thread's not dead - doITlab

The Right Blank for the Job
When you send off your design to print, you typically have to specify WHAT
brand of t-shirt you want it printed on. This is as much a part of your brand as
your designs. Customers are paying more attention to the fit of their tees these
days. The more fashionable blank garments will be more expensive and the
budget blanks are typically for audiences that are not concerned about fit or
fashion. To them, a t-shirt is a t-shirt.
If you go to a printer like Jakprints, they offer a lot of different brands to choose
from. If you don’t specify, you might get their cheapest brand and this could
result in not so great shirts. So pay attention!
Fashion Blanks
American Apparel is by far the most talked-about brand of blank garments
used in the industry. They’re also quite expensive. Same goes for Alternative
Apparel. Both brands carry exceptional quality garments in a variety of colors
and styles. If you’re looking to be ahead of the curve, use these brands.
Bare Apparel and JS Apparel are also excellent, high quality blanks. If you want
something distressed or tea stained, Bare Apparel offers some great blanks to
start from.
THREAD’S NOT DEAD • Jeff Finley
Budget Blanks:
Tultex and Anvil brands have a fine jersey tee that is comparable to American
Apparel at a much lesser cost. I’ve used these when cost was a concern but I
still wanted a fashionable and soft feel. Some would say they’re better than AA,
but that is subjective.
Hanes, Fruit of the Loom, Gildan, Jerzees, or Allstyle brands are the budget
blanks. They tend to have a boxier fit and most reputable apparel brands these
days do not print on these blanks. However, you’ll find plenty of band t-shirts
still printing on these shirts because they’re so cheap.
How Many Shirts Should
I Print? What Sizes?
When you’re just starting out, keep it small. It’s better to order less and sell
out than to order more “just in case.” Most newbie clothing lines print 50-100
shirts per design, which is a good start. They typically start out with 3-5 designs
for their initial launch.
Something you must pay attention to when ordering your first run of shirts is
sizing. If you don’t say anything about sizes when you order shirts, the printer
might assume you want 100 mediums or
an even distribution amongst all available
sizes. This won’t do you any good.
So what sizes should you get? Do you
need sizes XS all the way to XXL? What
about women’s or kid’s sizes?
I’ll tell you what most new lines do.
They go with the 1/2/2/1 ratio or the
2/3/3/2/2/1 size ratio. This breaks down
to s/m/l/xl and xs/s/m/l/xl/xxl.
When in doubt, order less.
If you sell out, it makes you
look popular.
Let’s say you order 144 shirts for your initial line. That would be 24s, 48m, 48lg,
and 24xl. Or the other option would be 24xs, 36s, 36m, 24l, 24xl, 12xxl.
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