A Year Of Printful Tees - Tips From a Year Of Tee Printing With Printful - Kathy Weller Art

[@natanova-1314]

Nice to see original designs and recognisable individual art style.

[@PrintfulCustomPrinting]

Hey Kathy, thanks for such a lovely and great video! :)

[@BrutusJones]

Best private party Technical side of Printful Video I've seen do date. If you're in business selling T-shirts, this video to me is EXTREMELY important. Even Printful has a technical video on the difference of CMYK and RGB. Your computer monitor is RGB but printers use CMYK. It's a bit technical and confusing but in short, they say create your graphics in CYMK mode then export it to ping will convert it to RBG but it will be more in line with physical printing if you do it that way. And especially for complex graphics that would be way to hard to "color match" by the chart. But for simple graphics, you can do like you said with the RGB printed t-shirt example and go by the numbers and get it perfect. Thanks for your video and sorry in advance if any of my comment is wrong.

[@kathywellerart]

Thanks for chiming I’m!! 👍

[@kaysha]

Printful is great. I'm having loads of fun with the all over print tshirts

[@megmathisen5368]

Just went to your site ... at first I felt like there was too much going on for me but within a minute I fell in love with your work. So fun! ❤️

[@kathywellerart]

Thanks so much, Meg!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I’m not for everybody, I know that’s true. But, I’m glad you warmed up to my style! 😁😁😁

[@erskinhansen1715]

Honestly, I didn't take color matching that seriously since 99% of my projects matched up pretty nicely, except for 1 color on 1 of my designs. I will definitely take your color matching advice. And even take more chances with different colors now that I'm more confident in the end result. Thanks!

[@kathywellerart]

Good for you on the color matching luck! Sometimes things work without it. Glad it has for most of your tees! 😊

[@liunaticfringe]

I know I'm late to this party, but yeah, I've been very frustrated with white printing on black tees -- quality very uneven. Thanks for this, good advice!

[@cje4733]

Love your energy!

[@WeAreGamerBros]

Your designs are so colourful and fun. Very inspirational AND motivational! Great video and info too! Thanks

[@JayJay-hg5vp]

this has being such a usefull video Kathy best of luck with your arts career youre brilliant!!!!

[@kathywellerart]

Thanks Jay Jay!

[@faisalalmalki9163]

I stumbled across this and I think you're awesome. Thank you

[@troyyarbrough]

I will agree that Printful has awesome customer support and great print quality. My biggest issue with Printful is their pricing. They don't leave much meat on the bone for the artist's markup.

[@kathywellerart]

Troy Yarbrough I agree.

[@KerrieRedgate]

This is super-super helpful, Kathy! Thank you so very much! I love that colour-matching T-shirt. I had no idea they had those. Seeing the wear of the ink over time is so valuable, and the black thing. Like you, I’m really concerned with *quality* output for customers. Subscribed!

[@kathywellerart]

Thanks, Kerrie!! 😃👏👏👏

[@P-Funk69]

Interesting point about the comparison of color match to not regarding sharpness . I have one of those swatch tees an mug and rarely use it. But maybe I’ll change that. Thank you !

[@kalirally]

Thanks for sharing all your expertise! I love your tshirts!!! Have some on my Christmas list ❤️

[@lol_yeahwhatever]

SO much valuable information! And you are an absolute joy to learn from. Thank you so much!!!

[@dingosmoov]

great video and really informative. thanks for this! especially showing the t-shirts you have washed numerous times. again thanks.

[@kathywellerart]

You’re welcome, James! Glad it helps!!

[@Spiral_Dancer]

Fellow artist here, doing some research into Printful for t-shirts and really enjoyed your review (and energy)! Keep up the great work Kathy! :D

[@Mariposa-rgb]

I really liked this video , you give a very good review about the prints AND you mention fabrics too. I love you talk about the fabric!. Could you make a version of this video where the main focus is the fabric quality? Like for all the shirts you have sampled from printful, each model composition or how each model does after heavy use and wash, also how print looks and feels on each model/fabric? any other fabric/construction detail like shrinking, or stitch quality? thickness of the different model/fabric? How the print feels on that specific fabric ? Thank you so much for this awesome video. I know you published this video a year ago but I really hope you see this message. I haven’t found anybody in youtube how not only talks about the print quality, but ALSO goes in deep detail about fabrics. We all know a print can be awesome but if the fabric feels bad that shirt is not going to be used as much.

[@kathywellerart]

Hi Efecto! Thanks, I’m glad the video helped you! I’ll see what works for future videos about fabric quality! Thanks!

[@haunt140]

Artist here who uses manual screen printing in their process sometimes. The ink that's set in with a matte look is water based ink. the floating ink with a sheen is plastisol (Plastic based ink). plastisol is used for a variety of things. I actually understand why someone may have mistakenly used plastisol on your shirt, because most hip hop/streetwear clothing utilizes plastisol or other raised inks, and a popular style there is black on black/black on grey.

[@UseYourManners123]

Hola! I’m so glad I found you! :)

[@jefthecrazycanadian]

This is great, Kathy! Thanks. I just discovered Printful and just started setting up my first shop. I definitely needed these insider secrets to the post-print ink and designs. :)

[@kathywellerart]

Hey Jef! Thanks for the kind comments! Definitely check out the comments too, to see what others have to say about the shiny black ink issue!

