T-shirt printing at home. How to make a print on a T-shirt: step by step instructions, necessary materials, tips, photos

The video narrates and depicts how to use ordinary printer and unusual cheap paper print the image on the T-shirt/fabric. In this way, the picture will last many, many washes and will not deteriorate.
Price thermal transfer paper: about 10 c.u. for 10 sheets.

If you are planning to seriously engage in thermal transfer, then you need a press, if it is still a hobby or a test of the pen, then an iron will do.

Thermal transfer happens:

— Laser

— Stencil

- With film

- Inkjet

jet transfer

It means printing on inkjet printers. Moreover, if this is a household inkjet printer with conventional ink, then printing is done on special paper, which has a coating into which ink is embedded, then the paper, if necessary, is cut along the contour of the pattern, applied to the fabric with the image down and ironed. There is even paper for dark fabrics.

The advantages of this method include availability and low cost. All other indicators are solid flaws. The image is unstable, the colors quickly fade and wash out. To the touch, the pattern is rough and "rubber".

Sublimation (the second way to print with an inkjet printer)

Sublimation is the process of the transition of a substance from a solid state to a gaseous state, bypassing the liquid phase. There are various sublimation inks that are poured into an inkjet printer in CISS or refillable cartridges, and the printer must be of the EPSON brand due to the design of its print heads.

After that, a mirror image is printed on paper, dried and with the help of a press (an iron is unlikely to help here) is transferred to an object with a polymer (synthetics) content of more than 70%. The paper can be ordinary, but when transferring about 30% of the ink will not transfer, and the image will turn out dull, it is best to take special sublimation paper or, in extreme cases, any matte photo paper.

As for sublimation printing on T-shirts, you don’t even have to try to transfer sublimation to cotton fabric - even if it does, it won’t stick.
For natural fabrics, as well as for dark fabrics, there are special films that you first weld onto the fabric, as if getting a substrate, and then sublimate it.

This transfer method is perhaps the most resistant to washing. Advantages - high image stability, relative cheapness of the "start". Disadvantages - you need a separate printer, the impossibility of printing on dark fabrics without the use of films, you need a heat press, insufficient resistance to light.
Scope - production of flags, sportswear. Production of metal plates (special metal, recommended for indoor use), plates (special plate, a special press is needed) and mugs (a special coated mug is needed, a mug press).

Transfer from laser printer

Has a lot of advantages. For laser transfer, you need a color laser printer (black and white is unlikely to work, due to the high temperature of the oven) and special transfer paper.

Papers are usually divided by brand of printer and by purpose.

Paper for light fabrics - suitable for light cotton and synthetic fabrics, the latter is better to hold on to. The image is printed "in a mirror".

Dark fabric paper - the image is printed directly, after which the paper is divided into 2 parts - the substrate, which is thrown away and a thin white film with a printed image, and then welded in a press or iron.

Substrate for dark fabric - here the situation is similar to sublimation - first we transfer to a special substrate, and then transfer everything together to the fabric. The backing has an interesting velvet finish, but feels rougher to the touch. Also suitable for sublimation.

Hard surface transfer paper - an amazing possibility of laser transfer - image transfer to ceramics, wood, metal, glass, plastic, etc. Moreover, these materials can be without special coatings, however, to some extent to the detriment of image stability.
Here you definitely need a press and a special mat, which is placed on top and ensures uniform crimping of the product. By the way, this method is often used to make ritual ovals on monuments, but the durability of the image is about a year in the sun.

Very interesting paper "cold decal" - before there were such decals that fell into the water and then transferred, say, to the refrigerator? Here, it's almost the same, only printed on a laser printer! As you can see, you don't need a press.
So many people transfer pictures to candles, plates, mugs and any other items. Paper is available for both light and dark surfaces.
If you need to achieve image stability, then bake the product in the oven - 15 minutes at 180C.

The advantages of transferring from a laser printer: firstly, there are a lot of options, secondly, we use a “regular” color laser printer on which you can earn good money on operational printing, and thirdly, you can almost always get by with an iron at the initial stage.

And of course, the availability of ready-made media - mouse pads, puzzles, watches and more. Disadvantages - we get a souvenir item, which is still not intended for long-term use.

For the image transferred to a light fabric, about 40 hand washes at 40C are declared. For dark fabrics, durability is higher, but paper is noticeably more expensive. For example, an A4 sheet for a light fabric costs about 18 rubles, and for a dark one the same format is already more than 100 rubles. "cold decal", regardless of the color of the substrate - about 80 rubles. for a similar list.
With all this, profitability remains very good, the main thing is to correctly set up the process.

