How Heat Transfers Can Transform Your T Shirt Printing Business

At Supacolor, we make the world’s best heat transfer, but there is so much more to our story. Prior to launching Supacolor, our founders Mike Modgill and Bill Armitt spent many years professionally running screen print and embroidery shops. The garment decorating business is in our DNA! It wasn’t until 2016 that Mike & Bill decided to mix digital printing with screen printing, giving birth to Supacolor and forever changing how garments, headwear and bags could be decorated.

Supacolor was created to address the most common screen printing business pain points: small quantity jobs, made to order requests, tight deadlines, and printing complex, multicolored or photorealistic graphic designs. We provide the tools to allow garment printing businesses to focus on what they do best: creating, producing, designing, and above all SELLING.

So how exactly can Supacolor help your business grow?

1. Say “yes” to your client’s toughest requests!

Perhaps the strongest case for screen printers to add Supacolor to their toolkit, is the ability to tell their customers YES. Yes, you can take on that small quantity and still make a profit. Yes, you can print photorealistic, unlimited colors and free-floating images without having to count colors or screens.  Yes, you can print in tough locations that might be otherwise hard to reach on a pallet. By saying yes to your customers, you can sell more, and we make it Supaeasy!

2. Supafast Turnaround time.

After submitting your artwork to our website, you’ll have your Supacolor in-hand within days. Your clients have deadlines, and the pressures is on – we get it! With Supacolor, you will be printing in no time. With our industry leading turn around time, most orders in by 12pm Monday through Friday, ship the next business day. And best of all, no rush charges! 

3. Supaeasy to print.

The Supacolor application process is extremely easy and does not require a special skill set or extensive training. Anyone with a heat press can print like a pro. Use the equipment you probably already have to decorate more items and grow your business. Get high quality printing with affordable machinery and lower cost labor. Want to grow even more? Invest in a compressed air operated heat press for faster production. With these types of heat presses, Supacolor can be pressed in as little as 10 seconds and with an immediate, hot peel.

4. Print on a variety of garments and in places not thought possible.

Supacolor isn’t just for t-shirts. In addition to cottons, we make our unique transfer-types in custom sizes and shapes, created specifically for a wide array of garments. From sublimated polyesters, to softshell fabrics, headwear or even promotional items like bags, coolers, shoes and umbrellas, Supacolor is the Swiss army knife of decorating. We help you to do more!

5. Supapremium quality.

Supacolor is manufactured with water-based inks. Our Wearable, Blocker and Softshell Blocker transfers are lab tested to withstand up to 70 machine washes without cracking, fading or peeling. Our transfers have a luxurious soft hand feel, with great stretch and elasticity. Making it an excellent choice for common t-shirt, children’s clothing, and fitness apparel. 

6.  Optimize your print production.

Use Supacolor for your most complex or colorful artwork saving your screen print machinery for the more lucrative, simpler jobs.  Supacolor your polyester garment jobs so that you don’t have to change your dryer temps to maximize productivity and limit downtime. What about that job for 50 hoodies and a 12-color design? Supacolor it! Don’t spend time counting colors and prepping screens, when you can quickly decorate these with Supacolor and heat press.

7.  Preferred Pricing.

Supacolor offers preferred dealer pricing to all professional decorators. This adds to your margins and saves you some money.  Does your shop do high volume heat transfer printing?  Check in with our sales team to see how we can help you more.

If you would like to find out how Supacolor can help you extend your machinery and say yes to more jobs, reach out to sales@supacolor.com and we will show you how.

Get started today at Supacolor.com.

Does Supacolor Belong in a Screen Printing Shop?

Video Transcribed Below:

Hey guys Kev from Veteran Screen Printing, today we're going to go over no other than Supacolor transfers are they or should they be in a screen-printing shop well we're going to dive into it go over the numbers go over the cost. All right so we've been getting asked a lot about Supacolor transfers so we've ordered some now they do have a minimum of 20. We ordered 50 to get a better price point see exactly how you know it will turn out they came out pretty good looking and we're going to show you how easy it is to actually heat press them on and give you our thoughts on how they feel; we've already pressed them up we've already washed them to give the durability test and we'll let you know exactly how that is. Today we're going to be using a next level 100 ring spun cotton which is the 3600 model which is again one of our premier shirts that we love to print on for screen printing.

