screenprinting a photo onto OOT bags

nylalany · 01-10-2008, 04:41 PM

Hi, I'm looking into screenprinting a photo (of our feet in the sand on the beach near our house (going along with my save-the-date in the sand email photo and some photos on my website) on canvas OOT bags. The quote I got from a company here is $160 for 4 screens ($40 per screen) + $100 for artwork + $4.50 per print. I'm doing approximately 50 bags (1 per couple and 1 per single person, quick estimate), and so that works out to $9.70 per bag and that is without even buying the bags themselves. They quoted me approximately $7 per bag to buy the bags there, which I think is outrageous given I've seen similar bags online for $1 to $3 a bag.

So my question is did everyone do their silkscreening locally or did anyone order bags and get them silkscreened somewhere online all in one place that could beat this price? Also, do you agree that this price is crazy and I should keep looking, or is this just going to be a pricey OOT bag before anything is in it? Recs please!

Sarah · 01-11-2008, 06:03 AM

Have you considered doing an iron-on?

nylalany · 01-11-2008, 10:07 AM

I was just reading through all the threads about iron ons. Can you iron on a photo? Does it look like an iron on (is it kinda shiny and sticky looking)? I feel like iron ons look better for logos - which I'm tempted to switch to...but I'm not sure how it would look for a photo. Maybe I should buy 1 bag and experiment.

Are you the one with the red logo? I may have to copy you...how can I get your logo :)

I mean, I'm not getting married in Cabo, but...

Also, which is the best kind of iron on transfer paper out of curiosity?

I've found some places online that do one color screen prints + bag for about $4 so that is looking like an option if I'm willing to have a washed out looking photo, which might work for the photo I'm using...

Jenn · 01-11-2008, 10:17 AM

We did iron-ons, but I don't know if it would work with a picture. If you had a really good printer, it should. I would say buy the iron-on paper and a bag or even a t-shirt to experiment with. We used Wilton Easyimage transfer paper and it worked great! Just remember to mirror the image before printing :) Our bags were $5 a piece, but they are heavy canvas big beach bags... the transfer paper is about $1 per sheet, so it would certainly be cheaper if it works. Let us know how it goes!

Oh and as for if the iron-on is shiny, if you take the backing off while it is still hot, it gives a matte look. If you wait until they cool, they stay shiny.

DanielleNDerek · 01-11-2008, 10:52 AM

this is kinda a stupid question. I was going to iron on my logo on totes. How do you mirror the image? is that a print option?

starchild · 01-11-2008, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nylalany

So my question is did everyone do their silkscreening locally or did anyone order bags and get them silkscreened somewhere online all in one place that could beat this price? Also, do you agree that this price is crazy and I should keep looking, or is this just going to be a pricey OOT bag before anything is in it? Recs please!

I think I can beat that.

You're in SoCal, right? My friend's boyfriend owns a screenprinting company in L.A. He did our OOT bags, it wasn't a photo, but our monogram. I don't know if a photo costs more because of the multi-color, but I think ours broke down to $4-5 a bag (2 color print). It was really fast too, vibrant color, etc. We provided the bags we got here: Promotional tote bags custom sizes and styles from cheap totes

If you get a quote, tell Tim Jamy referred you:
Sunday Print Co. - Custom Screen Printing

Jenn · 01-11-2008, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanielleNDerek

this is kinda a stupid question. I was going to iron on my logo on totes. How do you mirror the image? is that a print option?

We did our logo in Paintshop... you can import a picture to Paintshop and there is an option under 'image' called mirror. Should be something similar in other programs. Hope that helps!

nylalany · 01-11-2008, 04:08 PM

starchild - thanks so much, I will definitely ask them for a quote w/Tim Jamy as a ref!

Also, can I ask you if you have a bigger photo with your bridesmaids - I see that their dresses are red, which is what I'm searching for...are they? And if so, did I already ask you where you got them? (sorry, too much information gathering lately)

nylalany · 01-11-2008, 04:12 PM

starchild - another question - did you pick the canvas teacher's tote? which tote did you use? Also, could you post a photo of your tote (I guess I can search for previous posts if you don't have time)

nylalany · 01-11-2008, 04:29 PM

starchild - last thing - do you live in Venice?