Screen Transfer

The image is printed with the same screen process, with the same inks, but in mirror order and on special paper. When necessary, it is transferred to the fabric.
It seems that everything is simple, but what do we get - since we print on paper and not on fabric, we can use cheap manual one-color machines, even home-made ones. In case of marriage during printing, we lose only paper (about 1 euro per sheet 70x100 cm), and not fabric.
We can print "in reserve" and transfer if necessary.
We can finally print cool creative pictures and then sell them, or vice versa, buy ready-made ones and only deal with transferring (there are a lot of examples of such a business, from clothing manufacturers, especially for children, to salons for transferring images to a T-shirt of the client’s choice).
Image durability with this transfer method is identical to direct screen printing!

Films

Everything is simple here - we have a film with an adhesive layer, which is melted in the press and glued to the fabric.
If everything is done correctly and the correct version of the film is selected, then the bond is extremely strong, you can boil, dry clean, rub and wrinkle. Films can be welded on top of each other, of different colors, obtaining simple color images.
Films are smooth or velvet (flock).
The color range can be quite extensive, including fluorescent colors, metallics and reflective films.
Often the film is divided into ordinary and more expensive, for fabrics with water-repellent impregnation (umbrellas, raincoats, bags, etc.)

Modern fashion trends are increasingly conducive to bright multi-colored patterns, bold decisions in clothing. Choosing an individual color scheme and original design in your personal wardrobe is a great way to express yourself and a kind of message to others about the essence of your personality. Ready-to-wear is not to everyone's taste, although there is now an incredibly rich and varied selection of various clothing items. Many people prefer to personalize their own look with their own hands, decorating and altering ready-made clothes according to their tastes and preferences. In most cases, this applies to light T-shirts and T-shirts that can be decorated with original prints. Moreover, this can be done not only in specialized firms, but also at home with your own hands. Consider how to make a print on a T-shirt with your own hands.

Paint selection

In order to make a high-quality print on clothes, it would be better to use acrylic-based indelible dyes. They have very bright and saturated shades, are very easy to use and are incredibly resistant to fading. The skilful combination of acrylic spray paint, water-based spray paint, and liners for drawing the contours of the picture when applying the print will create an exceptional product with a beautiful image of a fashionable design or an original t-shirt lettering.

A creative approach to decorating a simple plain t-shirt will make you the owner of a unique piece. We offer lovers of creativity and people with a well-developed imagination to make an interesting pattern on a T-shirt. So, how to make a high-quality print on a T-shirt?

Drawing on a T-shirt at home

Even without special skills, with the help of special tools you can give clothes a unique style and a bright personality. Consider two ways of drawing a pattern on a fabric - using a stencil and using a nodular technique. They can be used not only separately, but also in close combination with each other. For dyeing, a T-shirt is taken from natural material - cotton, silk, linen, or the product should contain no more than 20% synthetics. If the T-shirt is new, it should be washed before dyeing to remove softening additives.

Necessary tools

To create a unique attire, you will need a few improvised means. You will need the following support materials:


Knot staining technique

How to make a print on a T-shirt at home using knot technique? Step-by-step instructions involve the implementation of several phased actions:


As you can see, it is quite easy to make a print on a T-shirt yourself using the knot technique. In addition, such a procedure is quite accessible to everyone at home. But it should be remembered that such a T-shirt can only be washed by hand in water at a temperature of no more than 30 degrees, after turning the product inside out.

With thermal transfer paper

Printing on a T-shirt with thermal transfer paper is even easier. This technique is quite convenient to use, and the result will undoubtedly please the owner of an exclusive thing, decorated by him with his own hand.

To create a print, you need to prepare:

  • T-shirt (white)
  • thermal transfer paper;
  • iron.

First, decide what kind of print you want. Before you print a picture, turn it in the mirror direction. This is done so that as a result, when applied to the fabric, you get not a mirror image, but the correct display. This rule is especially important if your image has text captions.

Lay the T-shirt out on the ironing board. flatten the fabric. Take paper with a pattern printed on it. Next, cut out the image along the contour.

Then lay the paper on the fabric pattern side down. Next, turn on the iron, choosing the highest power. Then iron the paper for four to five minutes.

After that, leave the product for seven minutes to cool down. Remove the paper, it is no longer needed. Remove it carefully so that the image on the surface of the thing is not damaged.

Of course, over time, such a print will lose its presentable appearance. But sooner or later it happens to everything.

Stencil staining technique

Now let's try to master another simple technique. Next, we will tell you how to make a print on a T-shirt using a stencil.