Let's go over I got the heat press the heat press is already up and going that 325 degrees is set for 15 seconds now I don't have a drawer to pull out or anything this is just from amazon for $200 so very cheap but it gets the job done and we only really bought it for to do this video. As I do these shirts so I’m going to load it how I would normally load it on a screen press just because I'm so used to that. Now it's 100 cotton so we're going to take our parchment paper we're going to press it down for about five seconds six seconds and the reason why is these are 100% cotton so you want to get all the moisture out of the garment before you do any type of heat transfers. Now that it's already done, we're going to grab our transfer this is a back design put it in the middle four inches down from the collar parchment paper put it back down for 15 seconds so we're running the cost on this and Supacolor actually came out less expensive as what we would actually charge to screen print. It came out just a little bit cheaper but not by much.

It's a hot peel type of application so take it peel back and if you have issues like how it is right now, it's okay because guess what you didn't ruin it! You take this down press it again. Now what I would do is I would just press this again for the whole 15 seconds and you do get this from time to time. I've only had about two out of 50; well I've only printed about maybe 30 of them and I've only had two happen like this and it could be because I was talking and I didn't do a hot peel right away because again it does need a hot peel right away. All right now that it's on there, I'm going to do one more press and this is a pre-press afterwards and this is going to go for about 10 seconds and this is going to make sure that the image is actually embedded into the garment; make parchment paper go back so there's the shirt this is third battalion fifth marines now let's go over this a little bit in detail.

It's has a real soft to the touch feel. Now I had another marine in here earlier picking up some shirts and I had him fill one of these and he actually said that he would actually love wearing this. Probably instead of a big patch of spring printed it's pretty soft to the touch it doesn't feel heavy at all it feels like if I was to screen print and then after screen printing and curing process coming over to the heat press and matte in my ink all the way in that's kind of what it would feel like a little bit of the stretch test. Nothing cracking nothing peeling; again, I have already pressed a whole bunch of these and I took some back to the house and washed them about three four times it stayed intact no peeling no cracking still vibrant colors

So, should Supacolor ultimately be in a screen print shop? Well this depends if you have a design say like this that multi-colors you know you'd have your red your yellow your green your white under base and then if you want to do black overlay instead of the black shirt you know you're looking at minimum four colors, five colors depending on if you want the black. Now say you only have a one station four color press could you get away doing this probably not, you would need a bigger press but could you get away with it if you did Supacolor yes you could. Is there room for you to make a little bit of money still as a screen printer if you did Supacolor? Yes, you could. I'm in San Diego so I still have to compete somewhat with the LA garment district which has the stupidest cheapest prices around. So being in San Diego we still kind of have to compete with that because somebody will drive for an hour and a half just to go there to get garments but like I said I ran the numbers and Supacolor actually came out a little bit cheaper than what I would be charging to screen print this same exact design.

So as a screen printer you could still use this and get done with the job because this many colors means you got to do at least five screens then you got to set up five screens and then you got to print them and throw them through the dryer so if it's only you I guarantee, I promise you if it's only you in your screen printing it on a 6x4 with a conveyor dryer flash dryer the whole nine yards I guarantee you just the back design is probably going to take you at least two minutes maybe about a minute and a half per shirt and then as well as the front is going to be at least a minute and a half to two minutes as well so you know it's going to take you a couple of minutes to spring print this up your margin is going to be more but your time is going to be longer in the screen printing versus heat transferring this over with Supacolor.

Again, this depends on how you guys want to go about this in a screen-printing shop. You got some customers that actually would love this over screen printing. I found that out today and this was a one of the marines I was picking up unit t-shirts that I printed for their unit so that just opened my mind up a little bit more what else could you really offer as a screen printer that is actually a little maybe a little bit faster unless you had an automatic than screen printing you know this would take me about maybe a minute for a front and back fully done margin's not going to be as much as screen printing but my time is a little bit more worth you know times money right everybody says that so I probably get done with an order faster than I would on a screen printing press a manual screen-printing quest. Now what if I had two of these and they're a little bit better quality

than just amazon you know I bought this just to do this video and print out a couple and see how they actually come out but you know what if i went and got a one with a drawer that opens up and automatic open and I got two of them I could be doing two shirts at once and it's going to definitely save on time. So, again in my opinion could Supacolor be used in a serene pruning shop? Definitely. I would recommend using them

They have a wash test at least of a 50 minimum before it does anything and you know that could be you wearing a shirt once a week for a whole year straight and washing it once a week so that's actually pretty good.