[@ThatTattooGuyOfficial]

Thanks for the info! Great video

[@lifealchemystic183]

Super Helpful Info!! And now I have more t-shirts on my wish list! Thank you!

[@kathywellerart]

Life Alchemystic Thanks!! :) 🙏

[@adisatrio3871]

thanks for making this video. so far i still never have any problem with that black ink issue with printful.

[@kathywellerart]

Well, if you ever do, all you have to do is read the comments section here to understand the mistake! 😆

[@XavierLeong]

Thank you for this! Been working on creating my designs and thinking I want to start with Printful so I'm scouring the internet for all the information I can get!

[@roopkummar3858]

What you buy from printful

[@shawnburke1516]

Hey Kathy, It looks like one black print was printed correctly with straight black ink right on the shirt and the other was printed with a white underbase. The white underbase is why it looks like it is printed on top of the fibers and not soaked in the shirt like the other. They most likely just had the printer on the incorrect printing setting.

[@kathywellerart]

Wow!! Thanks Shawn!! That did not even occur to me. I think you solved the mystery! If that’s the case, they did a perfect job with it because I cannot see any white ink under the colored inks, but that’s not surprising because I have lots of full color designs on dark tees and I have never seen bad registration with any white peeking out. Thanks for chiming in on this! 🌟🙌

[@webstergenius]

Another /possible/ idea is that the black you used wasn’t true CMYK hex code black in the shiny file and the printer sometimes prints white underbase under colours that aren’t true print pigment. I don’t know if that’s true, just a theory! Another theory is that if the file has any transparency to it at all, (as in opacity is not set to 100%) they will print white underbase under it- skewing the colour result.

[@webstergenius]

Also I’m unsure why it says they print RBG colour. All files printed are ultimately converted to CMYK to be actually able to print.

[@adisatrio3871]

@@webstergenius no they don't. they just say for the design. they accept sRGB color format, and if your file is in RGB, they will convert it to cmyk for printing, thats also explained in their youtube videos about the printing design. almost every printing in the whole world use CMYK, i never know or met or heard printing on RGB.

[@lvgeorge]

@@webstergenius Yes, just seems like CMYK supersedes RGB with their own software color protocol.

[@iabram8993]

Great Video, thank you. I'm in UK (a young 52yr old ) and learning all I can as I would like to now start a POD business. Have no stores, don't know anything yet about Shopify, Etsy etc but am trying to watch copious amounts of videos. Wasn't even thinking about actually drawing my own designs but I now am thinking I could do this (art being my passion) but wouldn't know where to start or what software to draw/design things on - or does one literally do by hand and then get that image uploaded? See what a novice I am :). Anyway just wanted to say that it was great info and very enjoyable to watch and will continue to watch more of your videos. Do you draw all those Tshirts you showed in the vid. They were fab. x

[@kathywellerart]

Irena Abramson Thanks so much for your comment, Irena! I do all the original art for my tees and other products, yes! I work in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Procreate for the iPad. I have lots more videos on tees! Check out more on my channel kathywellerart where there’s a playlist devoted to tees! Hugs!

[@justjosh1400]

Great video. Thanks for the advice

[@CrispinBixler]

Thanks for the intel, Kathy! Love your artwork and know-how!

[@kathywellerart]

Thanks Crispin! I’m glad you like it and I hope you get some value from the video and my channel!! 🤗

[@apple491]

Thank You for this!!

[@vanessaperez4634]

Thank you so much! I found this so incredibly useful and will be ordering my t-shirt color swatch today! :)

[@kathywellerart]

Great! Glad it helped you Vanessa!!

[@ricnyc2759]

The printing quality is excellent! Thanks for the video!

[@argonaut3001]

Hi Kathy Great presentation! The ink issue could be that the 'floating' ink is plastic based -which would also be reinforced with a white (plastic) underlay, whereas the 'infused' ink is water based. I hope Printful clarify this either way. Best wishes :)

[@fayfay2012]

Just found this channel so happy I did!! Thank you this answered a lot of my questions please keep making the world a better place (:

[@kathywellerart]

Thank you, Fay!

[@mattfoster3733]

I had that same problem. I honestly stopped even risking designing with black ink on dark clothing.

[@kathywellerart]

Good move.

[@lololololololo3964]

GREAT INFO

[@suzethomas8148]

Thanks very much

[@kathywellerart]

You are welcome

[@cacomartin]

thanks for the info! nice designs!

[@ResourcesWithMarie]

Great Video

[@ripleystvnintendoswitch7346]

Hi Kathy, thanks for the info. I loved your video:)

[@tedsmith7991]

Thanks Kathy. Silly question: What temperature do you wash your tees? They look so nice after so many washes. Thx.

[@kathywellerart]

Hi Ted! I wash on cold cycle, “gentle” or “casual” and usually in a laundry zip bag (when I’m doing the laundry).

[@utankamungggay]

this is awesome. makes me feel better to investing in printful. Thank you 😊

[@cabrondemente1]

very useful info, little details that no one talks about

[@oriolylla2322]

Great video. You have so good vibes! Pls keep on doing what you do

[@lawilder2059]

I’ve read that the newest heat transfer designs are just as good as silkscreening because the ink melts and fuses right into the cloth as the heat is applied. Do you know if s hands on artwork can be transformed into a vector which can then be turned into a heat press design? I wonder if printful can do this upon request. Amazon merch says they use heat press, DTG printing, and silkscreening depending upon what best suits the artwork.

