Bumper-Sticker and T-Shirt makers?

SMG3000 · December 3rd, 2003

I know there are some commercial t-shirt "presses" that will place a fine logo onto a t-shirt, but they are relatively pricey, around 2-3,000 bucks. I was wondering if anyone were familiar with a cheaper system to accomplish that.

Perhaps more importantly, I have ideas for bumper stickers which I think will be popular among those with a twisted or enlightened sense of humor (depending upon your perspective). I'm sure a machine to manufacture bumper stickers would be reasonably priced.

I was curious to read others experience with these things. Should I risk having a commercial place manufacture t-shirts or bumper stickers for me?
Thanks.

Gott · December 9th, 2003

Quote:

Originally Posted by SMG3000

I know there are some commercial t-shirt "presses" that will place a fine logo onto a t-shirt, but they are relatively pricey, around 2-3,000 bucks. I was wondering if anyone were familiar with a cheaper system to accomplish that.

Perhaps more importantly, I have ideas for bumper stickers which I think will be popular among those with a twisted or enlightened sense of humor (depending upon your perspective). I'm sure a machine to manufacture bumper stickers would be reasonably priced.

I was curious to read others experience with these things. Should I risk having a commercial place manufacture t-shirts or bumper stickers for me?
Thanks.

You can get a lot of information by doing a web search (I thought about the t shirt thing a while ago and did some checking) and ebay has a lot of stuff relative to this. Good luck!

December 10th, 2003

I believe that the wisest way to go about this is to own and control the means of production, so I did some research on this subject a couple of years ago.

You are correct that screen-printing machines are rather expensive, especially as a first entry into this area. But I have heard that is possible to print on bumper-sticker-type vinyl with a "dry-resin" printer.

"Alps printer" is a generic name for dry resin printers. Some specific brands include Alps, OkiData, Citizen, Mitsubishi. Scratchproofing requires blow-dryer heating followed by polyurethane spray, both after printing. Vinyl decal media is around $15 for 10 sheets, and can be of the UV-resistant variety. Alps-branded printers themselves seem to be available for $400-$500. They do not function well as everyday printers though.

A cheaper, though lower-quality, alternative is using an inkjet printer with Avery brand labels (or equivalent generic, e.g. Staples' brand) of appropriate size, with a word processing program. An ultraviolet-protective coating made to work with inkjet output, such as Clear-Jet type A2000 clear-coating (see http://www.clearstarcorp.com/clearjet.asp) will help make such output more durable, and waterproof, which is especially important outdoors.

Best of luck and have fun,
Tactic

SMG3000 · December 12th, 2003

I found this place (they also do t-shirts although the shirts are pretty much out of my price range): http://www.stickerjunkie.com/ You can make 100 for $25!
I'm just trying to figure out how I'd sell them. I have some ideas for humor stickers such as "WOMEN MUST OBEY" (that has to be a statement and some men will put that on their trucks, I'm sure). I wonder if there is a "market" (meaning someone even cares enough to put them on their vehicle)? Of course, I wouldn't be able to make a living off of it (that might be down-right unethical anyway) and if people were really going to use them as a political statement I'd even do it for a small (very very small) loss. But for 100 for 25 bucks you could sell them at 1.00 a piece (or $1 for two) and ship them in regular business envelopes with a stamp.
I'm just not convinced there is a 'market'. The NA had (or has) some great NA bumperstickers that are professionally done, but I have only seen one person use 'em!
So, who wants to have a trunk of bumperstickers nobody wants. Thats my personal concern. Obviously, I'd love to have people put "www.DOWZ.net" bumperstickers on their cars but who would? I wouldn't! Especially not on my own car

. Soon as the whigger neighbors saw that they'd plot on vandalizing my car. On the other hand, people might buy them and put them on things other then cars, although I don't think Dowz.net (just an example) is that popular.

Also http://www.cafepress.com
Hell, its worth a TRY. You don't put any money into it, you can sell shirts and things for relative cost (thats if you dont want to make any money from it), but you DO need images. I don't know of any programs to make big straight-edged text images, unfortunately! Otherwise I'd be in "business".

