offshore t-shirt printing

mawso · June 07, 2011, 04:29:04 AM

ok this is kinda a long shot.. but it's worth asking

does anyone here knew anything about getting t-shirts printed for cheap overseas?

from my travelling i know that in countries like thailand they sell pretty good quality t-shirts for between $3-$7 - and that's the retail price for tourists - so obviously to make up a batch in bulk it'd cost em a lot less. however i can't seem to find if there are any places that will do it.

Lumpy · June 07, 2011, 07:17:10 PM

Shipping is the thing that probably hurts with long distance deals. You want a local printer if possible, who buys those cheap shirts in bulk. Isn't 4 or 5 bucks a shirt pretty typical deal, for a 1 color print on a black or white shirt? You wanna go lower than that?

rayinreverse · June 07, 2011, 11:14:12 PM

Economy of scale also plays a huge factor.
I doubt you plan on making a 1000 gross t-shirt order.

mawso · June 08, 2011, 01:44:25 AM

Quote from: Lumpy on June 07, 2011, 07:17:10 PM
Shipping is the thing that probably hurts with long distance deals. You want a local printer if possible, who buys those cheap shirts in bulk. Isn't 4 or 5 bucks a shirt pretty typical deal, for a 1 color print on a black or white shirt? You wanna go lower than that?

$12 for one colour on back and one colour on the front is kinda typical for a 50 shirt deal here

not the least bit surprised to hear it's way more affordable in america - seems like most things are, until you get sick

Lumpy · June 08, 2011, 05:49:56 AM

Oh, I didn't know your location, or forgot. In the US, the printers seem to be dying to work, and will do it cheap. If there is any kind of Craigs List or online bulletin board for your area, that would be a good place to look.

Here's a place in Springfield Illinois (home of the Simpsons?) 407 dollars for 100 shirts. One sided print. You usually pay extra for nicer shirts (Hanes Beefy Tees or whatever) and extra for small orders (more per shirt). I didn't look too closely at the website, but there are lots of places like this in the US.

http://www.primomerch.com/

neighbor664 · June 10, 2011, 12:49:43 PM

Don't go the cheap route. Get quality name brand shirts. Employ a small local printer that knows their craft.

If you want to cut costs, keep your design simple, negotiate, maybe pick up to avoid shipping costs,etc.

Remember your band's shirts are a physical extension of your music. Do you want a cheap, flimsy sweatshop dishrag to represent your music?

I think skimping shows a lack of respect of your audience.

Collaborate with other creative people for your merch when possible.

mawso · June 11, 2011, 02:06:15 AM

Quote from: neighbor664 on June 10, 2011, 12:49:43 PM
Don't go the cheap route. Get quality name brand shirts. Employ a small local printer that knows their craft.

If you want to cut costs, keep your design simple, negotiate, maybe pick up to avoid shipping costs,etc.

Remember your band's shirts are a physical extension of your music. Do you want a cheap, flimsy sweatshop dishrag to represent your music?

I think skimping shows a lack of respect of your audience.

Collaborate with other creative people for your merch when possible.

I have t-shirts I bought overseas that I've worn regularly for 15 years and they're still going

cheers

black_out · June 11, 2011, 10:28:47 AM

I'm with you. I don't like the assumption that a product made in Southeast Asia is automatically inferior. I think that stems from the fact that most companies are having products manufactured to a price point rather than to a quality standard. If you go to a company in Taiwan and ask them for a product @X dollars per piece, you're going to get what you pay for.

I'm curious to hear about it if you ever find a place Mawso. I don't think it's such a big issue for us here in the states(I can get 2 color shirts for screened for about $5 a shit), but you never know.

neighbor664 · June 11, 2011, 11:34:12 AM

Assuming the quality is identical,..........BUY LOCAL!
Support screen printers in your area struggling to get by in this economy.
Do I really have to explain that one to you?

black_out · June 11, 2011, 12:32:01 PM

Quote from: neighbor664 on June 11, 2011, 11:34:12 AM
Assuming the quality is identical,..........BUY LOCAL!
Support screen printers in your area struggling to get by in this economy.
Do I really have to explain that one to you?

it's so obvious you really didn't even need to say it.

mawso · June 12, 2011, 02:30:13 AM

Quote from: neighbor664 on June 11, 2011, 11:34:12 AM
Assuming the quality is identical,..........BUY LOCAL!
Support screen printers in your area struggling to get by in this economy.
Do I really have to explain that one to you?

I don't see why a struggling printer from Melbourne is more deserving of our business than a struggling printer from Cambodia, or California. The local guys are all going to be printing on shirts made in lower wage countries anyway. Our economy is doing pretty okay, I'm sure if the local dudes were really struggling there'd be much better deals on offer. If the prices here were more reasonable I wouldn't even be thinking about ordering from overseas.

I buy some of my music gear from the US/the UK, over the internet, because it's WAY cheaper than what local dudes can do - most gigging musicians here do the same. Why should band merch be any different?