[@kathywellerart]

Thanks for sharing about the heat transfer improvements! I’ll have to google that! If your artwork is made up of flat colors, it’s easier to turn into vector art. I have a video about optimizing your taster art before vectorizing it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qF7EZp6cia2FgJY and here’s another video about turning raster art into vector art ( this one is more general how-to): kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y3PNkI2cosmIbas Hope these help!!

[@illiJomusic]

Thanks so much.

[@simonemei5862]

The Sample Order is temporarily disabled on Printful...is there any chance to have the colours chart in another format rather than order a t-shirt? Thank you

[@kathywellerart]

Hi Simone! That’s a great question. You can ask Printful what they recommend. I don’t work for them, and I don’t know myself! If you find out the answer please post it here to let me know what you discover! Thanks!

[@kaliwilliams5480]

Ok i had the same black ink issue but in this case it was dark grey ink. The print started washing off the shirt after four washes. BUT I used hot water and Printful always cautions to use cold water. However I washed the bella 3413 a good 20x now and same w the bella muscle tank and the prints have held up really well. Love your colorful products, btw and thank you so much for sharing!

[@kathywellerart]

Kali Williams You are so welcome! Thanks so much for watching and commenting!! 🤓👏 To answer your other question YES I have Gildan Softstyle 64000 in only one design and I really like the T-shirt. It’s super comfortable. I may offer in other designs at some point. I just haven’t done it yet.

[@kaliwilliams5480]

Kathy Weller awesome thanks. I’m gonna order a sample then. Love that 3413 but the price point is just so high.

[@kathywellerart]

Kali Williams Just so you are aware, I would liken the Gildan one more to the Anvil 980 , simply based on fabric weight and make-up (Anvil 980 is 100% cotton except for heather colors and 3413 is triblend for every color. In one of my tee videos I break down the percentages of fiber in the tees, but I don’t recall which video. You can also look on the printful or Bella Canvas web site for the triblend breakdown, too). The 3413 fabric weight is lighter and more soft and silky feeling and the Gildan is classic thick- to-mid weight - style cotton tee. The anvil is cotton tee, but not a thick fabric, also not super thin. The cut of the Gildan is closer to Anvil 980 than 3413, but not exactly the same. I hope this helps!!

[@kaliwilliams5480]

Kathy Weller Thank you ☺️ I actually sampled a bunch of tanks but only one tee! 🙃 I was just so smitten with the 3413 but I’ve been digging into reviews of your other recs. Since it’s summer I think for now I’ll just release the Bella muscle tank, and till fall I can try out some other tees. Mine are for fitness so the muscle tanks should “workout.” 🤣 ... Also at a high price point but literally the only one I was happy with 🙃 thanks for the guidance!!

[@Bodyandsoulreconnection]

Good day Kathy. I am a novice. I have designs for some tee's but am confused about scaling. Will be having a POD off Etsy. I have chatted with Printful reps. but am still confused. Does Printful scale the design on all or only some tshirt brands? I am going to use Bella Canvas 3001 Unisex and Bella Canvas 6400 Women's tees. So if a customer orders an XL or 2X what happens with the design? I know I sync the product to all the different size shirts that are being offered, but again, do I need to make the graphic larger on an XL, 2X and 3X? What has been your experience? Thank you.

[@kathywellerart]

No, you so not need to size the graphic per tee size- you need only create the design file to their specifications (which they have already taken different tee sizes into account) and then design your tee with the online designer they have (which is very accurate and scales to sizes of the tee). Give it a shot! Best of luck!

[@Bodyandsoulreconnection]

Thank you Kathy.

[@GenericInternetter]

So glad i stumbled on this... subscribed!

[@sidehustletoceo]

Thanks for sharing

[@IsraelSuperguide]

Hi Cathy, i am thinking to print with this company. I just order my first ti check the quality and colors, specially when i have a RGB screen. Question: As photographer i am planning to print my own pics too, mugs, canvas. Will it print an actual pic in a t-shirt What is your experience. Thanks.

[@alexisc3]

Hi Kathy- thank you so much for this video, unfortunately my experience with Printful on Black 3001 Bella canvas hasn’t been that good. The colors are extremely faded seems like the Bella 3001 absorbed the colors. I want to know if you ordered your sample tshirt with the color swatches on the Bella canvas 3001 or another tshirt because your sample color swatch tshirt is 1000x more vibrant than mine and my sample is on Bella 3001. Thank you in advance.

[@kathywellerart]

Hey Alexis! My color swatch tee is a black Bella Canvas 3001. I would suggest you take photos of your tee and talk to their support. If you used the color swatch recipes for your colors on your tee design, I’m wondering if something went wrong in the printing of your tee design . It is definitely worth investigating with one of their support people. Accidents happen!! Let me know what happens with it!! Good luck!!

