Best Women's T-Shirts

The most popular brands of stylish women's T-Shirts I sell are Bella and American Apparel. Both offer a great looking scoop neck cotton T with cap sleeves.



This is the American Apparel version pictured here, style number #4321. The very similar Bella scoop neck T-Shirt is style number #1003, which can be seen on my web catalog by clicking the catalog button and searching for Bella 1003.

The American Apparel shirt is a bit cheaper that the Bella.

With the American Apparel, I can print 100 white shirts with a one color print for 5.25 per shirt. One hundred color shirts with a one color print are 5.95 per shirt with a dark color ink, and 6.25 per shirt with a light color ink. The one time set up fee of $35.00 for film and screen is extra.

The Bella is just a bit more expensive, and they have the advantage of not being owned by Dov Charney, but that is a whole other story!

While these are great prices, I note that I do not compete on price. I'm all about quality and service. I promise great printing and attention to detail. For example, I printed all of Margaret Cho's tour shirts from '99 to 2007. When Margaret was on tour and need another 400 shirt to magically appear at her next date in two days, I made it happen. That's what it's all about!

Steve Lafler
Manx Media

How to Print Photos on T-Shirts

Who is the guy in this photo and what is he doing here??? Why, it's Ben Tanzer, writer of novels and short stories. He is also the publisher of This Blog Will Change Your Life.



I reproduce Ben's photo here as it's a good example of a photo that is good for screen printing. Why? Because it has a strong composition and high contrast. Here is how to screen print a photo or an illustrated continuous tone image as a halftone.

You want to use a high mesh count screen. I'd recommend a 305 mesh, but anything over 240 mesh will work. You will coat and expose your screen as usual. The key is to get your image on a film positive that will successfully reproduce the image.

Open the image in Photoshop and load your laser printer with clear vellum. Do not try to print a halftone film positive from an ink jet printer unless you have the proper rip software that can tell the printer how to make a halftone dot!

In Photoshop, go to color settings. Set the dot gain for 30%. Commercial printers usually set the dot gain at 20%, but T-Shirt printers set it at 30%.

Go to print the clear vellum, and when you get the print dialog box, open the screen dialog box. Set the screen frequency at 55 lines per inch. Set the dot shape to round if you are using a laser printer. Print the image to the clear vellum. This is your film positive and you can use it to burn your screen.

Try your normal exposure time. When developing the screen, use medium water pressure. If you hit the screen with too much pressure, you may blow out your half tone dots.

If the screen clogs, try again with a shorter exposure time. If the image washes ohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifut, increase your exposure time.

While printing, be sure to do some test prints before running shirts. Print on fabric test squares or newsprint to proof. Try one firm stroke -- sometimes two is too much and can blob your ink when printing halftones. It depends on the screen. If you are using a 305 mesh screen, it's more likely you can use two strokes than if you are using a 240.

Good Luck!

Steve Lafler
Manx Media

Ben Tanzer's new book is My Father's House. You can get it here.

How to Make Spot Color Separations for T-Shirts

Let's assume you have created a multi-color design that you'd like to print on a T-Shirt. Typically, the design has elements of color, logos, typography and perhaps illustration. You probably used Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop to create the design.

This technique works great on line art with spot colors.

Here is a simple technique for separating the colors so they may be printed on clear vellum, a.k.a. as "film positives". You will need a film positive for each color in your design. The film positives are used to put the image screen printing stencils. This technique is not for printing full color photos, in other words this is not for process color printing with halftone dots.

Open your design in Photoshop. If it exists in an Illustrator vector graphic format, export it to Photoshop and save it as a jpg or tif file.

Right away I will admit I'm still using Photoshop 7, as opposed to the latest version. Hey, I actually paid for it years back, and for my simple T-shirt printer needs it still works. So there you go!

From the tool menu choose the eye dropper icon and use it to sample the first color you'd like to separate, by putting the eye dropper over that color and clicking. From the "select" pull down menu choose color range. Move the fuzziness slider to 110 and click OK. The color is now selected in the design.

Open the channels pallet and go to the arrow in the upper right hand corner to open a pull down menu. Select "New Spot Channel". This opens the new spot channel dialog box. Click on color and select the same color that you are separating. Put "100%" in the solidity field. Name the color as you like. Click OK and your new spot color appears in the channels pallet.

Repeat this process for each color in your design until you have created a new spot channel for each. To print film positives, load your printer with clear vellum. Any channel that has the eye icon "on" will print. Be sure to indicate that you want to print registration marks in the print dialog box. By the way, it is a good idea to print out proofs of your seps on cheap paper first to check them.