Selection of a pattern for print

When wondering what kind of print can be made on a T-shirt, it should be noted that the pattern should not be very technically complicated. Otherwise, it will be extremely difficult to cut a good stencil and make a clear painting of the details. It should be more of a schematic drawing than a work of art. And here your imagination will come to your aid.

Let's finally give some useful tips when applying prints to clothes:


Conclusion

So, making a print on a T-shirt at home is not difficult. You will be free to experiment with your wardrobe, giving your clothes an elegant look and realizing your creative thoughts and ideas. Having practiced on simple T-shirts, you can also transform boring clothes, giving them a second life and enriching your wardrobe with new extravagant accessories.

There are a lot of options for what exactly can be done using only your golden hands and imagination. Let's dwell on T-shirt. To do this, you need to prepare the most ordinary cotton T-shirt, and then proceed according to simple rules, for the embodiment conceived in.
1. First you need to decide what should be shown on the T-shirt. A drawing can characterize both a person’s personality and his professional sphere, contain just a comic drawing or a self-portrait, there are many options.
2. With good artistic ability, you can easily create a drawing yourself. But if this is not your element, do not despair - you can find a great many pictures on the Internet, as well as in magazines or books. It should be noted that the paper on which the drawing is applied must be thick. It is important that the color scheme of the pattern is in harmony with the color of the T-shirt and its texture.
3. Make two stencils. Taking the first of them, carefully cut out the pattern along the contour.
4. Those parts that are supposed to be in a different color should be cut out on the second stencil.
5. To apply a pattern to a T-shirt, you will need an ultra-resistant paint that can withstand washing and will not blur. As a rule, such paints are fixed by ironing. Put on gloves so you don't get paint on your hands. Before applying paint, flatten the surface of the T-shirt using a sheet of cardboard. And finally, we apply the first to the selected place on the fabric and paint over it with the desired color.
6. After waiting for the paint to dry, lay out the second stencil and also paint over it with a different color. We wait for the paint to dry completely, fix the drawing with an iron and that's it, the masterpiece is ready!
There is another way to apply a picture using special paper and an inkjet printer.
First you need to purchase the necessary materials. In addition to the T-shirt, we need special paper for inkjet printers, with which we make transfers to things. We chose AVERY 3275 8 1/2"" x 11"" paper. You will also need a color inkjet printer and an iron.
Let's start writing a drawing, after which it is necessary to turn it in a mirror image. The photograph can be prepared in .
We print on normal, choosing the mode with the best quality. Then you should carefully cut the pattern along the contours.
After that, on a T-shirt that has been ironed in advance, we put the inverted workpiece and begin to iron it, avoiding sudden movements, the ironing time is about one to two minutes. Then we wait until our application cools down to room temperature and proceed to removal, for this you can take tweezers, or simply pry with your nails.
As it turned out, making a picture on a T-shirt is quite simple! After a few simple manipulations, we get an unsurpassed result. And most importantly, an original designer thing came out of the simplest little thing.

The life of modern man is firmly connected with the diverse and colorful world of fabrics. We choose clothes, interior items and upholstered furniture according to our taste, their design and colors are, as it were, an external continuation of our “I”. Fashionable, stylish clothes or interior design of an apartment is not only a way of self-expression of a person, a comfortable living environment, but also a kind of “message” about his personality to other people. Not always our tastes can be satisfied with finished products from the store. In this case, special paints for fabrics come to the aid of a person. Modern coloring means allow you to realize your most daring fantasies.

Do-it-yourself drawing on fabric has long ceased to be exotic. Often, for dyeing fabrics, aqueous solutions of dyes are used with the involvement of a variety of chemicals, heat treatment, and so on. However, at home this is not always convenient. We believe that the best solution for doing fabric dyeing at home, especially for beginners but wanting to try their hand at this kind of creativity, is to use acrylic-based indelible dyes, which are easy to use, bright, rich colors and excellent fade resistance. Combining fabric dyes such as acrylic spray paint, water-based spray paint, liners for line drawings, fabric pastel, for coloring, will help to create a truly interesting, fashionable design for your clothes, home decoration or upholstered furniture. A creative approach will help you make a real masterpiece of creativity out of a faded T-shirt or an ottoman that has lost its original appearance.


How to draw on a T-shirt?

In the first part of our article, we will tell you how, using the simplest tools and dyes for fabrics, and even without special skills, you can fantastically change your clothes, giving it a unique, individual style!