[@alexisc3]

Thank you for responding, this is my second order from Printful, the first time I ordered I didn’t have the color swatch tshirt and the print that was supposed to be bubble gum pink looked violet, then I saw your helpful video and I ordered the color swatch tshirt on Bella Canvas 3001. I just received the sample swatch shirt today and I have the same result, dingy colors, they look washed out and not professional. Again, this is with the color swatch tshirt sample on a black 3001. The white 3001 looks ok i guess. When I looked at your video today, your sample shirt looks vibrant and the quality looks great as a sample. People in a blog I’m in are suggesting its the lighting you use in your videos that makes your T-shirts look so great. I didn’t mention your channel, however I just don’t think that’s it, the color swatch shirt is just awful.

[@kathywellerart]

@@alexisc3 Ha ha! I do not have any fancy filters - I have to admit that kind of made me laugh because I use Screenflow for editing which is really a "function over style" editing program (not knocking it LOL) it just works for me and for the types of videos I mostly make (informational). Before KZbin removed the filters you could use on your videos within KZbin (how you used to be able to add a little filtering right before upload) I used to take advantage of that filtering through that that process, because it really only added light to my videos, where my room is pretty dark and I try to light it well and the filter would help to just brighten up the room. But I think (not sure, but I think) that maybe they had discontinued those by the time I put this video up. Anyway 'scuse my long reply - the filter thing just struck me because my videos are really not fancy at all LOL :) Was your digital file (that came out looking dingy when printed) definitely in RGB? It sounds like it could have been in CMYK which dulled down the colors. I cannot see the images of your tee issues but I would reach out to Printful to ask them to give you some advice maybe? They also have at least one video on using the tee swatch method. If you have not already, please check out their YT channel to see if there are any swatch vids you have not watched. Other than that, I'd reach out to them and be a squeaky wheel about it. Persistence with trying to get to the bottom of something pays off with Printful - I find that they are helpful with stuff like that, even if it takes a few days for them to get back to you. Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help!

[@JONQPiD]

Hi Kathy, great video. Do you have a video tutorial about launching a brand as well as marketing strategies? I’m have a new brand that I’m passionate about. My vision is quite clear as to where I see it going and it’s possibilities. I’m just looking for guidance from someone that already been ... where I’m at. Again, great video. I like that you had clear points and offered personal feedback regarding each topic.

[@kathywellerart]

Thank you DJ! No, I don’t have a video on that topic, but Regarding marketing strategies as they pertain to being an Etsy seller, I do have a video called “how to get press without trying too hard”! It’s in my video list- ya can’t miss it! 👍 Thanks for asking, and best of luck to you with your brand!!!

[@Limbpaw]

Wow! This was really helpful. ...I especially found your comments on the 'pilling' to be insightful. ...The idea that the ink has been perfected to the point that it can outlast the Tee being attractive, I think now opens the opportunity to do a vid that details which Tee material holds up best overtime. - Liked & Sub'd!

[@kathywellerart]

Thanks Limbpaw ! I’m glad it was helpful. It’s kind of amazing that the ink holds on so well. I have some ratty-looking tees, tees I’ve practically destroyed in terms of overall washing and wearing- and the ink still looks great. Crazy, but I’ll take it! 👍👍👍

[@AprendeconAme]

I love your designs, thanks for making this video. What do you use to make your hand-drawn designs like the avocados one?

[@kathywellerart]

Thanks! I created the art in Photoshop.

[@808speedster]

Which t-shirt was your favorite? I noticed the anvil label, did you ever use Bella? I’m thinking of staying with 100% cotton shirts or ones with a tiny % of polyester. Would you recommend this path? Thanks for your help Kathy!

[@kathywellerart]

Hi Wes! I love the Bella Canvas Triblend 3413 unisex. I love the anvil 980 unisex- most colors are 100 cotton, a few are cotton/poly blend. The wild card tee that I love is the Gildan 18000 - (I think that’s the right number!) it fits great and it wears well. And, my customers love it. 👍👍👍I have only tried the heather (athletic) grey, and I’ve only printed black on it thus far. But that’s become a tee I wear, I love and I will use more in the future! 👍

[@808speedster]

@@kathywellerart Thanks!

[@b.s.bopanna2681]

Hey Kathy, can you please recommend what T shirts specifically are best for printing..for men, women and unisex... Also for hoodies and sweat shirts what's your choice? Thanks for the video .

[@kathywellerart]

B.S. Bopanna Hey B.S.! I use Anvil 980, Bella Canvas 3001, and Bella Canvas 3413 triblend for unisex. My personal favs are the 990 and the 3413, but ppl like the 3001 so I offer it too ( it’s a bit long and narrow for me personally) . As for sweatshirts & hoodies , I have not personally tested those so I can’t make a solid recommendation from my own experience, however I use Printful customer reviews mixed with a lot of googling, to get a sense of fit, features and quality before I decide on and make a listing for anything I haven’t personally tried. For women’s tees, I have tried the Anvil 880 (loose and comfortable fit) and Bella 8413 (a slim fit triblend). I like and use both of these however i personally prefer wearing the unisex Anvil 980 and Bella Canvas 3413. I really hope this helps- selecting tees is not an exact science in fact it’s really the opposite- i think it’s so much personal preference. One across the board piece of advice is to find one or two models you personally LOVE, because you can feel GOOD / BEST offering them. Aside from that, use your best judgment coupled with research and see how it goes. I want to make a video that covers some of the tee selection questions and potential pitfalls (believe me I’ve had my share)! As for kid tees , girls tees, baby tees etc. those are tough too- trial and error- I offer so few of these, because I’m perpetually testing and always reconsidering if I want to continue offering them depending on my customers’ feedback. The last thing I will say is, with any POD tee company, you never know when they’re going to discontinue a model, a model/color, or both. This has driven me to more seriously consider things when I’m adding new models (I do it less) and also to offer more limited selection of colors per tee design for newer listings.

