T-SHIRTS

Industry sources estimate that approximately 1.4 billion cotton T-shirts are sold in North America annually with a retail value of about $20 billion. Sales of imprinted T-shirts at the wholesale level were about $6.1 billion in 1997 and have grown at an annual rate of approximately 4% to 5% each year since. Industry Information

Who Uses T-Shirts? - Corporations - Small Businesses - Event Producers - Athletic Teams - Schools - Teens & Adults What For? - Promotional Events - Sports Events - Fund Raisers - Concerts - Clubs - Identity / Fashion

Why Make A T-Shirt? They are relatively low cost to produce but yield massive awareness People who wear them turn into walking billboards. They are fun to design Some become collectable

1. Cartoons & Characters T-Shirts Generally Fall Into These Categories licensed Officially licensed merchandise. LICENSED means that the exclusive right to reproduce these images has been obtained for a fee, (or “licensed”) from the rights holder(s).

T-Shirts Generally Fall Into These Categories 1. Cartoons & Characters Licensed images which have very specific appeal to a specific demographic of society. Includes nature, pets, sports, fantasy, gaming... DEMOGRAPHIC - A particular segment of the population based on their sex, age, race, occupation or income.

Promotes a musician through use of logo / artist or both. $2-$3 to produce – sells for $20-$30 apiece. Also becomes a souvenir 2. Concert T-Shirts Generally Fall Into These Categories

3. Fashion Promotes a brand name. Some people become loyal to a certain brand name because of its appeal.

T-Shirts Generally Fall Into These Categories 4. Retro or Throwback Promotes a famous older movie or band through use of logo / actor / or both. These images are licensed for a specific fee and then printed and sold.

T-Shirts Generally Fall Into These Categories 5. Novelty & Humor Flavor of the month catch phrases. Also includes jokes. Usually no copyright to produce, only artwork to create.

T-Shirts Generally Fall Into These Categories 6. Promotional Shirts given away by for free to promote a product or event

T-Shirts Generally Fall Into These Categories 7. Bootleg Unlicensed images which appear on shirts, posters, CD’s, DVDs, etc. The original artists or license holder receives no payment for these and they’re created without the artists consent.

DEFINITIONS: Copyright The exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, and sell a book, song, or artistic work. Without a copyright, anyone can issue and sell images, songs, books, movies, games, etc. Bootleg To produce, reproduce, or distribute illegally or without authorization. TM Public Domain Total absence of copyright protection. No protection whatsoever. Anyone is legally allowed to copy, produce, distribute or sell a book, song or artistic work. UK does not recognize public domain.

PRINTING METHODS: There are three popular ways of producing and printing t-shirts. DIRECT TO GARMENT PRINTING These shirts are similar to silk screen but have their images directly printed into them using a t-shirt printer. This printer is similar to an ink jet printer, only larger. The advantages of direct to garment printing over traditional screen printing are ease of setup, no minimum and less cost per print. Screen printing yields only 72 DPI at it’s highest, while Direct to Garment printing has a resolution of 600 x 600 DPI, allowing for near-photographic clarity.

PRINTING METHODS: There are three popular ways of producing and printing t-shirts. HEAT PRESS IRON ON Creating printable artwork and using specific paper for ink-jet or laser printing. The “iron-ons” are printed individually and attached to a shirt using a heat press to melt the iron-on into the fabric of the shirt. Iron-Ons are generally used for small run quantities of shirts or for individual shirts and generally do not last long unless they’re well taken care of.

PRINTING METHODS: SILK SCREEN Most widely used process. Is a much more labor intensive method. Involves applying ink to a shirt one color at a time using window screen material, thick inks and chemicals. These shirts stand up to washing and can last for years but are prone to crackling of images and text. Check out juularts.com for more info. on the silkscreen method.

PRINTING METHODS: SILK SCREEN Color Separations

PRINTING METHODS: SILK SCREEN Color Separations

PRINTING METHODS: SILK SCREEN Color Separations

PRINTING METHODS: SILK SCREEN Color Separations

T-Shirts Designing Tips Your message should be clear and easy to understand T-Shirts with printing are meant to be read. You want to convey your message in as simple and easy to understand way as possible Simple designs work the best. Complicated designs confuse the reader Multi-colored, elaborate illustrations generally get lost on t-shirts Use bold and contrasting colors. Best shirts to use for 4 colors are black and white. If you use a colored t-shirt, make sure your image is in direct contrast to it. Space out your design according to how your t-shirt is worn Is it a sports shirt? A concert shirt? Is there a pocket?

Design for the front, back Make use of your space. Phrases can start on the front and continue on the back. 3” below the neckline is the best place to start pictures or text

DESIGN TIPS -Use the t-shirt thumbnail sheet to create your ideas. -Use the t-shirt template in your block folder to create your mock-up design.

PRE-PRODUCTION FOR YOUR SHIRT Determine what kind of t-shirt you would like to design Determine what kind of shirt you would like to work on. Think about all of your favorite films, bands, phrases etc and choose one you feel you could design something with. Check out websites, band sites, etc.. DO NOT just lift an idea from an existing shirt! PRODUCTION FOR CLASS SHIRT Create three thumbnail sketches of your t-shirt Create three COLOR thumbnail sketches. Make sure they show values. If you have a front and a back, show thumbnails for each side. Once you have your thumbnails finished, see me to discuss your ideas. You may be asked to create additional thumbnail revisions.