Bunbury Music Festival Doing Customized Tees

Credit: bunbury.wearcast.com

Cincinnati, Ohio will play host to some of the biggest names in music this summer during the Bunbury Music Festival. Headliners will include FUN., MGMT, The National, and customized concert tees. Bunbury is breaking the mold and giving the people what they want, literally. Concert goers can log on to http://bunbury.wearcast.com, and select one of four t-shirt designs that they can then customize with the names of their favorite bands that will be at the show. What a cool way to meet other people who like the same music! With 80 plus bands playing, I wonder if there will be any two people with the exact same shirt.

Credit: bunburyfestival.com

Digital Passion

Credit: Tumblr

Good advice from the blog of Lara Warmwinter, at Digital Art: 

  "If the T-shirt design related to your colors and photorealistic images, then digital printing should be your primary choice [sic]."

Digital direct to garment printing is the best way to get high quality images, and a high quality feel with gradients. Not to mention the fact that digital DTG is fast. People that have tried DTG are passionate about it. I remember when I was younger and I wanted to get a couple of custom t-shirts made. I had the ideas, but when I went to my friend who owned a t-shirt printing shop to ask about getting them done, I was disappointed. He told me that in order to be affordable on a per shirt basis, I would have to order a large quantity of shirts. The time he would have to invest in making screens, just to do four colors, would be cost prohibitive for only two or three shirts. That was 16 years ago. Today, I can walk in to many shops, and walk out that same day with a custom printed, high quality shirt with gradients, and thousands of colors. And, all for around $20. There are also many online custom DTG printing shops. I can design a shirt from the comfort of my living room, and have it sent to me. When people finally realize the awesome power they have with DTG, the clothing industry is going to be radically changed. Big name corporate clothing designers, meet the Indy artists of the world.

A Digital Artist Finds DTG

A reader recently posted:

"bless my stars I found your blog in the sources section on the Wikipedia page for DTG printing, if you'd be so kind as to answer a question that's really troubling me I would be grateful.

I'm an illustrator I create high resolution digital paintings on photoshop and someone recently told me I should look into printing and selling some of these designs on t-shirts so I've been looking into t-shirt printing and what is the best method for me to get my paintings onto t-shirts with high quality prints, I'm planning to have low quantities and high pricing, so a high printing cost for a high quality print on 100% cotton can be absorbed. so could you please help me out with this? Thank You Sir"

People are becoming aware of DTG! This is great. Now we must educate. Here is the response I gave:

"Great question. There are several options for getting your images on to clothing. Heat transfers will get your print on to the shirt, but this method does not attain the high quality you are going for. Based on your comments, you will want to go with a process that can attain not just high quality look, but also a high quality feel. The best way to do this is digital direct-to-garment. Another consideration is whether the company you purchase your machine from is able to ship their product to your country, and give the support needed to help you get up and running. If you are based in the United States, you will have many companies to choose from. Pricing can vary greatly from company to company. Things you will want to consider are machine cost, ink cost, maintenance cost, and head replacement cost. Some companies also offer financing options, and this can be very helpful if you need to keep your cash flow free. Be very careful about used or homemade printers, as they probably won't come with a warranty, and you need to make sure that you can get support for your product. I recommend checking out the forums too. Here are a couple of addresses:

https://plus.google.com/b/117973706207801271116/communities/101204742741581995959

http://www.t-shirtforums.com/

DTG printing is a great way to profit from your art! I hope it goes well for you!"

Another one comes to the light of DTG, and a dream has been born. When will you make your Mona Lisa?

Planet Money- How Much Would You Pay for a T-Shirt?

Credit: Kickstarter.com

NPR and "This American Life" have a joint project in the works to show how a t-shirt is made from start to finish. The project they have titled "Planet Money", is a fundraising effort, and as of May 14, the project reached it's funding goal. The gist of the venture is the story of how a t-shirt is created from start to finish in order to reveal some of the things going on in the global economy. The team traveled around the world showing the step by step process, from cotton field, to shipping. How much would it cost you to purchase one of these shirts? A donation of $25.00, plus $15.00 shipping. Of course, this is a fundraiser, so one might expect that there would be some padding in the price. But wait! Someone has put one of these shirts up on ebay for $350.00! Will the seller get this price? That remains to be determined. Stranger things have happened. The fact is, people will pay a good price for something they see value in.

