Learn How To Screen Print Tee Shirts At Home

I just have to say it. Don’t do it. If you want a great stencil and a great print with little effort, use opaque film. There isn’t any substitute that I know of for doing things the right way.

In my videos I have said this countless times; eliminate all variables. The easier you can print a high quality print job the faster it will go and thus you make more money per hour. Screen printing tee shirts is almost always about numbers. You have to print a lot of shirts before you will be able to retire.

So this brings us once again back to the subject of film and film opacity. I have been doing a lot of reading about this and I really can’t believe some of the things I am reading from very reputable people in the industry. Let’s go back for a minute and remember a time when film was made with a true silver nitrate photographic process and a stat camera or a process camera. Let me tell you that real film is killer! It is dense in the blacks and clear in the film areas. The absolute best! I never had as many problems as I do now trying to expose my screens with inferior film. And I hesitate to call it film.

Why have all the screen printers forgotten how easy it was using real film? Why do we continue to fight with products that are a cheap and not always economical? Laser/inkjet vellum, laser/inkjet films all fail to meet the needs of the screen printing process without a little help.

That help most always comes in the form of RIP software. I am always trying to figure out how to make great film without RIP software using an inkjet printer but the bottom line is RIP software will make things a lot easier. If I can figure out how to do it without $450 worth of RIP software then I will really have something to market, yes?

Ultimately at some point in your screen printing business development and growth you will realize and see it as practical and economical to purchase RIP software. The time and consumables saved in the darkroom and washout booth will pay for your investment. It should raise profit margins and your work day will be a lot less stressful.

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I use EBay to sell my Catspit shirts. There are a few reasons why:

– EBay is automated with PayPal and PayPal can process shipping so it makes logistics of processing orders and shipping easy to handle.

– As an EBay seller you have a certain amount of protection against internet fraud. I have never been ripped off.

– Exposure is free with your listing on EBay.

However, EBay has made some recent changes which I believe has reduced my visibility and is resulting in zero sales. Before the revisions on EBay this summer I was selling about several shirts each month just from the exposure on EBay alone. Now I am selling none. I have been thinking of moving my product to my website and accepting payments through PayPal. Shipping would still be part of PayPal. But then I have to rely solely on the traffic on my website. So you can see the dilemma.

Another problem is the charges from EBay and PayPal combined. These fees can make selling on EBay for profit very difficult. That is why I only use one auction site. I do not wish to pay multiple fees for selling on different sites. Not to mention having to manage all of the item listings and ensuring stock for each auction site. Besides, as I said, EBay has the best exposure and popularity.

EBay is very competitive. Do your research by searching EBay for similar shirts that you are looking to sell. I bet you will be amazed at how cheap some shirts are offered for. The cost of shipping is always a negative factor in sales and may affect profit margins. Many EBay sellers offer free shipping even on a $9 shirt.

If you decide to use your own website and accept payments through PayPal, remember your sales will be directly determined by the amount of internet traffic that your website gets. I can tell you from experience; it is not easy to get people to visit your website.

I’ll be honest with you. I do not make any money selling shirts on EBay. It is more for website exposure and content. Google shows EBay listings in search results and by having them featured on my website it give my site more content which Google wants as well. You will need a wicked amount of money for web development and marketing if you want to seriously make money selling printed shirts online. And many online shirt printers offer free shipping.

Selling your custom printed garments locally at the flea market or swap meet will be the most lucrative. The only risk is knowing what to print and bring to sell. You have to know what will sell in order to print it without risk.

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The latest video from Catspit Productions has been uploaded to YouTube. This video features an old M&R Gauntlet automatic textile press.

Have you ever wondered about these types of automatics? Want to learn a little bit about them? Check out this video! See some of the differences between an automatic and a manual screen printing press.

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A new video will be uploaded tomorrow morning. This video is a short clip featuring an old M&R Gauntlet automatic textile screen printing press.

I have to admit. Working with his old all toggle switch unit is a lot of fun. This type of automatic press is pretty easy to use and does not require extensive knowledge of a computerized system. With newer machines, press functions can be difficult to find without a manual to guide you. Some presses employ a gear pattern type computer system where you access the computer menu through a series of tiers.

If you do not know where to find certain functions like a double stroke, double index or maybe some other special feature, it can be difficult to find them without the original operating manual to the press.

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The server that the Catspit website is hosted on will be undergoing upgrades and scheduled maintenance on September 19^th.