Consider the process of applying a pattern to a fabric with aerosol dyes using the example of a regular T-shirt of a uniform color. We will tell you how to give an interesting texture to the fabric of a T-shirt using the so-called "knot technique", and how to apply an original pattern to it using a stencil. Note that these two methods of working with fabric can be used both separately and perfectly combined with each other.
The T-shirt may be new or used, it is only important that it be made from natural textiles (cotton, silk, etc.) or, in the case of mixed fabrics, include no more than 20% synthetics. We recommend washing a new T-shirt before dyeing to remove softening additives.


What do you need to dye a T-shirt at home?

Step_3 Lay out the T-shirt horizontally on a level surface. Carefully cover the area around the painting with old newspapers or a special covering film, fix the covering material with masking tape.

Step_4 Carefully attach the stencil to the T-shirt using double-sided tape or spray adhesive for temporary fixation. Try to ensure that the stencil fits as closely as possible to the fabric. Note that it is aerosol glue that provides the maximum tightness.

Step_5 Before starting work, shake the paint in the aerosol can well; shake it for at least 30 seconds. Apply spray paint in smooth, circular motions. For better coloring of the material, it is desirable to apply the paint at least 2 times, allowing the previous layer to dry for 10 minutes.

Step_7 Just like in the “knot technique”, you can apply patterns, ornaments or inscriptions in the form of clear, dense lines to the drawing created using a stencil using colored liners containing water-based textile paint.

Now that you've got the basics of working with fabric dyes at home using a simple t-shirt as an example, you can start experimenting with your clothes to give them an unusual, dressy look. We are sure that your imagination, multiplied by the almost limitless possibilities of a multi-color palette of paints for fabrics, will surely create interesting samples of creative thought.

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The same in large quantities, then in most cases the silk screen method is used. Silk screen printing is printing with the help of a bright and clear pattern. Silk-screen printing gives the most saturated color, as a large layer of paint is applied to it.

When particularly high quality is required, and volumes are expected to be small, thermal transfer is the best way to apply a design to a T-shirt. A thin vinyl film with a pattern is transferred to the fabric. Under the influence of high temperature (about 200 degrees Celsius), the film is embedded in the fabric, so the image is of high quality and durable.

The highest print quality on T-shirt gives the sublimation method. True, sublimation has an important drawback. You can only print on light colors using this method. The quality of the transferred drawing leaves no doubt - when applying it, two effects are used at once, first, temperature (160 degrees Celsius), and secondly, chemical - special sublimation paints react. Such an image is neither after washing nor after long use. In fact, the life of the printed product is equal to the life of the product itself.

Helpful advice

If you need to get a large batch of T-shirts with high-quality graphics at a relatively low price, choose the silk-screen printing method. This is excellent quality, fast results, low cost. If, on the contrary, you only need to make one or two t-shirts, then it is best to use the thermal transfer method. Sublimation is a method that will provide the highest quality and durability of the pattern.

Sources:

  • drawing on t-shirts
  • do-it-yourself t-shirt printing

Printing on a T-shirt can be applied in one of 4 existing ways. Some allow you to get an image at home, some only in industrial production.

Recently, printed t-shirts have become very popular. This one, decorated with a drawing or an inscription, can be worn by yourself, or you can give it as a gift or even organize production for subsequent sale. Fabric printing technologies are constantly evolving to produce a coveted image of rich, vibrant color that won't fade or fade over time.

Existing printing technologies

1. Printing on the fabric itself by means of a special.
2. Printing on paper with subsequent transfer of the image to the fabric using a thermal press.
3. Thermal transfer: silkscreen printing on fabric.
4. Thermal application.

Features of each of them

With the advent of special textile printers, it became possible to apply any image you like to clothes. You just need to put a T-shirt on a special movable table of the device and get a print. In the future, to fix the paint, it must be dried with a special device or under a heat press. However, this method allows you to print only on a white T-shirt: for printing on a color T-shirt, an additional white substrate is required under the design. The advantages of this method include fast preparation for printing, high resolution, the ability to select an inscription and a picture. Among the shortcomings, it is worth mentioning the high cost of the print and the high time costs. This method is justified only if you need to process a small number of T-shirts.

The second technology is carried out in two ways: the sublimation printing method and the method called "magic touch". In the first method, printing is applied to paper with special ink, then the paper is pressed against the fabric at high temperatures, and the T-shirt is dyed in the desired color. But this printing method is only applicable to polyester products. In the second method, the picture is printed on a special film, and then glued to the fabric under a heat press. This printing method is applicable to cotton products.

Thermal application involves cutting the film on a plotter and then assembling multi-color pictures. The resulting application is glued