So, this is Supacolor guys I'll leave a link below where you can go check them out this is not sponsored by them they don't even know I'm doing it um and I just want to give you my opinion because there's been a lot of people asking about Supacolor it's been a hot shred lately about Supacolor and what  does everybody think of them; especially in a screen printing shop. So, for maybe you know a premium type shirt it came out pretty well but if a premium type brand wanted these it just depends. But you know this is probably a new feature that you can offer them so I would definitely check it out if you're a small-time screen printer and you only have a four-color press this is something that could help you build up a little bit more money faster so you can get a bigger and better press,

We stand with people who never quit. The hustlers. The hungry. The obsessed achievers. We always put people at the center of our world and our #Supafam means everything to us! Tag us in your work so we can share the #Supalove!

Recording artist Money B of the iconic hip hop group Digital Underground prints his own merch with Supacolor.

Money B's career includes work with 2Pac and Shock G aka Humpty Hump, with the selling of merchandise playing a important role in his business endeavors. 

Forbes Magazine on musician's merch:

"A lot of time, thought, effort, energy and money now go into creating an artist’s range of merchandise, and it typically changes with every new era of their career. For some acts, that could mean new products roll out every few months or once a year. Those new products certainly do help pad paychecks, but now musicians and their teams are being forced to think more about what they want to sell, because merchandise has gone from a small revenue stream to one of the most important ways a superstar or even the upstart band around the corner interacts with their fans..."

Knowing just how important selling merchandise is to an artist's career, Supacolor prides itself on providing them with the tools they need to increase profits.

Check out Money B's shop at http://www.dumerch.com/.

Click below to watch a video featuring Stan Banks of Tshirt Side Hustle and Money B of Digital Underground printing shirts with Supacolor!

In this video, Money B works with Stan Banks from Tshirt Side Hustle to print his own merchandise with Supacolor

Why is Supacolor Making ASMR Videos?

Meeting the printing demands of your clients can be stressful, we get it! We know your business. After all, we share the same heritage; rooted in screen printing and garment decorating.

We want you relaxed and stress free, so we collaborated with Youtube ASMR sensation WhispersRed to create a heat press printing video like you've never seen before!

What is ASMR?

Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is a tingling sensation that typically begins on the scalp and moves down the back of the neck and upper spine.

ASMR signifies the experience of low-grade euphoria characterized by a combination of positive feelings and a distinct static-like tingling sensation on the skin. It is most commonly triggered by specific auditory or visual stimuli.

Enjoy this Supacolor ASMR video!

Who is WhispersRed?

Emma WhispersRed, aka Emma Smith, is an ASMR content creator and a licensed sound therapy practitioner and Reiki healer. Her innovation for new ASMR techniques have made her an expert in her field. Emma has curated live events in London, San Francisco, New York, Berlin, and Birmingham. She has introduced ASMR to thousands of people all over the world and helped them explore how the feeling and concept of ASMR can bring calm and presence into their daily lives

While the other kids are playing video games and laying around on their tablets, 10-year-old Irvington, New Jersey native Khyree Ali is in his bedroom dreaming up new designs for the latest collection from his clothing brand. “Positive Tees by Khyree” was created with the help of Khyree’s parents and powered by the easy to print Supacolor transfers. Emblazoned with upbeat and motivational quotes like “Discipline Determines Destination -> Education,” Khyree strives to spread positivity throughout the world and make cool t-shirts while he’s at it!

            “We tried working with DTG and screen printing shops but they were killing us with the prices and the quality was never very vibrant,” said Khyree, “but once we discovered Supacolor, it was an investment that was well worth it!”

