotfix Rhinestones

Hotfix Rhinestones can make you substantial profits, especially when you use the Brush-N-Bake Rhinestone Decorating System from Colman and Company.

Now is the time for you to make the most of the latest trend in apparel decoration—hotfix rhinestones!

If you are an embroiderer, direct to garment or screen printer, you have no doubt noticed people wearing clothing decorated with hotfix rhinestones. It is also a sure bet that those people are what got you thinking about easy ways to make more money by expanding your reach to new customers.

You decided to make the plunge into hotfix rhinestone embellishment, and now you are wondering about the best way to get into the market. Actually, that decision will be the most simple, with the Brush-N-Bake Hotfix Rhinestone Decorating System from Colman and Company.

The Brush-N-Bake Starter Kit comes equipped with all you need to develop your custom rhinestone template, t-shirt and decal business:

• Graphtec CE6000-40 15” Desktop Cutter/Plotter
• Sierra’s Hotfix Era Rhinestone Stencil software, which is upgradable to work with the CAMS Automatic Rhinestone Machine. Use it when you are ready to expand into mass-production!
• 1 Roll Sticky Flock Template Media
• 1 Sticky Flock Workstation
• Roll of Transfer Tape
• Starter kit of hotfix rhinestones in a rainbow of colors: Crystal, Blackjet, Citrine, Orange, Lt. Siam, Lt. Emerald, and Cobalt.
• Hotfix Rhinestone Hard Surface Material
• Stone/Stud Chart so you can see all colors and sizes available
• Sticky Flock Brush

Once you have your Brush-N-Bake System, your shop can start turning designs on a computer screen into a fabulous custom garment.

Designing a hotfix rhinestone image

Design your image in the Hotfix Era Rhinestone Stencil software.  Select the appropriate hotfix rhinestone size for the designs. The Hotfix Era software will allow you to select either standard rhinestone sizes or the metric equivalent (for example, SS16 stones have a diameter of 4mm).

Convert the shapes to a rhinestone pattern. Be aware of collisions, places where the software will put two overlapping stones. You can adjust the placement as needed, before you send the job to the vinyl cutter.

Load and cut your template

Load your Sticky Flock Template Material in your Graphtec CE6000-40 15” Desktop Cutter/Plotter. Set the proper speed, force, and acceleration. Use a 60° blade or the equivalent, since many of the standard stencil films used are 15mil thick or more. With thicker materials, the standard 45° blade may not be enough.

The advantage of using Sticky Flock is that it increases the life of your blade. Using a force of just 170 grams, cutting Sticky Flock significantly decreases the amount of wear and tear on your vinyl cutter.

A smooth surface on Sticky Flock allows you to remove the transfer tape off easily with a gentle pull. This decreases production time and increases productivity. If you are using the Sticky Flock Template Media from Colman and Company, do a cut on a test piece and check it for ease of “weeding” before continuing.

Send the design to the cutter, which automatically cuts out the hotfix rhinestone design.

“Weed” the stencil

Weed the film. Instead of weeding out all the holes, remove the positive part of the stencil up from the Sticky Flock Workstation, leaving the holes. Then place the stencil on the Hotfix Transfer Tape.

Add hotfix rhinestones and peel off the transfer

Take a bag of hotfix rhinestones and pour them over the stencil. Cover the surface with stones, while brushing them across the surface with the Sticky Flock Brush. The stones fall into the holes, usually right side up with the flat side down in the hole and tops facing up. You might have to flip a few, but not many.  Once the pattern is complete, collect the spare stones to use later.

Remove the tape, lifting the stones from the stencil. At this point, the stencil is finished. Unless this is a one-off custom garment, you can file the stencil for later use. The advantage of rhinestone stencils is that you can cut a Hotfix Rhinestone stencil once and use them several times.

Heat press the hotfix rhinestones on the garment

Your heat press should be set medium pressure. Place the hotfix rhinestone transfer on the garment and press for around 15 seconds at 320°F.  When ready, remove the garment from the press, allowing the Hotfix Transfer Tape to chill to room temperature. Carefully remove the tape.  Place the garment back on the heat press, covering it with a Teflon sheet. Press again for five seconds to complete the Hotfix adhesive. That is it; you are finished!

Last step: make money!

The final step is—profit!  Present the glittering custom decorated garment to your client. The incredible hotfix rhinestone design will make the sale for you!

Of course, that leads to the question of how much to charge for your work.  Always check the average prices in your area, but there are some recommendations for cost and profit of custom hotfix rhinestone apparel.

Pricing your product for maximum profit

You will find that the average cost of high-quality Korean hotfix rhinestones, tape, and stencil material to make a single T-shirt is about $1.85. Stencils are reusable, so a second garment using the same stencil will cost be about $0.50 less. The average long-sleeved shirt costs around $5.50, so your total cost will be around $6.85 – $7.35 per shirt.

Depending on your local market and the number of shirts sold, the normal retail price for a Hotfix Rhinestone designed shirt is about $25.00. For custom designs, you can ask for significantly more or less if it is a large order. For most rhinestone apparel, $25.00 per shirt is a good working rule.

This calculates to an average gross profit of $17.65 per shirt. With this method, you can generate around 10 shirts per hour. That means this fashion trend can earn you over $800 per day in profit, with enough time left over for lunch and breaks!

What makes Hotfix rhinestones even more exciting is that it is a growing industry. Rhinestones are not only found on all sorts of garments, but also on a wide range of other products.

The bottom line? Now is the perfect time to get a Brush-N-Bake with the Graphtec CE6000 40 Cutter, Sierra’s Hotfix Era Software for designing rhinestone templates, Sticky Flock re-usable template material and Colman and Company hotfix rhinestones. You can now start creating, marketing and selling your personal brand of stunning hotfix rhinestone T-shirts, hoodies, sweatpants, hats, cell phone and more!

For more information on using your Brush-N-Bake Hotfix Rhinestone Decorating System to make substantial profits, visit ColmanAndCompany.com or call 80-981-1094 today!