You know how you’re going to print your shirts. You have the equipment yourself or you know a print shop that will give you a good price. What you need is a design that sells.

 

The first thing you should do is research and buy t-shirts. The types of shirts that you find for sale at retail represent the types of shirts that sell well overall. Retail has tight margins and little room for risk.

 

Now, in general, there are classic categories of designs that almost always sell well. The local pride design for your state or local community. t shirt online bedrucken Something like that is a reliable seller. Equally cute designs and masculine designs like those based on rock album covers. Licensed artwork is also more of a sure thing, the commercial promotion for the cartoon or TV show will sell a t-shirt.

 

Next come the niche markets. Alternative band Misfits has a very reliable sales design since it’s their logo. Beer drinking and marijuana smoking are popular counterculture topics and will sell shirts. Funny or sardonic ideas expressed on t-shirts sell a t-shirt.

 

When it comes to niche markets, it’s good to go with your gut. If you’re a Christian, maybe your Christian t-shirts are just better – you know that. It doesn’t matter who you are, you are part of a subculture. If you love dogs, that’s a subculture. If you’re an atheist, republican or democrat – these all represent niche markets that sell t-shirts.

 

Well, chances are you don’t have the money to buy a license for commercial artwork. If you had the money to pay for a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle or Disney Snow White license, you would be less inclined to read this article.

 

So what are you doing? Look for a vacuum, an idea that MUST exist but doesn’t exist – it’s only a matter of time before maybe someone else does. That’s what you want to design around.

 

There’s a guy who made millions with a stick figure and a funny platitude. Anyone could have done it if they had thought of the platitude and stuck to it.

 

Now that you are making an investment, you cannot afford to take a huge risk. But you can still innovate. Keep in mind that popular themes for t-shirts are: civic pride, cute, masculine, commercial, and counterculture. If you can edit one of these themes and give it a fun twist, you can sell your shirts.

 

Yes, the idea is more important than the implementation. The challenge of design is that you can only know if it’s good if YOU love it, but just because you love it doesn’t mean others will. So you should come up with several ideas for t-shirts, draw them and test them on people. They’ll tell you which ones are good, you’ll know for sure when they offer to pre-order a design they want so badly.

 

So, I’m a graphics pro. An idea strong enough will sell even a poorly designed t-shirt – but a well-designed t-shirt with the same idea will sell better.

 

For the sake of argument, let’s say you’re an artist and you’ve decided to create a Snow White design, but not the Disney version – the version you might find at an erotic dance club, an “r” rated Snow White – maybe Work in a street interpretation of “snow” and also imply a drug habit. It takes a classic theme and gives it a counterculture twist. It could sell to hip boys and girls. After all, “Snow White” is a public domain fairy tale, not owned by Disney.

 

I can’t explain the commercial creative process to you that closely. Take something that’s already popular and do something different with it. Such concepts could reach a critical mass and make a lot of money. A designer has become very wealthy selling T-shirts with images of cute dogs, but drawn in a distorted style close to the tradition of Japanese cartoons. Cute dogs are always popular and this designer has added a little twist to the theme.

 

Well, if you’re not an artist, you could create the design using a photo of a model dressed up as Snow White dancing erotically. Just think of public standards – of course. You want to sell a lot of t-shirts and not limit yourself to adult bookstores.

 

So if the photo or drawing goes on the shirt, can it just go anywhere? Is the rectangle of the photo or the paper the drawing is on part of the design? Can the design be used on shirts of any color?

 

There are rules of thumb for all of these questions.

First remove the rectangles. The rectangle represents the medium the image is on, paper. If the image is on a t-shirt, the t-shirt is the media that the image is on. The image almost always looks best when the t-shirt itself serves as a border, or a shape that doesn’t oppose the fluid shape of the shirt—perhaps a circle. Sure, some designs work well in rectangles printed on t-shirts, so this is a rule of thumb.

 

Where should the design be placed? The design should usually take up as much space as possible. The left breast and middle breast designs should of course be small, but other than that, bigger is better. Designs don’t have to be front and center, but front and center is always safe when not front and center – left or right on one shoulder can look cool. Designs should generally be near the center or top of the shirt, but there are always exceptions.

 

Should the design fit on a colored or white shirt? It’s usually cheaper and easier to print on a white t-shirt. But colored t-shirts are also very popular and people pay extra for one. The color of the tea should not be arbitrary. This is the difference between a generic t-shirt and a designed garment – in a designed garment, the t-shirt itself is part of the design. People know that, just not consciously. When you use the color of the t-shirt as a design element – the sea is the blue of the shirt, the sunset red is the red of the shirt, the black line is the black of the shirt, etc. – tie in the shirt to suggest the design and overall impact the shirt has a high value – especially compared to shirts that don’t take this into account.

