Cheapest way to make T-shirts (cricut related)

[memenee]

Without buying a cricut or something, what is the cheapest way to make custom sayings on T-shirt’s? Like is there a machine cheaper than a cricut? This is work related and we have a budget but not sure we want to blow it on T-shirt’s.

[af1212]

You could pay someone to make the cutouts for you. You can also buy printable iron on transfers.

[af1212]

You can also have them printed at a tee shirt place.

[TR]

I think they sell printable iron on things at craft stores.

[cmeon]

If they're all going to be the same design, screen printing is the way to go- you can get a custom screen made (or make one yourself easily enough), ink and a squeegy, and have at it. It's probably not for the faint of heart, but, it's fun (and quick)! You can definitely find printable iron-ons and precut letters/numbers/basic designs in the craft store if you prefer vinyl (or, if you're good with an X-acto, you can cut it yourself).

[isabel]

How many shirts are we talking? I can get shirts through our apparel vendor for under $5 a piece depending on volume and artwork.

[steph96]

Feb 19, 2019 21:01:28 GMT -5 isabel said:

How many shirts are we talking? I can get shirts through our apparel vendor for under $5 a piece depending on volume and artwork.

Ditto this. Around here, you can get <25 shirts for $8 each.

I was going to recommend trying you local Facebook BST group for sourcing cut vinyl or having the shirts made, but I honestly wouldn’t recommend it. A lot of people try to get away with using a regular household iron for the vinyl and it’s not as dependable as a heat press. You may end up saving a few dollars, but your vinyl may also end up peeling off in the washer.

[sandj82110]

Depending on how many shirts you need this site might be a good option transferexpress.com you can upload your design or create one on their site and they will print and ship to you. You will need access to a heat press on your end though to apply it.

Look at jiffyshirts.com for cheap shirts.

The iron on transfers you can buy are ok, but fade quite quickly from my experience. Fine for a shirt for a single event but if getting repeated wash/wear I wouldn’t go that route.

[kellbell22q]

Some libraries have a Cricut in their technology Center. The one in North Carolina near my stepmom has a Cricut a 3D printer a vinyl cutting machine and a bunch of other stuff.

[orval]

Cafe Press makes custom shirts -- you just have to download the art you want. But they aren't cheap $20 each or so. It is easy.
I have also used the iron on paper that you print on your printer. I works surprisingly well. You can get that and cheap $3 tshirts from Michael's

[Deleted]

Can you look for a local printing company? We have several that do custom t-shirts (hats/jackets/pretty much anything you could imagine) and the more you buy, the better the price.

[tiptoetulips]

If you’re doing a single color you could likely get a local screen printing shop to do it for a reasonable price.

[isabel]

Feb 20, 2019 8:00:10 GMT -5 @sameoldstory said:

Can you look for a local printing company? We have several that do custom t-shirts (hats/jackets/pretty much anything you could imagine) and the more you buy, the better the price.

Yeah, I mean, they're seriously a dime a dozen. I can't get anyone in my company (we have job sites all over the country) to stick with our preferred vendor. It's very irritating. But I digress. Point being, it will be very easy to find a vendor to do this for you. There are also plenty of online options, like cafepress.com and customink.com.

[OG Jo]

My sister is in this line of work and could give you a quote if you know what you need. Her bulk rate is cheaper than what I would charge for a shirt made with my Silhouette. The vinyl adds up quickly!