If anyone has any questions about how to do this, zip me an email. It can be fussy the first couple times you try. And of course, if you need a quote on a job, I'm ready to help with that too!

Finally, there are times when I run into T-Shirt sep jobs that are beyond my capability. What to do in a situation like that? I highly recommend the services of Scott Fresener, the master of T-Shirt color separations.

Steve Lafler
503-213-3671
Manx Media Custom Screen Printing

Manx Media Imprintable T-Shirt Catalog

I just posted our new catalog of T-Shirts and apparel here. You'll find dozens of styles of T-Shirts, Womens Ts & tops by Bella, Hoodies, Child styles and more.
Whether you are shopping for basic T-shirts, party looks, punk sexy, boomer sack shirts or bland office drone apparel, you will find anything you want in the Manx catalog.
I can quote your print job on your favorite items.





Punk, hippy, slacker, we got ya covered.

Happy Shopping,

Steve Lafler
Manx Media

Get a Custom T-Shirt Printing Quote

Here is a sample of a full color T-Shirt design we printed for Sarah's Science. I did the art for this one too.

So you want to get some T-Shirts printed. Chances are you have a design, or an idea for a design. The shirt may be for your business, school, band, club, fundraiser, event or just for fun. My business is wholesale T-Shirt printing, so let's get started.

I can make a quote for you based on some basic information about your project. Here's what I need to know:

* Quantity of shirts
* Size breakdown
* Number of colors in your design. Shirt color does not count. White and black do.
* Color of shirt you'd like to print on
* Type of shirt, for example basic T-Shirt, Child T-Shirt, Women's scoop neck T, etc.

Go ahead and email me this information, and I can create an accurate quote for your T-Shirt printing project. I should mention that Manx Media has a minimum order of 50 shirts. We are quality and service oriented. Our priority is to do a top notch job and put the shirts in your hands by your deadline.

I consider it a privilege to be able to quote on your job. I appreciate the opportunity to set you up with some great looking shirts.

Steve Lafler
Manx Media

Phone 503-213-3671
Printing and shipping from Portland, Oregon and Oakland, California.

How to Screen Print T-Shirts

Screen Printing is an amazing technology. You can print intense, bright ink on just about anything with it. Of course it's great for printing T-Shirts. With a trip to the art supply and hardware stores, you can set up to print in short order. You can also source screen printing supplies on the web, or from wholesale screen printing suppliers. Here is as link to one other online supplier.

Let's assume you've already created a design that exists as a digital file. You mighta used Photoshop or even word, but it's done, right? For first timers, it is best to start with a design for printing in just one color of ink.

Get some clear vellum paper and print out your design on it. Use a laser printer for best results. The print is a film positive, used to put the image on a screen. The print must be opaque to make a screen. If it's not opaque, draw on the back with a black marker or brush and ink.

Buy a ready made screen print frame, stretched with synthetic mesh fabric. You can stretch your own screen fabric if you prefer. Choose a mesh count that is versatile. For general T-Shirt printing, start with a 110 - 180 mesh. Anything in that range should do. T-Shirt printers use mesh counts from 80 to 350, but a mesh of about 150 is the most versatile.
Clean the screen print frame with soapy water and rinse completely. Let it dry overnight.

Purchase some photo emulsion that can be used with water based ink. The emulsion must be sensitized before use. Mix the sensitiser as per the instructions that come with it. Do this in the dark!

Coat both sides of the screen with the emulsion. Use a stiff piece of illustration board or a squeegee. You can also buy a metal screen coating tool, a trough that you pour emulsion in, then coat the screen with. Go for an opaque, thin layer of emulsion. Remove any excess drippy emulsion with a stroke or two on each side. Put the screen in a dark place, face down. Let it dry overnight.



Check out the image above, how to burn a screen. You will use the film positive to put the image on a screen. This step must be done in a darkened room, with running warm water available. Cut a piece of foam rubber to fit inside your screen print frame. Place the piece of foam rubber on a flat surface. Place the screen print frame face down over the foam. Put the film positive face down and centered on the back of the screen. A piece of heavy glass goes on top of the film, frame and foam. Quarter inch glass is great for this as it holds the film positive in close contact with the screen print frame.
Hang a halide light about 15 - 18 inches over the film positive. Turn it on for about five to eight minutes. Exposure time depends on your emulsion. Check the instructions that came with the it for recommendations on exposure time. Often some trial and error is necessary.
If your design washes out, increase your exposure time. If it clogs up, decrease your exposure time.

Turn the light off and develop the image on the screen with a spray of warm water. Spray both sides of the screen until the image area is completely developed. Blot both sides of the screen with newsprint and let it dry in a well lit or sunny area.