 

There is also color theory. A blue design will be harmonious on a green shirt, bright on an orange shirt, and a pleasant contrast on a warm yellow shirt. So one design can become three different designs depending on the color of the shirt you are wearing. The shirt itself is part of the design. Remember that warm colors (red, orange, yellow) are “energetic” and cool colors (blue, green, purple) are generally calming.

 

A white shirt with colored ribbons on the collar and sleeves is great for working. Repeat the color of the ribbon in your design and the design really does look like it was made specifically for this shirt. These shirts are also easy to print on, at least they are white.

 

Should you buy shirts in three colors and print them all? It’s been proven that too much choice can cripple decision-making, so you’re not risking much by limiting your customers’ choices. In practice, it’s probably easier to buy the bulk of the solid color shirt. So choose a color that best suits the design.

 

Eight things to consider when shopping for reunion t-shirts

 

When planning a reunion (or any other event) for the coming year, you have a million decisions to make. An important decision is what to provide for a keepsake. The goal is to make the reunion a fun, relaxed, carefree time (with high attendance and involvement) that is enjoyed by all. Making memorabilia as meaningful and personal as possible can be a motivator for participation, so it’s important to offer attendees something that is stylish, functional and affordable.

 

Custom printed reunion t-shirts and caps are popular choices for keepsakes because they have all of the above qualities. When ordering for a large group it’s important to keep costs down while getting quality merchandise and planning is key.

 

It doesn’t take much imagination to think of the problems that can arise when ordering custom t-shirts for a large group. Talk to a reunion planner and they’ll likely agree that ordering shirts for a large group can be a challenge. I’m sure if you talked to enough planners you would hear stories of misspelled names printed on shirts or where planners didn’t order enough shirts to distribute. More was heard of planners waiting until the last minute to order, tearing their hair out trying to find a “quick” printing service with overnight delivery.

 

Each group has its own way of selecting these articles and distributing them to the members. The main message is to plan as early as possible and consider more than one factor (not just price) when choosing shirts for your group. Here are some tips; Especially if you’re new to planning reunions, this can save you both money and a headache.

 

When looking at t-shirts, think about your group and your budget first. What does your group like in terms of style, quality, colors, etc.? How much can you spend per shirt? Search catalogs and online for shirts that you think fit your needs.

 

When looking at shirts, consider fabric weight, available colors and sizes, shipping cost, volume discounts, production cost (including graphic cost), and base price.

 

Fabric weight.

The weight gives an indication of the number of ounces per meter of material. For example, you may see a 5.4 oz. 100% cotton shirt. This means that the shirt offers 5.4 ounces per meter of fabric and is a lighter material than a shirt that weighs 6.1 ounces, for example. The 5.4 oz shirt is a high quality, mid-weight shirt that works well in hotter temperatures. Considered a premium shirt, the 6.1 ounce shirt is absorbent while retaining more warmth. With a cotton shirt, it’s good to make sure it’s pre-shrunk to minimize shrinkage in the wash.

 

Colors and sizes are important in terms of price. Colored shirts tend to be more expensive than white shirts. Some shirts have mid-range prices for “heathered” colors, such as Heather gray, ash gray, etc. So if you’re looking for ways to cut costs without sacrificing quality, consider buying white (or heather/neutral) shirts. In many cases, shirts larger than extra large (XL) cost more per shirt. Large sizes are also extra in many cases. In addition, not all models of shirts are available in large and large sizes.

 

If you need to offer shirts for a wide range of sizes, there are a few shirt lines that carry “companion” shirts for men, women and children, available in a range from youth to plus and large. Don’t mix brands if possible, choose shirts from the same brand with a wide range of sizes to keep colors consistent. When choosing your shirt, pay attention to the available sizes and any additional costs for determining the size.

 

Delivery Time And Costs

Can increase costs enormously. Planning ahead and ordering on time make delivery a breeze. Most companies offer expedited shipping, which includes overnight delivery and 2 or 3 day delivery… for a hefty fee. The shorter the delivery time, the more you pay.

 

Don’t assume that the moment you click the submit button on your online order or when you place your order over the phone, the delivery clock will start ticking. For example, if a company says production time is seven days, don’t assume that you can order seven days before your event and have shirts in hand to distribute.

 

The production time is the time it takes to print the item and it is completely independent of the delivery time. Production time is expressed in business days and usually excludes weekends, public holidays and peak periods when the printer has more items to print. Once the item is produced (printed), it leaves the factory via UPS, US Mail, FedEx, etc. for delivery to your location. Depending on your location and the service you select, it may take up to ten additional days for your packages to arrive.