At some point during the day the website may be down and unavailable to visitors. This could last for about 2 to 3 hours but exactly when it will occur is unknown. Saturdays are very low traffic days in general and the down time should have relatively limited impact.

Catspit Productions apologizes for any inconvenience this website down time may cause and we hope you will continue to return to catspitproductionsllc.com in the future.

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When you use the Catspit site search function it is always best to search for your information with phrases and individual words as well.

For example if you would like to search outputting film you may search that phrase and it is a good idea to search it these ways too: film output, making film, creating film, film at home and finally just film.

Searching the website this way will give you the best results in finding all of the information related to film on the Catspit website. Follow this same procedure for any information you are looking for.

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A new video will be uploaded on Friday, September 18^th. This video will be a short presentation of an old M&R Gauntlet automatic press. Check out this classic all toggle switch operated pneumatic press.

Stay tuned to The Catspit Blog for more updates and video releases.

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I have to stop a moment to say thank you. Thanks to all of my YouTube subscribers and all of the visitors to the website. Thank you all very much!

The entire YouTube and Catspit website project began in January of this year. Things seem to be going pretty well. There is a very limited budget for the project and therefore there has been very little done in the form of advertising. However, the subject of screen printing is very popular on YouTube.

So the traffic from YouTube generally drives the traffic on the website. The two traffic numbers for each are correspondent. If YouTube is slow, the Catspit website is as well.

Good news! That is beginning to change. Now that the website is growing and building links on the internet, it is starting to draw its own traffic in addition to YouTube. Please help the Catspit Productions website grow; add http://catspitproductionsllc.com to your social networking page.

And remember, if you use MySpace, Facebook, Flikr or LinkedIn you can network with Catspit Productions by adding us as a friend or contact. Please share Catspit Productions with your social network!

Once again, thanks to everyone who watches the YouTube videos and visits the website. I hope to continue to add value to the Catspit project as a community forms around it.

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As a small screen printing shop I often find it difficult to fulfill all of the needs of my customers. My own equipment is limited in many ways and it is necessary to outsource certain jobs or work when I need to ensure the best value for my customer.

Above all customer satisfaction is my top priority. I want to provide the highest quality product at a very competitive price. But knowing when to outsource a print job is important. All screen printers will do it in one way or another. And eventually my shop will have all the tools and recourses to take on any job. For now, I accept that I will not be able to do certain print work as well as my subcontracted screen printer. But in the end, my customer is happy with the work and the price.

Outsourcing film can also be very helpful in the beginning stages of building your screen printing business. I am still working on getting my film output system up to par. It can be costly and time consuming. So I create as much of the film as I can myself. Anything that my film output system can’t handle, I will outsource. The trick is to get a price on outsourcing your film that is such that you do not have to raise your price to your customer at all. You can just proceed as normal with any job and if you need film made you just do it. It will lower your profit margin slightly but you will have a better product and a happy customer when it is done.

Remember, word of mouth is the single most effective form of advertising for small screen printers. Therefore, customer satisfaction is an absolute priority. Do what you need to do to make your customers happy. Even if you won’t make as much money because in the long run it will pay off.

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As we pass another anniversary for September 11^th 2001, let us not forget what we have lost. Remember the people who were pointlessly killed and the people who died trying to help those who were hurt or trapped. And let us remember those who helped and supported the survivors of this tragedy.

I think it is also important to remember the other things we lost that day in 2001. The naivety, the peace, the security and certain aspects of our freedom were also destroyed that day with an American icon of growth and prosperity.

Once upon a time I worked in a catalogue photography studio at the corner of 5^th Avenue and Broadway. Manhattan was my second home, the place where I earned a ridiculous amount of money for my age at the time. I miss the city. But I can never return.

Our country has suffered so much more from that incident. It has eaten away at the very core beliefs of our leaders. It has changed us. In many ways you can say the terrorists succeeded. They have altered the natural course of things here. But there is one thing they will never change; our sovereignty, our freedom to govern and worship as we wish. We will not be forced into any belief system or lifestyle.

I call to all Americans to unite, love, befriend, and celebrate your fellow Americans. Do not fight among ourselves. Do no harm to your fellow American citizen and by all means do positive things for all of America. Now more than ever, no matter your heritage, if you are an American citizen, be proud and be righteous. Be an American citizen who is responsible, helpful, courteous and loving to other Americans.

Unity is strength.

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