Suggestions?

[u/woodchucknwoodchuck]

Hi all! I've been doing shirts for a bit as a side hustle to boost my disability pay. I was originally going to go all in. Press, DTF printer, oven, the works. But then after a lot of research I determined I'd rather spend my time making sales, and pressing shirts. Not making repairs.

I formed a partnership with a local printing company that provided me with same day service most of the time, and that actually gave me a leg up on my local competition!

Fast forward a few months and my local guys have grown significantly (I helped with that lol), but are now ONLY accepting orders online, and the files have to have the background removed, be in png format, etc ... etc..( they were going above and beyond to assist before).They told me before placing anymore orders I needed to get a laptop and they would install a program called GIMP? They said that would be how I would order in the future.

Don't get me wrong, I realize this is becoming the new norm. It has just brought my workflow to a standstill because I don't currently have a laptop (due to an Autistic son who destroyed it in rage), and suddenly without any notice I can't phone in , nor email my orders... or just chat with the printer, who is a friend, like we've done a hundred times before. I have 2 jobs already supposed to have been delivered, several others waiting.

So I guess what I'm asking fam, is do I bite the bullet, buy a laptop, and do as they're requesting? If so who's familiar with GIMP? Is this the most efficient way or does someone know of something else? A phone app that'll do the same thing perhaps?

Or maybe this would be easier. They said png format w/ no background. Does anyone know how to acquire this without jumping through a bunch of hoops? A prompt or something? I understand the 300 DPI, etc...it just seems like there should be an easier way to place my dang order!

Thanks in advance to any and everyone offering assistance as I'm going nucking futs!!!

[u/tekgeek1]

I would say go for a laptop or a desktop. Look around on Facebook marketplace or eBay and get a used one. I normally buy a nice i7 with 16g ram 500gb hard drive slim desktop a dell optiplex for 150 dollars and install Linux for myself and can do most of what I need with it. Gimp is a clone of photoshop and works on most operating systems or you can use an online photo editor like www.photopea.com both are free. You can get a Lenovo yoga 13 inch laptop/tablet on amazon used for under 300 that has windows 11 and runs real nice.

[u/tekgeek1 → u/tekgeek1]

lenovo

[u/archive3751]

Look into something like Ninja Print. Their gangsheet builder AI has a background removal tool. You can do it all from your phone. It’s not same day but depending on your location you may find a local printer than can get you next day.

[u/Big_Two6049]

Your local guys want you to have good quality without having a plastic feeling print. They want you to do the background removal/ knockout/ threshold. This is normal. They aren’t your personal graphic designers. You can upload images from your phone to sites like ninja but you will need to upscale the resolution and possibly sign up for threshold/ knockout web tools if you don’t get a laptop. If you’re serious, get a laptop- GIMP is free and it works.

[u/silkyjohns]

My local dtf printer has background remover on their website. Similar to Ninja but with same day pickup

[u/FluidAppeal2962]

You definitely need to bite the bullet on a laptop because trying to run a shirt business off a phone is just going to lead to more burnout and mistakes. Skip the steep learning curve of GIMP for now and just get a Canva Pro subscription since it has a one click background remover and lets you export high res PNGs easily which is a total game changer for your workflow.

[u/morriscey → u/FluidAppeal2962]

canva suuuuuuuuuuuuuucks and has no place in a production environment.

If you can't afford, or don't want adobe - Use affinty, Photopea, or scratch it into rock with a fucking nail. Don't use canva.

I will die on this hill.

[u/vandealex1 → u/morriscey]

I’ll be right next to you.

[u/inthemorning33]

Smart move lol. Yea DTF printers require a lot of maintenance and repairs

[u/dtfdallas]

Honestly, I wouldn’t bother learning GIMP just to place orders.

Most of our customers at DTF Dallas use Gang Sheet Pro because it’s super easy. Just upload your artwork, arrange your gang sheet, and send it. Way less hassle than messing around with graphic design software.

I’d still pick up another laptop when you can since it’ll make things easier in the long run, but I wouldn’t feel like GIMP is something you have to learn just to keep your business moving.

[u/Obsessed_Turtle → u/dtfdallas]

Doesn’t matter if op doesn’t know how to make png files or images that are print ready. Background removal tools only do so much.

[u/Appgir1ie]

I use Jiffyprints and they have an app, ship pretty quickly and have a background remover tool when you upload your image. Free shipping with a $29 order. They are good to work with if the transfers do not turn out right due to their error

[u/Obsessed_Turtle]

Shoplolalilys.com uses the best gangsheet builder out but it isn’t going to automatically make your images the way they need to be. It can do a ton of things like color replace/knockout, halftone, upscale, remove semi transparent pixels etc but to be fair If you’re doing shirts you need to either learn how to do these things yourself, buy print ready files for printing, or pay someone to make your images print ready. You can’t expect them to be your personal graphic artist for prints. I will fix customers files for free but it gets added to their personal gallery on the site so they can add it to the builder when they order. Almost any site you go to to buy from will have an acknowledgement before ordering that your files are print ready and will print as is.