 

Also, it may take some time for the printer to make any changes needed to get your art file camera ready. Plan to order t-shirts (and other custom printed items) at least 2-3 months before the date of your event. If in doubt, ask your printer.

 

Volume Discount

Usually apply to larger orders. The more items you order, the more you save. This is the tricky part of ordering t-shirts for a group that most people don’t think about until they’re actually ready to order.

 

How many adult sizes small, medium, large etc do you order? How many youth small, medium and large do you order? How many plus and plus sizes do you order? Do you estimate crowds and sizes and hope for the best, or poll your group to determine what they want?

 

A rule of thumb when ordering a group is to allow enough time (there’s that word again) to gather information to help you make a decision. It is important to know as early as possible how many people want t-shirts, how many and what sizes for each person, including any children (teens, youngsters and toddlers) who may be attending your event.

 

Sending out surveys or order forms early gives you concrete numbers that make it easier to determine what is needed and allows you to take advantage of volume discounts. It also prevents you from being left with a large number of shirts or worse, not having enough for everyone after the reunion. You can order a few extras for unplanned guests who show up at the last minute. But at least you don’t order 200 shirts and stay with 100 or vice versa.

 

Production Costs

Include the base price of the item (the shirt), the cost of setting up the equipment, the running cost, and the graphic cost.

 

Setup fees are the costs associated with setting up equipment to print graphics on your shirts or other items. There is usually a setup fee for each color and location in your imprint. Because as part of the printing process, multicolored designs must be separated into four colors (CMYK) cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black). You will be billed for the resources required to set each of these colors. This process must also be performed for each location in your legal notice. When choosing a shirt, consider the setup fee for printing your items, the number of digits you want your imprint, and the number of colors in your imprint (up to four) and start adding. The cost of multi-color imprints in multiple places can add up very quickly.

 

To save on print production costs, you can consider monochrome printing or reduce the colors to fewer than four. You might also consider having your legal notice in one place.

 

The artwork can be your own design, as simple as your reunion name and date to a complex graphic design, logo, family crest or emblem. Most printers have in-stock design or graphic design services, from supplying simple lettering to full-service design. If you have an artistic person in your group, solicit their services or hold a logo contest and select judges from your group to determine which design to use. Another option would be to hire your own graphic designer.

 

Artwork evidence.

It is best to request a proof of your print before your artwork is complete (if hiring a paid professional) and after it has been received from your printer, before your shirts go into print production. Some companies provide proofs for free, others charge a fee. Most companies will fax or email a proof showing the layout and wording of your legal notice. In my opinion, proofs are worth every penny you spend on them because you can make sure everything is spelled correctly and arranged the way you want it.

 

With most printers it is your responsibility to ensure artwork is correct and they cannot be held responsible for spelling mistakes or layout problems afterwards. Don’t assume they will offer proof, but make sure you ask for it. To make sure your imprint comes out the way you want it, have several people in your group proofread it to make sure it’s okay before you give the go-ahead for the final product to be printed.

 

T-Shirt Funding.

How will you pay for your t-shirts and other reunion souvenirs? One option is to take orders and get payment before we meet again, in time to place your order. Upon arrival for the reunion, everyone will receive the t-shirt (probably along with other goodies) in a nice little packet with other reunion information such as programs, maps, etc. This option offers the best opportunity to get the right number of shirts and sizes needed determine. and you can take advantage of volume discounts.

 

Another option is to include jersey prices in the reunion fees for the year. Make the contributions high enough that you have enough money to order shirts about two or three months before the reunion. Anyone who pays reunion fees or levies gets a shirt.

 

You can always use money from fundraisers that take place throughout the year to pay for the shirts. In fact, t-shirts, hats, videos of t shirt bedrucken past reunions, cookbooks, keychains, buttons, and other items are great fundraising tools. They can be sold before, during, or between reunions to keep the cash flowing. Put nostalgic photos from the “good old days” on items and sell them for a small fee. The key is to find items that are priced low enough to buy so you can make a profit, and an attractive design that sells.

 

Sometimes local companies and even national chains buy advertising space in programs or on t-shirts in exchange for advertising. If your reunion group is large enough, it might be worth speaking to companies that serve tourists. You can place an ad with your group and offset some of the cost of printing your shirts.

 

These are some ideas for planning and saving on t-shirts and other custom printed items. We have a range of quality shirts and other items available online now. Take advantage of our website packed with reunion clothing and other promotional items for every need. It’s never too early to start planning and ordering.