merchandise

[volvoguy]

On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 19:36:07 +0000, david <nux at blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:
> I would humbly refer you to the following design.
> http://www.gnome-look.org/content/show.php?content=17454
> Created by our very own Volvoguy.

Hey David! I'm honored. :-) You should check my site. I just uploaded
a new graphic that would probably be even cooler on a t-shirt! (no
overlapping of the logo and the earth)

> This is the design I put on a t-shirt, I used a grey t-shirt and it
> looks a bit crap, the colours sort of died against the grey.
> White t-shirts are ok but don't take long to look icky and unpleasant.

The process Cafepress uses is basically commercial quality, inkjet
printed iron-ons. I have a feeling that the durability depends on the
logo and the colors in it. I have a t-shirt that I made there almost
two years ago and it still looks great after lots of washings.


> The advantage of silk screens is the quality is better for colours and
> white can be put on black cloth and still be white.
> I would suggest you not use any supplier with a question mark over the
> quality. This is after all a high quality distribution and whilst I
> don't suggest we go to Saville Row, a little quality in the merchandise
> is essential. I would also suggest that the main focus of the design be
> the logo and name Ubuntu and that you steer clear of naked people.
> Just a few thoughts...

Definitely - silkscreening is THE way to go for the highest quality
t-shirts. Unfortunately I've never run across any services online that
do silkscreening AND do all the shipping/billing like Cafepress do. It
should also be noted that some of the Cafepress products (like coffee
mugs) can't be silkscreened in traditional ways (which most shops
still use). The flat screens just can't be curved around a mug. :-)


> (I know of a company locally who do silk screen printing, the bottom
> line is £25 per screen (1 screen per colour used) and approximately £5
> per shirt bought and printed. Of course this is based on a run of xx/xxx
> shirts. Comparisons show that all the silk screen companies have roughly
> the same price list, though some expect to retain ownership of the
> screens afterwards - obviously a no go in this case.)

Most silkscreening shops will give you a better price if you agree to
use them exclusively. That way saves them a lot of time, because
cleaning the screens for a new job is a messy and time consuming
process. (I've cleaned many screens in my life!) Personally I've not
seen any company that wants to own the screens afterward - they're
expensive (and therefore cleaned and reused frequently) and the screen
making process doesn't last forever - so they would need to clean and
recreate your screens regularly anyway.


Maybe this will turn out to be a good business opportunity for
someone. :-) Offer the same level of service as Cafepress, but make
higher quality products! Hey, can I borrow a few thousand dollars from
someone? hehe. :-)


-- 
Aaron

Ubuntu SVG Artwork - www.volvoguy.net/ubuntu
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Art, like morality, consists of drawing the line somewhere. ~ G.K. Chesterton