Heat transfers are a great way to get the appearance of screen printing without the high cost. Heat transfers can be thought of like iron-on transfers. However, commercial heat transfers create a much more powerful bond of the ink to the fabric. Heat transfers are a very cost effective alternative for apparel design as opposed to screen printing and embroidery.
Heat transfers work by using high heats to melt the ink to the fabric. This melting strongly bonds the ink to the material being used.
Heat transfers can be done at the fraction of the price of other personalizing methods. Screen printing is ideal when creating thousands of pieces. Screen printing uses large quantities of supplies to create products, while heat transfers can be created for less than ten pieces in one run.
Embroidery is a much more expensive method for creating personalized products. It is much more time consuming and uses more expensive materials including thread and fabrics, embroidery machinery, and costly embroidery software.
Heat transfers are affordable also because they are priced by the size of the design and color. Using heat transfers for a simple logo design is very practical. Small designs cost less than large designs. Very colorful designs will be more expensive as each additional color causes prices to go up. However, for a small 2 or 3 color logo, apparel can be customized with a heat transfer for as little as $2 per item. That is quite a savings when compared to more than $5 per item for embroidery. Also, embroidery requires an initial customizing fee, which can be costly.
Heat transfers are a great option to get personalized apparel quickly at a competitive cost. If you are selling mass quantities, screen printing may be ideal; however, for a small group, team, or crew, heat transfers are the best option.
Angela Oliver is a contributing author for EmbroideryAuthority.com, specializing is custom embroidered logos, as well as a large line of apparel ready for embroidery or heat transfers. Please visit the site at EmbroideryAuthority.com for more information about heat transfers. |
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