T-Shirts: 100 Years of Awesomeness!

Attribution: tshirts.com

2013 is the 100th Year Anniversary of the T-Shirt. 

An article in Promowearmag.com explains, "In 1913, the T-shirt as we know it first appeared as standard-issue gear within the U.S. Navy. Since then, the iconic garment has become an essential part of the American wardrobe and identity."

And become a part of our national identity it has. The t-shirt, like a billboard you wear, can be an advertisement for what you think. In an age where everywhere we go, there is an ad telling us what to believe about this or that, the t-shirt is a way of expressing our personal view. It allows a way of communicating without opening your mouth. A t-shirt can make people see you as funny, and approachable or, it can communicate, "stay the hell away from me". The majority of us own all kinds of t-shirts, and truthfully, most of the time, we just want to be comfortable and look cool, like the above pictured John Lennon.

The Power of a T-Shirt Design

In this history of t-shirts, some designs have reached an iconic status. They can be like universal symbols of an ideology, or relate a common experience. These t-shirts have the power to bring people together. Check out this tribute to the t-shirt in Parade Magazine's, "Top 10 Most Iconic Designs".

Attribution: parade.com

What is most interesting is that because of it's comfort, low cost to manufacture, and ability to be printed on, the t-shirt, regardless of what image or saying is actually on it, is itself an icon. This is because we are a generation that put off the stuffiness of suits, vests, and petticoats, and accepted the idea that a simple garment is good enough. At one time, there were truly rich clothes and poor clothes. Today, this is not altogether gone, but the t-shirt is a type of equalizer. Rock stars, jocks, boaters, moms, bums, businessmen, babies and people from almost every other category of society wear t-shirts. It is the American uniform.


                             "The t-shirt is a type of equalizer... it is the American uniform."

 Everybody's Doing it

With such wide acceptance, people have tried a myriad of ways to personalize their shirts. From tie-dye, to that puffy paint stuff, to markers, to cutting holes; folks made t-shirts their own. But it was never quite the same as that printed image you bought at the concert, or the mall. The digital age is now revolutionizing the way people individualize their clothes.

Through the process of digital Direct-to-Garment printing, people are now making their own mark on the world. And it looks like we prefer it this way. According to a survey conducted by CustomInk, found in the same Promowearmag.com article mentioned earlier, "76 percent of Americans report they would have a stronger emotional connection with a shirt that they or someone they knew custom-designed, versus a shirt that was mass-produced." While there will always be a place for those mass produced shirts, this generation is transitioning into custom everything: custom song lists, custom cell phones, custom rims, custom paint jobs, custom TV, custom walls (social media), custom YouTube channels, and on and on. As the Byrds famously quoted from the book of Ecclesiastes "To everything, turn, turn, turn. There is a season." With 100 years of t-shirt awesomeness, it now continues with the season of digital Direct-to-Garment freedom. Those who have used it, love it. But for those who just won't try it, I leave you with the famous words of Marty McFly in "Back to the Future", "I guess you guys aren't ready for that yet..........but your kids are gonna love it."

                                                                     YouTube

DTG, That's What I Meme

Do you frequently find yourself in the midst of a conversation where you bring up DTG, and your friends look at you like you are from Mars? That is because they are not yet aware of the wonders of Direct-to-Garment technology. What you should do in these situations:

1. Make fun of them.
2. Facebook bomb them with memes, like these:

Teach the Web to be DTG Aware!

Hello Interwebs,

What a great topic trending today on Google+!

#TeachTheWeb

Teaching is what the DTG Awareness blog is all about people! I'm here to teach the web what's up when it comes to getting the coolest shirts! Print your own- Go out tonight in a shirt that you came up with. What's your style? What's your favorite quote? Wear a picture of your mom for Mother's Day! It's all up to you.

Another great idea: Are you a graphic artist? Become a designer, and sell your own clothing line! The possibilities are endless with DTG!

Printed on the BelQuette Mod1 Direct-to-Garment Printer

So call up your local print shop, and ask them if they do DTG!