[@b.s.bopanna2681]

@@kathywellerart Hi Kathy, thanks for the detailed explanation. Can you please tell me how do you handle return and refunds? Also how to avoid most of the returns and stuffs. Do you suggest shopify or Etsy?

[@kathywellerart]

B.S. Bopanna Sure. Returns are tough. Printful will not refund or replace unless there’s an obvious problem with the printing (or if there’s a clear irregularity with the tee shirt, I’m assuming, but I’ve never experienced that problem.) I think the most careful way to manage the possibility of unhappy customer experience is to be as up front, as honest and as transparent as possible from the jump. For instance, when someone wants say my Narwhal design on a toddler tee, and I don’t have any todddler tees listed in my shop (but printful offers them, so they are available to me) Here’s what I do: 1) I tell them I’ve never tried the tee myself 2) scout printful for the best options available and definitely read the reviews to gauge whether I feel it’s a good gamble or not 3) google the tee and see what the rest of the internet thinks 4) look for videos of the tee being modeled and/or further product information 5) select colors I think they might like (but the color selection is usually very limited for various reasons - for instance: my multi color designs don’t work on every tee shirt color, and lots of tees are only offered in a limited color range, so that equals limited selection of choices for the customer. ) Basically I try to collect as much truly “3D” info on the product as possible to help the customer decide. Then, I deliver my findings to the customer and let them choose. But that’s not the end of it - because, even though I’m transparent that I have not tried the particular tee before, and I let them know I don’t have experience with the wash and wear aspects of the tee, I still have to stand behind my products, as long as I offer them and in whatever situation I offer them. (I am considering coming up with other standards to counteract this - such as “ I can only guarantee the tee models that are listed because I have tried them myself” but I’m just not sure about how to handle that yet.). So , say if a customer comes back and says the tee unraveled in the wash and they are not happy, I will correct the problem and eat the cost. Tees can be a tough business- there is a LOT of customer care involved- tees are worn on bodies. And every body is unique. They are washed, dried and worn over and over, so they are a SUPER picky product and in a way they are “alive” because they are constantly changing and being worn and lived in. They are not mugs, or notebooks which are used but not worn. So by and large, tees require much more customer care. So yes, I eat more cost with tees than any other product. Customer care is EXTREMELY important to me and if Printful can’t fix it, I fix it. That’s just the tee shirt life!

[@nettiesmagicalnook]

Thank you :)

[@The_Midnight_Willow]

My guess on the black ink tshirts is that they didn’t put the white layer down first before printing your design. When printing on dark shirts a white base is printed on first and then the design over. Looks like it was forgotten.

[@kathywellerart]

Yah that’s a good point! It’s possible! Not sure what their methods are!

[@LadyAnyaRomanov]

Thanks, this is really helpful 😊

[@smilncynic]

Very helpful, thanks!

[@kunkun73]

OMG! I just discovered you and I'm in love!!!

[@kathywellerart]

Olivia Lufkin Hi Olivia! Thanks so much for the kind words about my art!! :) yay thanks!! Regarding your tee issues, I would check these things first: - that your PNG or AI file (whatever you are uploading) has the art centered, and that the top of the art is right at the top of the file border. -when using the automated centering tool on the tee shirt designer, center your tee design yourself manually, if it looks like the design is not center-balanced, after using centering tool. Sometimes, a tee design will be centered in terms of the actual physical file but it will lookoff-center because the design is kind of asymmetrical. I’m not saying this is your issue at all, since I don’t know what your tee designs are like but it’s another trouble shooting method. Other than those two things, I’d highly recommend live chatting with Printful’s support team on their live chat. Sometimes they can be helpful immediately and sometimes they take awhile. But the great thing is, they are there for you to use, to improve your products and your listings so definitely take advantage of them!! 👍

[@KeysoftheKingdom]

@@kathywellerart Thanks for the tips here. I was creating images in the middle of the file, so it is best to keep it at the top to make sure the design is at the top?

[@thomaswest584]

This is good info to have, thank you!

[@akmalhakim8615]

Hi Kathy, I found you're review are so helpful. I have 1 question. What kind of tshirt are you using. Is it the gildan 2000 or the Bella canvas?

[@deeseajay]

great video Kathy. What color space settings / values do use to achieve "black"?

[@kathywellerart]

I’ll try and remember to comment back when I’m on my computer!

[@lkd982]

Hi Kathy, do you do consultancy of POD shops? I have an art print shop I am struggling with and could use some expertise. Thank you for any reply, (Lawrence)

[@kathywellerart]

Hey Lawrence! I know you and I have already connected about this! For anyone else reading this comment, go to bit.ly/pickkathysbrain for details.

[@beatbootbit]

I love your hair

[@kathywellerart]

Thanks George!

[@beatbootbit]

Have you sell T-shirt based on photo artwork? How good is printfull to print photo in shirt?

[@kathywellerart]

Printful is good abd theycarexeho I use but I do not use photos on my tees so I cannot speak to how photos print on tees. I would just suggest you use best practices in the file preparation when preparing your art for the tees. Check out their site and their you tube, where they have a lot of detailed info.