Malleus · December 16th, 2003

http://www.solargeneral.com/library/shirts.html

Custom T-Shirts here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Commie_Jew

Buy it from a Jew. They will give you a good discount!

Oy vey! Can I get a propeller beanie with my order or will that cost me extra sheckels?

Hey, we're hosting a font that features a jew star-o-david with the hammer-and-sickle in the center: http://www.solargeneral.com/library/Cre88or.ttf. This ought to be right up your kosher ally, and would additionally make a nice avatar for you, so goy for it.

And remember: If you can't beat 'em, goyim.

-M

December 3rd, 2003	#1
SMG3000 Wants Closer Ties to Iran Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 1,734	Bumper-Sticker and T-Shirt makers? I know there are some commercial t-shirt "presses" that will place a fine logo onto a t-shirt, but they are relatively pricey, around 2-3,000 bucks. I was wondering if anyone were familiar with a cheaper system to accomplish that. Perhaps more importantly, I have ideas for bumper stickers which I think will be popular among those with a twisted or enlightened sense of humor (depending upon your perspective). I'm sure a machine to manufacture bumper stickers would be reasonably priced. I was curious to read others experience with these things. Should I risk having a commercial place manufacture t-shirts or bumper stickers for me? Thanks.

December 10th, 2003	#3
tactic Guest Posts: n/a	Decal printing I believe that the wisest way to go about this is to own and control the means of production, so I did some research on this subject a couple of years ago. You are correct that screen-printing machines are rather expensive, especially as a first entry into this area. But I have heard that is possible to print on bumper-sticker-type vinyl with a "dry-resin" printer. "Alps printer" is a generic name for dry resin printers. Some specific brands include Alps, OkiData, Citizen, Mitsubishi. Scratchproofing requires blow-dryer heating followed by polyurethane spray, both after printing. Vinyl decal media is around $15 for 10 sheets, and can be of the UV-resistant variety. Alps-branded printers themselves seem to be available for $400-$500. They do not function well as everyday printers though. A cheaper, though lower-quality, alternative is using an inkjet printer with Avery brand labels (or equivalent generic, e.g. Staples' brand) of appropriate size, with a word processing program. An ultraviolet-protective coating made to work with inkjet output, such as Clear-Jet type A2000 clear-coating (see http://www.clearstarcorp.com/clearjet.asp) will help make such output more durable, and waterproof, which is especially important outdoors. Best of luck and have fun, Tactic

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December 12th, 2003	#4
SMG3000 Wants Closer Ties to Iran Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 1,734	I found this place (they also do t-shirts although the shirts are pretty much out of my price range): http://www.stickerjunkie.com/ You can make 100 for $25! I'm just trying to figure out how I'd sell them. I have some ideas for humor stickers such as "WOMEN MUST OBEY" (that has to be a statement and some men will put that on their trucks, I'm sure). I wonder if there is a "market" (meaning someone even cares enough to put them on their vehicle)? Of course, I wouldn't be able to make a living off of it (that might be down-right unethical anyway) and if people were really going to use them as a political statement I'd even do it for a small (very very small) loss. But for 100 for 25 bucks you could sell them at 1.00 a piece (or $1 for two) and ship them in regular business envelopes with a stamp. I'm just not convinced there is a 'market'. The NA had (or has) some great NA bumperstickers that are professionally done, but I have only seen one person use 'em! So, who wants to have a trunk of bumperstickers nobody wants. Thats my personal concern. Obviously, I'd love to have people put "www.DOWZ.net" bumperstickers on their cars but who would? I wouldn't! Especially not on my own car . Soon as the whigger neighbors saw that they'd plot on vandalizing my car. On the other hand, people might buy them and put them on things other then cars, although I don't think Dowz.net (just an example) is that popular. Also http://www.cafepress.com Hell, its worth a TRY. You don't put any money into it, you can sell shirts and things for relative cost (thats if you dont want to make any money from it), but you DO need images. I don't know of any programs to make big straight-edged text images, unfortunately! Otherwise I'd be in "business".