Real Time: Starting Your Own Heat Transfer Business

Starting a heat transfer business is a great way to make more money on the side. -It can also be a great first step towards building a business that can get you out of your day job.

So, we want to show you how easy it is to create your own work. We will be using vinyl as the material as part of a multicolor design.

As a bonus, the equipment needed to create this design has a very low cost to get started.

You can turn these blank shirts ....

The Job Setup

We worked with a polyester polo and a two-layer vinyl design. The first layer is a black and the second layer silver.

First, you cut the vinyl into its designs using the Graphtec Cutter.

Next is weeding – pulling the excess vinyl off the backing. This will take a bit of practice, so we recommend starting with some simple shapes. This will help you get the hang of things.

Then you want to cut or trim each of the individual designs. Using a cutter for this instead of scissors (when possible) will help you save time.

Start the Presses!

Now you’re ready to heat press the first layer on your shirts.

Lay the shirt on your heat press and place the vinyl in the spot you’d like to transfer the design too.

Bring the heat press down. The time for this can be around 10 seconds depending on your machine and the temperature.

Next, peel the backing of the vinyl and place the next layer. Again, bring the heat press down for around 10 seconds.

Peel the backing off and set up your next shirt.

Tips and Expected Output

Use a ruler or other guides to help you place the design in the correct spot each time. This will ensure your customers’ shirts look the same.
The Fusion Heat Press allows you to set different preset press times and will beep when it’s time to release. This ensures you don’t press the vinyl too much or too little.

Here’s another example of a job we did in HTV heat transfer vinyl. It’s a group of warehouse shirts we also produced using the Digital HeatFX system.

Into These High-Profit Money Makers.

We were able to press 30 shirts with the two layers of vinyl in under an hour. Art creation, cutting, weeding and prep time was about 7 hours.

You can see that getting a full order done is possible in a day. Of course, that depends on the complexity of the design and the quantity. Some orders finish in only a couple of hours.

Let’s take a step back and talk about some of the other ways that will make getting started easy.

Choosing blanks

Blanks can be tricky because they will affect the quality of your end product.

A small plug here: That’s why we love working with Sanmar for the best plain t-shirts. You’re able to find out right away which apparel is sensitive to heat or other decorating methods. They have already done the testing.

Their experts will give you advice on which blanks work best with your apparel method.

If you order from Colman and Company, the Graphtec Cutter comes with design software. It’s called Graphtec Studio Pro. There will be no concern about compatibility with the printer.

Training & Next Steps

When you’re ready to move beyond the heat press, you can’t beat ColDesi as a company. They offer lots of videos and courses.

You can subscribe to their podcasts, blog posts, and YouTube channel to always keep in the know. You’ll have all the information you need to get your business up and running. And on the way to success.

Vinyl is a great medium to work with that allows you to do more than apparel. And with a little bit of training, you can have your business up and running in no time.

Real Time: Starting Your Own Heat Transfer Business