Once the screen is dry, put packing tape or masking tape along the inside edges of the screen. Taping it out like this will stop ink from leaking at the side. Also inspect the screen for pinholes. You can block unwanted holes with tape or screen block.

If you have a T-Shirt press, put the screen in the print head and tighten, centering the image on the shirt board.

If you don't, it's not problem. I started running T-Shirts on a kitchen table. Just put a piece of newspaper in side each T-Shirt prior to printing to avoid the ink splooging out to the back of the shirt.

Lay the shirt flat on a table. Put the screen print frame over it. Put a bit of screen printing ink in the end of the frame opposite you. Use one hand to pull the squeegee towards yourself and the other to firmly hold the screen down. Lift the screen to check results. Once the print looks really good, print multiples.

I recommend that beginners use water based screen print ink for ease of use. The leading brands are Speedball and Versatex. Union Aerotex is a top brand of commercial waterbased ink, available from Midwest Sign (the first supplier link above).

Have fun and be patient!

Steve Lafler
Manx Media Custom Screen Printing

Make Your Own Custom T-Shirts

I am in the custom T-Shirt printing business, it's true. Maybe you'd think it's bad business for me to tell people how to make their own decorated shirts! But the fact it, with my minimum order at 50 shirts, there is plenty of reason to let people know what their options are.
If you need to put a design on just a few T-Shirts, I recommend using the tried and true ink jet transfer technique. Really, for short run full color, it's the only way to go.
Start by sourcing a few T-Shirts at relatively low cost at your local big box retailer. I'd stick to white or light T-Shirts as the transfer will look best on it. If you can't find blank T's at a good price, zip me an email and I'll set you up with blanks for a reasonable price.


You can do ink jet transfers on dark shirts too, just be sure to trim away the white margins from the ink jet paper before ironing.

You will need one piece of transfer paper for each shirt. You can buy ink jet T-Shirt transfer paper at most office supply stores, or you can order it online from Avery.
Of course you will need a design! Use a graphics or word processing program to set up a design. You can use typography, illustration, photos, and color in your design. Try to create something that will read well from a few feet away.
The design must be flipped horizontally to it's mirror image, then printed on the transfer paper. You can do this in Photoshop from the image pull down menu, and I understand you can do it in Microsoft Word also. I don't use Word, so you'll have to look in the help menu for tips on flipping the design. Or, just export the design as a PDF file and flip it in Photoshop!
Once you've printed your transfer paper, you are ready to print. Set an iron on cotton/high heat. Place each T-Shirt on a flat surface and place the printed transfer paper face down over it with the print in the desired position. Iron the back of the design firmly in a circular motion for three or four minutes to transfer the image to the shirt.
When washing, turn the shirt inside out and wash in cold water. The print will last longer if you do this. It will not last as long as a screen print, but still you get a great looking printed T-Shirt for a very low price.
Of course, when you decide you want a top flight screen printer to do your run of 50 shirts or more, I hope you will email me for a quote on the job!

Start Your Own T-Shirt Shop

Times are tough! Between the housing bust and the BushCheney profligate war spending, the economy is in the dumps. Whether you are a freshly minted grad needing a job, or a newly downsized technocrat, there has never been a better time to start a Custom Screen Printing T-Shirt shop.
No, I have not flipped my lid, in fact this is exactly what I did in the downturn of 1980 as I graduated college. I've posted a somewhat lengthy piece on How To Start A T Shirt Business at my Self Employment For Bohemians blog, check it out.

Steve Lafler, owner
Manx Media

Short Run Full Color Update

Who do you call (or email) when you want to put an image like Mr. Cactus here jammin' on his guitar on a T Shirt?

Today I will sing the praises of Cafe Press, the site where you can go to print your art or logo on just about anything, in a jiffy. Simply upload your art, choose a shirt (or mug, etc.) to print on, and it's GO Time.

I do not want to refer business to my competition, but I'm not in the same business as Cafe Press.

Screen printing is an elegant, simple process that produces beautiful results - but the fact is, the economies of scale start at around 60 pieces minimum. For full color, it doesn't make economic sense to go to screen printing for less than 100 pieces, in order to offset the cost of films & screens.

Thus, the answer for short run, full color printing is to go digital. I've remarked before on the recent improvements in digital imaging with regard to it's image quality and durability. While it's true that many Mom & Pop, local operations are setting up for digital printing, there are a couple things to consider.

Anyone can print out an image (backwards) from an ink jet printer onto t-shirt release paper and iron it (or heat press) it onto a T Shirt, and there is nothing wrong with that. But for the best quality and durability, you may want to consider direct to garment digital printing. At present, the cost of the machinery is still prohibitive. So I would carefully check quality before ordering digital prints from a local entrepreneur.