[@beatbootbit]

@@kathywellerart Thank you very much for your information, I hope you will grow your audience.

[@MarcialHeredia]

Great video Kathy... thanks so much for this. I already subscribed.

[@nicolepiscatella3406]

When you first open Printful where on earth is the icon for "Print on Demand?" I was playing around with the website for an hour then I wanted to chat with a customer service person who never showed up...Can someone help me please.

[@kathywellerart]

When you go to your Dashboard, click on "Stores". When you get to that page, that is where you have any and all stores or platforms synced (and where you can sync any that are not already synced). Under "Product Sync" of whatever store you want to add a product to, there should be a button that says "Add". is where you can create a product. Also, if you want to test out the product designer, go to "Mockup Generator". When you are in your "Dashboard", it is in the left vertical navigation at the very bottom of the page. I hope this helps!!

[@irvingguerreroartista]

Any comment between the Anvil and Bella Canvas? peeling, shrinking?

[@kathywellerart]

irving guerrero I haven’t had any peeling or cracking or fading of the ink on either. In terms of shrinking, I have washed and worn my anvil 980’s a good number more times than my Bella canvas shirts, and 100% cotton does tend to get a little rough in texture after many, many washes and with that does come a slight shrinkage. I’ve experienced this with the 100% cotton anvil 980, but that’s because I’ve washed and worn it a million times (and it’s 100 cotton). 😆 Any shrinkage is not noticeable to any one else- it’s slight and if you are the wearer you can see it, but others can’t (so far, anyway!)

[@victorialynn6248]

I love the info. Truly appreciated. O have some questions on how to get started in freelance design. What's the best way to pose a question?

[@kathywellerart]

Hi Victoria! Thanks for your question! Feel free to leave it in a reply. I don't have a specific place to leave Questions. If you would prefer to ask a question privately, feel free to use this form here: kathyweller.com/about/ If you ask a question that might be good to answer in a video, I will use it in one, however please let me know whether or not you prefer to remain anonymous so I can respect your wishes! :D

[@deborahs425]

Great Video! thank You so Much!

[@kathywellerart]

Thanks! Glad you liked it! 👍

[@bollwitt]

Have you tried any of the tank tops? If so would you recommend one for men and one for womens.

[@kathywellerart]

I’ve offered the Bella Canvas ladies racer back tank in the past due to customer request, however I have not tried it myself. I haven’t tried or offered any unisex or men’s tanks.

Your shirts look so fun! Is this really 10x12? It seems so much larger than the recommended dimensions.

[@kathywellerart]

Shirah Ólafsson hi shirah ! You’re right, it does seem larger - particularly on the shirt I’m wearing in this video. I’ll have to measure it! But the online designer in printful will cut off any art exceeding 10x12 so the system won’t allow for larger. Details: I upload everything at 300 dpi but there is some flexibility with the resolution of tee art in the system at printful. It can actually be moderately below that (even under 150 sometimes!) and still look really good. Have you fooled around with the printful tee shirt design tool? It’s much easier to understand what I’m talking about if you can see a design being formatted on a tee mock up on the computer screen. It can read the type of file you upload for your tee (vector , png, psd etc) and then when you are placing it and sizing it in your tee, it tells you in real time how much the resolution is going down depending on how large you size it. It’s great for us detail fanatics. It also “rates” that resolution to let you know if it goes below “good” quality (“great, good, fair” I think are some if the ratings). Anyway, the “live area” on the tee does not exceed 10x12” so there’s really no way you can make the design larger than that on the online designer, because the art would be cut off on the edges. If you mess around in the printful online tee designer, you’ll see what I mean. I hope this helps and is not too confusing! Printful actually has the best online design tool I’ve used, it’s very accurate and clean, looks great, easy to use, and THANKFULLY is not buggy. I haven’t tried a ton of tee shirt POD, but I have tried enough to discover one or two that are just really not great! Some POD’s have kind of buggy / half-baked online designer tools. It makes it really hard to know what you’re gonna get. Anyway I’m rambling! Hope this helps! 😝😁

[@Ghostfanofurs]

Great video, so informative. The black T you were talking about actually looked good, though it Did look Grey to me with the Black mat design which I liked. Anyways, I'm leaning towards trying out Printiful. Do you sell your shirts or is it just a self thing ? and if you do , who with. That's my next research. Thanks. 👍

[@kathywellerart]

Hi Mick! Someone solved the shiny black ink tee situation in the comments so give it a skim! I sell my shirts myself at shopkathyweller.com! Read the tee reviews there to get a sense of how my customers like the printful tees. :) Thank you so much for your comment!! :)

[@cindybee9270]

For the black shirts, it looks to me like one was printed DTG and the other was a transfer.

[@kathywellerart]

Cindy Bendel Yeah!! That is a great way to put it! I’m glad the video could show that effectively that you could explain it so aptly! Wish I thought of that description during recording! So weird. I wish they would have given me more information on the issue. I like to have more info, it’s helpful for EVERYONE. :)

[@lvgeorge]

How much Profit must you sacrifice by using Printful's print quality over the competition? Nice Designs!!! Thumbs Up!

