I've been thinking...

[NStarr]

about maybe starting a clothing company? Just a little online shop with some shirts and whatnot. Just an idea.

Does anyone here have any information about that type of buisness? Stuff like how much it will cost, printers, etc.?

Thanks for any help at all.

-Nick

[firewired]

I guess it depends on alot of different factors. Would you be doing the printing/silk screening yourself? Do you have a place to do this or would you be renting a building for studio space? What kind of clothing would you be printing on? T-shirts?

I know you can get t-shirts pretty cheat online at blankshirtstore.com. I've designed some t-shirts for work and for local sports teams, and it cost about $5.00 per shirt to screen a one color design on it. That adds up quickly. You might be able to get a better deal on that if you do it in bulk........or if you do it yourself.

And if you do it yourself you would need to buy the ink, a screen (or materials to build your own), and a place to do the screening. Do you need a vaccuum table for t-shirts? I have used one before for paper prints, but I've never actually printed on a t-shirt.

It's a good idea though. It's always nice to see someone starting up a business, and if you could bring some new ideas and designs into the clothing world you could do really well. I wish you the best of luck!

firewired

[NStarr]

I guess it depends on alot of different factors. Would you be doing the printing/silk screening yourself? Do you have a place to do this or would you be renting a building for studio space? What kind of clothing would you be printing on? T-shirts?

I know you can get t-shirts pretty cheat online at blankshirtstore.com. I've designed some t-shirts for work and for local sports teams, and it cost about $5.00 per shirt to screen a one color design on it. That adds up quickly. You might be able to get a better deal on that if you do it in bulk........or if you do it yourself.

And if you do it yourself you would need to buy the ink, a screen (or materials to build your own), and a place to do the screening. Do you need a vaccuum table for t-shirts? I have used one before for paper prints, but I've never actually printed on a t-shirt.

It's a good idea though. It's always nice to see someone starting up a business, and if you could bring some new ideas and designs into the clothing world you could do really well. I wish you the best of luck!

firewired


Yeah, I would be doing it myself. Would I really need to rent a space? I'm only 14, could I just run it in my basement or whatever? I would be doing it mainly on tees. Maybe a sweatshirt or something, but mostly just tees. What do you think would be the cheapest printer that would do all of this?

And which way do you think would save the most money; printing it myself and buying all of the supplies and whatnot, or buying blank tees in bulk, and having a professional company do it?

Thanks for the help...

EDIT: Ugh, it sounds like a 14 year old kid isnt up for something like this. Do you guys have any other recomendations like a t-shirt company or something, where I could have my own little company, and make some money off of it? Perhaps print stickers for bands and stuff? Any ideas?

[NStarr]

Alright, i've decided to bag the t-shirt printing idea, and go with stickers and posters for bands and shops and stuff. I think it would be a lot less money, and more realistic for a 14 year old, dont you think?

I know i'm skipping some steps here, but do you guys have any suggestions for a name for this little company? Not something to cheesy, but something cool, and chill. Something that will attract bands and a teenager audiance mostly. Thanks for any ideas..

[PrintDriver]

Who's credit card are you going to be using?
LOL.

14?
I don't know the legality of reselling stuff to people where you live (ie collecting sales tax) but you aren't old enough even to enter into binding contracts needed to do this work. If doing this for "friends and family", get paid up front after contacting some local vendors who do the kind of printing you want to do.

Do-it-yourself desktop inkjet for t-shirts or labels is not going to cut it in a pro sense. Labels and stickers that drool when they get wet aren't worth much and the iron t-shirt transfers don't last a washing or two either.
The equipment you'd need to buy to do either for real is a bit expensive.

As for a name. Come up with that yourself. You know your crowd.

[firewired]

NStarr, I admire your ambition. It's great to see someone starting out so young and already thinking about this sort of thing.

It's never too young to start something like this. Like mentioned above, you may run into some trouble with contracts and whatnot, but it's never to early to start playing around with it. That's the way people get great at things, they start young. Look at hockey players....they are on skates when they are 2 years old!

If you could find an adult, maybe one of your parents to help you out with some of the legal issues, that would be a great start. And I think you would catch on quickly to the rest of the process.

Try a google search on this: "how to screen printing" . You'll find some pretty useful articles.

This is one of the articles:

http://community.livejournal.com/craftgrrl/3674467.html

I did some screen printing in college, but only on paper, never t-shirts, but I would think there would be alot of similarities there.

As for a name, if you can give us an idea of what kind of crowd or audience you would like to be selling to, maybe we can come up with a few ideas to help you out.

If you have any questions, feel free to pm me as well. Good luck!

[drdesigns]

Like PrintDriver, I don't know about the legal stuff, you may want to look into that or have an adult check on it for you. Come up with a name, design some stickers and/or posters show them to family and friends and see what kind of feedback you get.

Good luck to you. I applaud your ambition. Start small and go from there.

[NStarr]

Thanks everyone! Yeah, I really like the idea of spending my time with something like this. If its sucessful, it will probably get me somewhere in the future with a job.

I got a name. What do you think of NStarr Promotions? Good? I dunno, I kind of dont want my name in it.

Could anyone help me with finding a printer for printing stickers/posters etc. I dont have a clue on what kind of printer I would need to get.

And as for the legal issues, I talked about it with my mom, and she said she would gladly help me with it. Even give me some money to help me start out.

Thanks guys! You've been a lot of help. I really appriciate it.

EDIT: Wait, are you guys saying I should do t-shirts, or stickers? Which would cost less/earn more?

[cj2a]

Have you considered Spreadshirt (http://www.spreadshirt.com) or CafePress (http://www.cafepress.com)? These would let you set up your store and place your designs with no initial investment to speak of. I've seen the flex printing from Spreadshirt and it is as close to silkscreen as you can get, and very durable. The other digital print process is more like a high end heat transfer. I don't know much about CafePress quality, but I think they have heat transfer and a direct to shirt inkjet process, the latter being not very durable. CafePress will also let you sell stickers and posters as well.

Good luck with your venture.