At present, I recommend Cafe Press because they get it right, with regard to quality and service. Quality and service are the drivers of my screen print operation, and I have a hearty respect for any business that takes these values to heart.

As mentioned, I'm not in competition with Cafe Press, in fact I'm a client of Cafe Press, for the sake of full disclosure. Yup, I am using their service for some of my own full color images, at this link:
http://www.cafepress.com/stevelafler
So if you like Mr. Cactus on the guitar, you know where you can find him on a shirt!

Steve Lafler

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Adventures in Full Color T Shirts

Here at Manx Media, we have had a season of strong demand for full color printing on both light and dark T Shirts, mostly on slinky women's styles from Bella and American Apparel.

We printed the Spring / Summer line for Eden Dawn Apparel of Portland. The line featured 14 items, including six full color designs. It was both a technical and production challenge to pump these clever designs out, but by all accounts the shirts looked great. This is a young designer with a lot of style and a great future, so be sure to visit her site.

Next up was a new color design from beloved kick-ass comedian, Margaret Cho. Margaret is now doing a show called "The Sensuous Woman", and the shirts feature a faux-forties style pin-up illustration of the notorious Cho in full lingerie. Wow! Who knew? This is one of the best shirts we've ever done, it just looks superb (thanks to the great illustration of Margaret by Olivia).

Okay! What have we at Manx Media learned about printing full color on Tees? Simple! With our level of technology, the best results come from enhanced process color printing, usually using an underbase white and either a "popper" spot color, or a high light white. Before this rash of challenging jobs, I usually would go with "simulated process" or index color for full color on a dark shirt; I've had good results with these techniques before. But to tell the truth, I've gained experience and confidence with process printing that makes me ready to tackle more full color images.

One caveat to full process color printing--with the cost of setting up six films and screens for a job, best to consider a minimum of 100 shirts to defray the cost of set up. There are always transfers for short color runs...

Kudos go to David Perkin, my stalwart press operator who couldn't print a bad shirt if you paid him. You're the man, David!

Steve Lafler

Tour Merch

Manx Media Custom Screen Printing has years of experience supplying touring acts with merchandise. We have provided the whole range of screen printed and embroidered items from work shirts, panties, zipper hoodies and nylon jackets all the way to the ubiquitous t-shirt (in both men's and women's styles) to some demanding acts with ingenious designs. You'd be amazed at some of the unusual print jobs we've produced for our touring clientele--we're always up for a challenge!

White some acts prefer to purchase goods for the whole tour up front and load up the van, others prefer to travel light and have us drop ship the goods to them as they travel from venue to venue. In a pinch, we have shipped overnight or 2nd day when a hot item sells out (we ship via DHL, who are not only efficient, but by far the best deal in the shipping industry). Our priority is to keep our touring clients supplied with the merch they need to make the tour a profitable venture.

Some of the acts we have worked with over the past decade:

Peaches
The Residents
Margaret Cho
Angry Samoans
Themselves
Anticon
Chix on Speed

Send me an email at steve.lafler@gmail.com with any questions you have about touring merch. Let's look at all the garment decorating and design options to come up with the right mix of touring merchandise for your act.

Steve Lafler
Visit the Manx Media homepage.

Full Color T-Shirt Decorating

Manx Media is able to offer our customers two great options for decorating T Shirts with full color graphics.

Screen Printing
Traditional screen printing continues to be the best way to produce full color images on T Shirts when you need a large quantity of shirts. Our minimum order for full color (4-6 colors in your design) screen printed shirts is 72 pieces.
In terms of the brillance of color and the durability of the print, there is no technology better than screen printing to decorate garments.
Depending on the nature of your design, we can use spot color, index color, simulated process color, or index color to recreate your graphic on a shirt. We use a Photoshop plug-in program created just for the apparel decorator to generate the best possible version of your graphics for T Shirts.
As it is necessary to produce a film positive and screen for each color in your design, the economies of scale kick in nicely at the six dozen quantity.

Digital Imaging
The revolutionary good news in the shirt biz is that transfers are back. These are not your dad's transfers--the cheesy muscle car design that washed off before you could even break it in. With improvements in ink and transfer technology, todays digital transfers look vibrant and are washfast.
For full color apparel decorating on quantities less than six dozen, transfers are a great option. Working from your digital image, we create transfers that are heat pressed onto shirts. You get a great full color shirt that is easy on the budget.
At present, this technology works best on white or light colored garments.
If your design requires one, two or three colors, screen printing is still the way to go even with smaller quantities.

Questions? Send Steve an email at steve.lafler@gmail.com with your apparel decorating question.

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