[@kathywellerart]

Hi George, I prefer to look at it as though by using a print on demand tee company that I know has very high standards in both quality of product and in customer service, that by spending the few extra dollars Printful charges over the less expensive POD companies, I am investing in a better and more trustworthy experience for my customers that will deliver repeat business and happy customers. Hope this helps!

[@lvgeorge]

@@kathywellerart I'm all for Best Possible Quality, even sacrificing some profit in return for increased customer satisfaction and minimal customer issues. I'm going to start our Clothing line with your recommendation, ie. using Printful. I see how your helping others and care about your channel subscribers. This motivates me to use your referral link(s).

[@ultraviolet663]

Hi Kathy - my name is Kathy too. ☺ I am an artist and going to start a t-shirt business. Do you hand paint your designs or do you use Adobe illustrator or a combination of both ? I am VERY new to all of this. 💖

[@kathywellerart]

Hey Ultra! Usually, my designs start out in my sketchbook (analog pencil and paper). Then I take a picture and bring it into photoshop, illustrator or procreate (on the iPad Pro), complete the design at hi resolution, transfer back to my computer to finish the file and size it appropriately for the product format (and potentially create vector art from it, I’d necessary) and upload to my POD partners site for printing!

[@ultraviolet663]

@@kathywellerart thank you so much ! I watched two of your videos last night and learned a ton ! And I learned from your reply ! Thank you so much ! 💖

[@WCNGraphics]

the first one has one coat of ink and the second has two coats that why its thinker and has the shine.

[@brebee9810]

Agreed. When i screen printed, i would print, flash, then print again. That makes the print stay at top and not soak into fibers. Most printers do not do this and their prints look faded as the other did. Its the same as using a white base print under colors.

[@natanunorthodox]

Hey Kathy, do you use Etsy? I am just about to start my brand of artwork and other designs, and I'm a beginner. I was just wondering what you use with printful? Thanks...SBN RESONATE

[@kathywellerart]

Yes, I am on Etsy. :)

[@7hmichael]

nice helpful video.. thanks! :)

[@kathywellerart]

Michael7h You’re welcome! Glad it helped.

[@ShelbyLentz]

This was super helpful! Thank you so much!

[@susanthagunarathna2659]

Which color we must use for printpul clothing design, RGB or CMYK plz answer me

[@kathywellerart]

Hi Susantha! Printful tees use RGB color space! 👌

[@susanthagunarathna2659]

Kathy Weller okay, thanks and one thing kathy i use illustrator for create my design not photoshop, is that matter if i use RGB color for illustrator design, will color change whan print tee

[@kathywellerart]

Hi Susantha, no- you can change your color space in Adobe illustrator . m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/gHbPqXlmbLSbqtU

[@rozchristopherson648]

Very helpful tips, especially concerning washing. Also, are you getting Infusion only method or Transfer method on the shirts? Infusion should not peel. Thanks! Great video!👍😃

[@kathywellerart]

It's not transfer, so I guess it is infusion! (Not familiar with that term). Thanks!! :D

[@Konarali]

Great video, Subscribed!!!

[@kathywellerart]

Konarali Thanks so much!!

[@AndrewDanielartofAndrewdaniel]

Do you think dtg looks less substantial than silkscreen? It’s hard to tell from the video.

[@kathywellerart]

Hi Andrew! I think it looks a slight bit different than silkscreen, but not any more or any less of a quality ink print. Usually for me, if I can’t tell if a tee is dtg or silkscreen, I look at the number of colors. Usually when there is a greater number of colors, it’s definitely dtg, especially these days where dtg is so much better than it used to be. (I’ve been out shopping looking at tees before, and have at times really had to study the tee before realizing that the tee printing is dtg.) Also, I think you can get good dtg or crappy dtg, depending on who is doing the printing, just like you can get good or crappy silkscreen printing, depending on who is doing the printing. Hope this helps!

[@AndrewDanielartofAndrewdaniel]

Thanks Kathy, I think it does help! Maybe I like the punchyness of silkscreen. I could make color separated do designs with color key. Then if I have popular designs, switch them from DTG to bulk order silkscreen to save money...

[@kathywellerart]

Hi Andrew! I’ve never done silkscreen tees but I LOVE how silkscreen looks. I have seen some effects you can get with silkscreening using water based inks that’s are really nice- where the ink looks vintage, and kind of transparent. So I do think there are things you can do with silkscreen that are not possible with dtg. But in all my research of outsourcing either dtg or silkscreen tee printing, companies prefer to use dtg on tee designs with several colors (as opposed to silkscreening several colors). I’m sure if you DIY silkscreen, you can control costs better. But I’ve never done silkscreen myself because 1) I don’t have the space, and 2) the margin for my own learning curve with silkscreen would be a lot of wasted tee shirts! 😂

[@bollwitt]

In other videos you've mentioned the Bella 3413 but after a year your pick is the Anvil 980? The red bastards shirt I believe is a Bella 3413 and not a NL? Also have you ever done sweatshirts?

[@kathywellerart]

Elizabeth Bollwitt - ArtByBollwitt Yes I still use the Bella Canvas 3413 for Bastards (and lots of other shirts) because it’s one of my favorite tees, and it’s also one that lots of other people like. 980 is my personal favorite but it’s not everyone’s. I know I’m in the minority. I also offer Bella 3001 on lots of designs because it’s such a hugely loved and popular shirt, and it is a very good tee in a beautiful range of colors, but I personally don’t like the cut for ME.

