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General => General Discussion and ??? => Topic started by: T Shirt Farmer on February 09, 2012, 12:59:42 PM

Title: Shirts for setting up a job
Post by: T Shirt Farmer on February 09, 2012, 12:59:42 PM
What do you guys use for sample prints when setting up a job? I am sure the majority use reject shirts like we do. I am happy to say we have so few misprints we run out of them for setting up jobs occasionally and I have really hard time buying new shirts just for sample prints. I know many years ago you could buy "tubes" from the mills that were rejected during manufacturing, are these still available?

any ideas are much appreciated!

Title: Re: Shirts for setting up a job
Post by: Denis Kolar on February 09, 2012, 01:18:51 PM
You can find "tubes" on eBay.
Title: Re: Shirts for setting up a job
Post by: Frog on February 09, 2012, 01:32:22 PM
Some were sold under the name "Test Tubes" and available through some suppliers. Calibrated used to list them, don't know if they still do.
Title: Re: Shirts for setting up a job
Post by: Denis Kolar on February 09, 2012, 01:47:39 PM
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Test-Tubes-Strike-Off-Test-Fabric-Print-Fabric-Screen-Printers-Supplies-/300659565708?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4600b4e48c#ht_500wt_1413 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Test-Tubes-Strike-Off-Test-Fabric-Print-Fabric-Screen-Printers-Supplies-/300659565708?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4600b4e48c#ht_500wt_1413)

Here is one of them
Title: Re: Shirts for setting up a job
Post by: blue moon on February 09, 2012, 01:59:51 PM
contact Gildan directly and get some test tubes. They are half price from what the distributors want. They also fit more test prints then the shirts.

pierre
Title: Re: Shirts for setting up a job
Post by: JayzTeez on February 09, 2012, 04:15:06 PM
I use Pellon Test Printing Sheets


http://www.wildsidenorth.com/s/catalog/c/test-sheets/ (http://www.wildsidenorth.com/s/catalog/c/test-sheets/)
Title: Re: Shirts for setting up a job
Post by: Croft on February 09, 2012, 04:45:46 PM
I have a large marketing company customer, They will give me any tees that go to a scrap order when a customers program comes to an end. They can throw away more shirts some months than I print.  Case in point scrap order on shirts from large INT. oil company  17K shirts I took about 5 boxes for setup shirts.
Title: Re: Shirts for setting up a job
Post by: alan802 on February 09, 2012, 06:25:30 PM
We had a customer years ago that ordered a thousand red 50/50's and never came to pick them up, we are still using them as test print shirts, then we bought several hundred white tees about a year ago and have probably 75% of them left.  We also have white pellons but I don't like printing on them since they aren't really a good example of what it's going to print like on a tee.  They are so different in thickness and feel that a print that will look great on a pellon won't look worth a damn on a tee.
Title: Re: Shirts for setting up a job
Post by: jasonl on February 09, 2012, 07:24:00 PM
i need something like tubes desperately!  I have been looking, but cant find anything.  I have already had all my family go through there closets and give me everything they had.  I am looking to maybe buy seconds from cottonconnection.com.  Any thoughts?
Title: Re: Shirts for setting up a job
Post by: Gabe on February 09, 2012, 08:58:14 PM
i got two red AA misprints  ;D
go to the local flea market
gabe
Title: Re: Shirts for setting up a job
Post by: jasonl on February 10, 2012, 03:52:41 PM
called silvercreeksales.com,  he is the man.  No need to look further.
Title: Re: Shirts for setting up a job
Post by: blue moon on February 10, 2012, 04:21:11 PM
called silvercreeksales.com,  he is the man.  No need to look further.

what did you find?
Title: Re: Shirts for setting up a job
Post by: jasonl on February 10, 2012, 07:48:47 PM
he is the guy with all those tubes on ebay, but he will sell to you direct.  And he is only one day shipping from me.
Title: Re: Shirts for setting up a job
Post by: rmonks on February 10, 2012, 08:26:06 PM
We use pellon. If you are asking about how we set a job up. We first print our outline color with registration marks on a pellon, then we take a piece of film positive unprinted  spray a little adhesive on it and lay it on the pellon, no we can register all screens to this and test print on the film one color at a time, and you can wipe it off if you need to adjust your registration. We use that same piece of film for weeks. Then when we have it all ready to go we test on a reject shirt. Reduces the need to find a shirt to test on.
Title: Re: Shirts for setting up a job
Post by: jasonl on February 11, 2012, 11:14:08 AM
We use pellon. If you are asking about how we set a job up. We first print our outline color with registration marks on a pellon, then we take a piece of film positive unprinted  spray a little adhesive on it and lay it on the pellon, no we can register all screens to this and test print on the film one color at a time, and you can wipe it off if you need to adjust your registration. We use that same piece of film for weeks. Then when we have it all ready to go we test on a reject shirt. Reduces the need to find a shirt to test on.

thats kinda cool, I once attended a seminar where they covered the pallet with box sealing tape, did all the test prints and then wiped it clean.  Pretty good idea, but what if your printing darks and need to flash the underbase?  Will that film positive not melt?
Title: Re: Shirts for setting up a job
Post by: Frog on February 11, 2012, 12:09:51 PM
We use pellon. If you are asking about how we set a job up. We first print our outline color with registration marks on a pellon, then we take a piece of film positive unprinted  spray a little adhesive on it and lay it on the pellon, no we can register all screens to this and test print on the film one color at a time, and you can wipe it off if you need to adjust your registration. We use that same piece of film for weeks. Then when we have it all ready to go we test on a reject shirt. Reduces the need to find a shirt to test on.

thats kinda cool, I once attended a seminar where they covered the pallet with box sealing tape, did all the test prints and then wiped it clean.  Pretty good idea, but what if your printing darks and need to flash the underbase?  Will that film positive not melt?

Doesn't matter if the color. like an underbase, is flashed during the run. With this set-up method, it's printed on the tape or transparency, and then wiped clean. This method just deals with one color at a time.
Then, an all color strike off with flashing on a test garment, tube, or pellon (if you have the heat resistant kind)
Title: Re: Shirts for setting up a job
Post by: sportsshoppe on February 15, 2012, 03:28:24 PM
Print a bunch of High School t's with class names on the back I'm sure you will come up with some test shirts :(
The names some kids have these days