Creating Your Business Opportunity 5
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Can I make money screen-printing T-shirts?
Screen-printing T-shirts and other garments has proven to be a lucrative business for some entrepreneurs. There are companies that started out as home businesses and within a half-dozen years were taking orders for thousands of shirts at a time and were grossing several million dollars a year. There are also businesses that start in basements or small storefronts and never do much more than break even, if they even make it that far.
Can you still get started in screen-printing at home without spending a lot of money?
Yes, you can. The cost of a start-up depends on the capabilities you want and whether you can locate used equipment to buy. You can operate out of your basement or garage (if zoning laws don't prohibit it), but what you can produce will be limited compared to larger shops doing screen printing,
Nancy Clayton, owner of Computer Design Concepts in Rowland Heights, California, bought used equipment to start her business for less than $1,000. For the money she got a four-color press, a flash dry, and an exposure lamp. "If you look around," she says, "there are some really good deals out there. You can get by with a homemade one-color press to begin with, but you definitely need a flash cure or your prints will come off the first time you wash them. In fact, you can build your own basic press for even less money with plans in the book, How to Print T-shirts for Fun and Profit by Scott and Pat Fresener." The book is available on their web site at http://secure.usscreen.com/catalog/index.cgi?pid=3 or by phone at (800) 624-6532.
Clayton started her business in her garage, but later built a free-standing barn-type building on their property to house the business. In addition to screen-printing T-shirts, she uses heat-transfer to imprint some designs and to put names and numbers on team jerseys.
How long does it take to screen-print a T-shirt?
The amount of time depends on the design of the shirt and the kind of equipment you have. "If it is a one color design on a white T-shirt, and you use a dryer to cure your ink, you can probably whip out about 10 dozen an hour on a manual press. If you only use a flash cure as I do, then you can print about 60 shirts an hour if you don't waste any time and the phone doesn't ring," says Clayton.
Who buys printed T-shirts?
Printed T-shirts are purchased by a wide variety of businesses and individuals. Businesses often purchase screen-printed T-shirts for their employees to wear on the job. Churches, schools, civic groups, sports teams, restaurants, and even radio stations or banks are all potential customers, too. The screen printers who make it big, however, are those who go after and get orders from large businesses, universities, and national catalog companies, and those who become licensed to print major sport team logos.
T-shirts aren't the only items you can screen print. Most owners see themselves as being in the screen-printing business rather than the T-shirt business. T-shirts, because of stiff competition, may make up only 20 to 40 percent of their business. The bulk of the business often comes from screen printing other types of items, such as baseball caps, sweatshirts, jackets, and other apparel, as well as mouse pads, bumper stickers, and other advertising specialties. In fact, one screen printer shifted his emphasis from screen-printing T-shirts to screen printing with inks that contain silver—and conduct electricity—onto electronic membranes used in the touch panels of photocopiers and other electronic goods.
Can I make money just selling T-shirts or other screen printing without doing the printing myself?
Yes, many people who sell promotional products do that. They work with customers to find the right promotional products to achieve their goals and make a commission on each sale. This is another field in which there is considerable competition, however, so to succeed you have to be a good salesperson and be willing to put in many hours searching out new products for your customers.
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