[@gridironszn5512]

Hey Kathy, are you still using Printful for your clothing business?

[@kathywellerart]

I am!

[@gridironszn5512]

@@kathywellerart Awesome! How did you go about setting up sales tax? Is that all done automatically? I've already set up Nexus in the state that I work out of, but other than that is there anything else I need to set up?

[@kathywellerart]

Hi Gridiron! Sales tax is different for everyone depending on the state/s you have nexus in, and tax laws change all the time, but here’s a link with more info: www.printful.com/blog/how-drop-shipping-and-sales-tax-work/ Printful collects and charges us sales tax in 36 states unless we have a resale certificate for a specific state. I have to tell you that even after talking to my CPA about it at length it’s still confusing and the conversation will continue because we have to continually be checking in on the laws. So i could tell you what my CPA said to me for my situation but my situation is different than yours or anyone else’s so it isn’t really helpful for anyone else’s situation. But I will say that having the guidance of a CPA to, for my own situation and state, is a big comfort to me because I want to make sure I’m doing things right and following the current laws! 👍

[@karenwood6374]

RGB is the colors on your computer screen (Red/Green/Blue) And refers to to light wavelengths to make your screen colors. CYMK is how these shirts are printed. (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black + white ink) The printer is basically a gigantic ink jet printer with white ink as the base. (I work for a company that does DTG printing) Depending on what brand of printer they are using some are far superior to others.

[@kathywellerart]

Thanks for your input, Karen! I looked it up and Printful uses Kornit printers and Kornit Water-based and NeoPigment inks which uses either CMYK+White or CMYKRG+White depending on what printer they're using. They must have devised the chart with the Kornit inks in the CMYK+ color spaces, and came up with the RGB equal to each color, because I've had stunning results from using the sample swatch tee, which uses RGB number recipes for the colors.

[@karenwood6374]

@@kathywellerart the second one sounds like a digital squeegee printer. Which mixes traditional screen print with the DTG print. I wish I could tell you more but I'm trained in screen printing and the DTG is still a new area for me.

[@Integrasia8]

Hi Kathy I like your style of tshirt designs, would you help me design Tees for my store? How do u charge?

[@kathywellerart]

Hi Jesse! Thanks for the compliment! I really appreciate it! I currently do not offer the service of creating designs for other people to print and use on products they sell. It’s a bit complicated with selling the rights to a piece of art per product format (example: tees / apparel), either for a certain time frame (example: 2 years) , or, if they buy ALL rights to the art. I would also have to factor in the profit (or potential profit) the client will make per design into the price, which is tricky. In terms of selling designs outright (selling all rights to a design) almost never do this, and when I have, it’s a custom design such as a logo. If I were to sell limited use rights for a specific timeframe (example: 2 years), It would require me and/or the client to do a lot of paperwork every quarter. This would require outside management and/or services. For these reasons, that’s not a road I am interested in going down.

[@Integrasia8]

@@kathywellerart ok thanks for replying.

[@atantiko2982]

do you use cmyk or rgb, do you vectorized your file

[@kathywellerart]

RGB and sometimes I vectorize it but sometimes I do transparent PNG. I believe that printful no longer accepts vector files these days, so it’s transparent PNG.

[@atantiko2982]

oh thank you for your response @@kathywellerart

[@200ludwin]

Hi. Great video! The more colors the design has, the more money it costs??

[@kathywellerart]

Hello! With DTG printing, you do not pay per color! You pay per color with screen printing. Hope this helps!

[@NoNo-b8c]

They dont have this any more? What can i do?

[@lesialav]

How to set up a return policy?

[@kathywellerart]

Read Printful policies, and then craft yours using theirs as a guide. Their return policy will essentially be yours. After that, it’s trial and error. You’ll need to order from them yourself and get to know and understand their standards, chat situation, and availability patterns. Then you’ll get acclimated to the culture of their customer care, get familiar with their communication style, and gain a good understanding of the standards they set and adhere to. It’s an ongoing learning process / experience.

[@Zander9109]

what print fullfiment company was used?

[@kathywellerart]

Printful!

[@nauval587]

What Tshirt do you use?

[@kathywellerart]

I use several different models. That info is all in my t-shirt videos! 👌

[@fmob2011]

01:40 100% Black (K) will not print true black. For an opaque or true black, it's best to use the CMYK mixture of 75, 68, 67, 90 respectively. See: www.bittbox.com/culture/photoshop-101-true-black-cmyk Also, it all depends on the operator and the quality check person. This is where inconsistency comes in to play, unfortunately. But the color on your tees do pop! Very cool.

[@kathywellerart]

Awesome info! Thank you. I notice when I pick the blackest black that my CMYK values always "default" to those numbers! Thank you for explaining!

[@dremotionpictures3811]

The problem you are experiencing with the black inks from my educated assumption is the following: Printful uses DTG machines which are the best in kind, however Printful is making thousands of T-shirts per day, and potentially they are not making your black T-shirts on the same machine. The reason I believe printful didn't want to explain the exact issue is because it open a can a worms that they don't want in the internet, Dtg printers are overall great but the inks are sensitive too room temperature, and moisture, the ink could have been running low or the printer could have been overdue for a nozzle check or clean up. This is most likely the issue you are experiencing with the black ink.