Making custom t-shirts at home is fun, and a vinyl cutter can make it easy and save you a lot of time.
Not that it will do all the work for you, but it will certainly help you to finish them with the least effort.
So, without further ado, let’s get to the work and show you how to make a custom t-shirt with a vinyl cutter.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
How to Print on Shirts at Home with a Vinyl Cutter
Step: 1
The first thing you need to choose is the material you are going to use.
I’d recommend using flex instead of vinyl paper because it sticks to fabric better than the vinyl, and flex is cheaper than vinyl.
You can get three feet of flex for only 20 bucks. With three feet of flex, you can print a lot of t-shirts.
Step: 2
A shirt needs a design. In fact, it’s the most important aspect of a t-shirt after the fabric.
It’s the design that makes the shirt look good and attracts attention. The best way to print T-shirts at home is to use good software.
In this case, the software must be able to create a vector-based design for being compatible with the vinyl cutter. Adobe Illustrator and Inkscape are both good choices.
Step: 3
Next, you need to import the design onto the cutter. You may do it with either a cord or Wi-Fi according to the vinyl cutter’s model.
Once the image gets loaded, the device will use a tiny knife to cut out the outline of the design with extreme precision onto a piece of flex.
Keep in mind that, you can only cut one color at a time. If you want to cut multiple colors, you will have to do it separately.
Step: 4
Then peel off the back of the flex, and place it on the t-shirt. While peeling off the flex back, make sure that the flex doesn’t move.
Otherwise, not only it will fail to deliver the desired results but may also ruin the entire project, and force you to start everything from scratch.
Step: 5
In the final step, you will need a press to heat the flex.
The required temperature will be 160 degrees Celsius for about 15 seconds, and once you have heated flex appropriately, your t-shirt will be ready.
Printing T-shirts at Home Video
Here is a video that will help you print T-shirts at home. This video will tell you what you need to print T-shirts, and how to print stuff on the T-shirt.
Vinyl Cutter Maintenance
The most significant advantage of vinyl cutters is that they require minimum maintenance. You won’t have to spend several hours a week to keep the device working.
Vinyl Cutter Durability
Another factor that weighs in favor of a vinyl cutter is that it lasts a long time. A quality vinyl cutter should easily last for years.
Conclusion
The process is straightforward, and even a beginner can pull this off without a hitch. All you have to do is follow the instructions properly and remain vigilant the whole time.
It’s worth repeating that the flex must not move while you are peeling off its back.
But if you still have questions regarding this, please leave it in the comments section.
Have a good time.
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Thank you for your statement on how it’s better to use flex over vinyl paper when making shirts. My family and I are going on vacation to the beach in a couple of weeks, and we were thinking about getting custom shirts made for the occasion. After learning how to make custom T-shirts, I think I will just hire a professional to make them for my family and me.
love your step by step explanation
which machine do you use and what’s the warranty on them?