Untitled Document
 This
page is for a quick overview of our entire site. The main site is a page
by page A-Z tutorial to help you hit the ground running and on the right
foot. More knowledge means more profits! |
In “T-shirt Basics”
You learn about the
basic tools you must have for your business, practical information to understand
your choices and hard facts that dispel some of the myths of the T-shirt business.
In “Heat Transfer Paper”
You learn that there
are two basic types. One is for white shirts and the other is for colored
shirts. Alpha offers three different types of paper for white shirts and one
for colored shirts.
The three most popular heat transfer papers are Alpha Double Green, Jet-Pro SofStretch and Alpha Gold Dark.
-
 Alpha
Double Green- is for white shirts and the finished transfer
produces a slight sheen on the shirt and is great for making the image look
more like a photograph. Lettering needs to be on the image.
-
 Jet-Pro
SofStretch- is also for white shirts and the
finished transfer is a flat, matte finish, with no shine. However, it has
the softest feel and is the best paper to use when you need to have lettering
off the image.
-
 Alpha
Gold Dark is for colored fabrics. This type
of transfer is called an opaque paper. The film has to be white enough to
show off the inks and thick enough to block out the color of the fabric.
In “Heat
Transfer Inks” and “Bulk
Ink Systems”
TransMagic! Inks are especially formulated for heat transfer paper printing. The colors are brilliant, the inks don’t clog your printer and doesn't’t turn when heat is applied and resists washing. Best of all, the inks are 80% cheaper than using regular  cartridges.
MagicFlow! CIS Unit is a continuous ink system. In the printer, there are cartridges, with surgical tubing attached to each one. The tubing runs out of the printer and attaches to reservoir tanks sitting beside the printer. Individual tanks are refilled from bottles of ink.
CIS units are offered for the Epson C88+ (4-color - 8.5x11) R260 (6-color – 8.5x11) and 1400 (6-color - 11x17) only. There are just too many printers for us to offer units for all of them.
In “Regular
Inks ”
You learn that, as a
point of fact, that almost any inkjet printer prints a nice image on heat transfer
paper. However, a great many regular inks do not hold up in the wash.
-
Some regular inks wash out very
easily. If you start off with regular inks, make sure that you make one
shirt and wash it, to see how well it holds up in the wash. This is a better
way for you to find out, than having an angry customer bringing a shirt
back.
-
If you are going to print with
regular ink cartridges you should read the entire page to keep from goofing.
More
Information...
Graphtec
Vinyl Cutters
We offer two different Graphtec
vinyl cutter plotters. In our opinion, Graphtec is the best machine for beginners
or pros. On the main page, we stay away from all the technical mumbo-jumbo and
instead concentrate on practical info for you: how to make and save more money.
CADtex
T-shirt Vinyl
On this page learn about premium
CADtex T-shirt Vinyl. These 19.5” vinyl rolls offer solid quality, a very
reasonable price and an excellent selection. The page has colors, prices, FAQ’s
and more.
ThermoFlex
Plus T-shirt Vinyl
On this page learn about ThermoFlex
Plus T-shirt Vinyl. These 15” vinyl rolls are offered as a solid alternative
to CADtex vinyl. The page has colors, prices, FAQ’s and more.
Flock
Transfers
You learn about an easy and simple method of putting just names and numbers on garments and caps.
Flock Appliqués (transfers) are precut velour fabric, with a heat activated adhesive on the backs of the letters and numbers.
Heat transfer paper is not a very good method of putting just names and numbers on fabric. Unlike plastic looking vinyl, flock presents a very desirable, high quality image because it is a fabric.
 Many, especially embroiders, like flock because it gives them the ability to provide a quality image, on small orders. Their philosophy is that if you have to tell a customer “no”, on something simple, you may lose them for everything.
The most common combinations are black letters on white shirts and white letters on black shirts. Royal Blue and red are the next most popular. Fuchsia (pink) is quite popular with young girls.
In “Heat
Presses”
In the heat press section you will learn that there are two general types of heat presses: swing-away and clamshell.
 Swing-Away heat presses lift up an inch or so and then “swing” to the right. Prices range from $279 for a 9x12 hobby press to $1,595 for a very professional 16x20 press. There are also many other sizes and prices in this category.
 Clamshell heat presses open straight up and are not swung to the side. Prices range from $395 for an 11x15 production press to $1,375 for a 16x20 Auto-open clamshell. Again, there are many other choices in size and price in this category.
If you don’t know much about presses, you will want to start by clicking on “Heat Press Basics” on the left.
We list and stock heat press machines from three different manufacturers: Stahls', HIX and Geo Knight. Each section provides insights into the different brands and types
In “Starting
Your Business”
Author and Alpha founder, Jack Franklin, draws on 43 years of business experience to share the essentials of starting, owning and growing your T-shirt business. No matter the size and type of your business, following these simple rules will help keep you on track.
In “Designing
Made Easy”
You are taught about different little tools that make doing your work easier. These include the “Tee Square It”, “Hanes T-shirt Maker Deluxe”, Teflon Pads & Sheets, “PhotoClean” for photo restoration and “PhotoZoom” for photo restoration.
In “Pro
Tips and Tricks”
As the title implies,
this page contains dozens of tidbits of useful and practical information, to
help you be more successful in your business. All of this information was learned
the old-fashioned way; by experience!
The
testimonial page contains an even dozen, out of hundreds, comments
and thoughts from our customers. These are real people, doing real work, just
like you will be doing.
Find prices for our
ink, heat transfer paper and flock letters and numbers by clicking on that link
at the top left of this site. Right under it, check out “T-Shirt
Biz Deals” for complete, practical packages
This wraps up our overview
page and was presented to give you a quick run-through of the entire website.
If you want to drill down deep, for all the facts, start up at the top left, with “T-shirt Basics”. We literally get many dozens of calls a month that start of with “I’ve printed out your entire website to be my starting guide, but I have a few more questions…”
However, if you want to stop here and call us for more information, go for it. Perhaps we are not the best salespeople in the world, but we are excellent, experienced teachers and we honestly answer all questions.
Have a great day!
Jack Franklin & Roy Hinkle
800-908-9916
Click
here if you want to purchase a Trial Sampler of our inkjet heat
transfer paper
(4 sheets of 5 different types by Priority Mail - Only $19.95 Total!)
Updated: Sunday August 1, 2010  | 