Thanks to Supacolor, Khyree was able to break the barriers that made it difficult to enter the clothing industry. After investing in their very first heat press and signing up with Supacolor, they were equipped to start printing their own garments! Now, they’re empowered with the tools to produce their own products on-demand as orders come through their website.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIB-eNLngh0/

           It’s been a little over a year since the inception of “Positive Tees by Khyree” and it has since grown its own community of supporters nationwide from California to New York! Khyree’s t-shirts have even found themselves being worn by renowned individuals such as @mr.holistic on Instagram and more!

            Supacolor is proud to stand behind “Positive Tees by Khyree” and we welcome them to the #Supafam. We look forward to watching Khyree’s journey in becoming a powerhouse entrepreneur!

For more info on Positive Tees by Khyree, please visit:
www.instagram.com/positiveteesbykhyree
To place an order, DM their Instagram!
(website coming soon)



The Results Did Not Disappoint!

April 28th, 2021 – In the garment printing and manufacturing industry, understanding product quality is critical, as is compliance with government safety regulations. We proudly manufacture Supacolor on-site, in our factories in the US, UK and New Zealand, and we hold ourselves to the highest standards. Therefore, Supacolor has implemented thorough, laboratory testing procedures on our products, conducted by certified, third parties. 

First, we engaged Intertek Testing Services for a rigorous review of our heat transfer’s durability through machine washing. The results were stellar. No damage (such as cracking or color fading) was seen on our prints until the 70th wash cycle, at which point only minimal cracking began to appear. To view the full wash test reports, download the PDF here.

Next, we underwent child safety testing in regard to chemical safety testing. The CPSIA requires businesses to provide a General Conformity Certification (GCC) that confirms products meet a range of safety specifications and requires mandatory third party testing for all children’s products. Proposition 65 sets out specific requirements regarding the toxicity of materials used in certain products that are to be sold in the State of California. We’re proud to announce that our water based, phthalate free, lead free inks and adhesives passed these tests with flying colors.

Click the links below to view the full safety reports:

Download the Supacolor Wearable Transfer CPSIA compliance report

Download the Supacolor Headwear Transfer CPSIA compliance report

Download the Supacolor Promotional Transfer CPSIA compliance report

Download the Supacolor Sub Blocker Transfer CPSIA compliance report

Download the Supacolor Softshell Blocker Transfer CPSIA compliance report

Supacolor prides itself on making a product of unparalleled quality, and compliant with the most stringent safety measures. Not only are we Supafast and Supaeasy, we’re also Supapremium and Supasafe!

In this video Stan Banks discusses our third party machine wash test. Click below to watch.

Inspired Mexican Ancestry Culminates in a Home Based e-Commerce Business


Supacolor prides itself on giving entrepreneurs the tools they need to grow. After all, we are more than the world's best heat transfer, we’re also a service and a partner. 

Just this year, La Phoenix Shop (an online boutique carrying clothing and accessories that draw on influences from Mexican culture) began using Supacolor to create some of their merchandise. Owned and operated in Bakersfield, CA by Diego Salas, La Phoenix Shop’s most popular items include garments – printed with Supacolor – that feature playful graphics such as their “I Love You More Than Pan Dulce” and “El Luchador” t-shirts. 

“The past year living here in the U.S and having much of my family back in Mexico, I found that we should not take things for granted. I have not been able to travel to Mexico to see them and it has been hard, however through my business I feel like I am closer to them.” Diego tells us. “ I have had people send me messages saying that they relate to my designs, and people at pop-up events laugh with me over Mexican TV shows from years ago. It’s like I am with family. That being said, its important my designs are printed exactly as I envision them, and Supacolor helps make that happen.” 

Check out this video of Diego discussing how he prints his designs with Supacolor, here:

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CMnM992ht3K/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

As La Phoenix Shop continues to grow, Diego has plans to help his family financially and to create a scholarship fund to give back to his community. Supacolor is extremely proud to join Diego on his path and we welcome him to the Supafam! 

For more info, stay connected with La Phonix Shop at the links below: 

Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/laphoenixshop

Website: https://www.laphoenixshop.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laphoenixshop

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laphoenixshop

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/laphoenixshop

Tiktok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeyACu9T/ 

Follow Supacolor on social media, here: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/supacolorusa/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SupacolorUSA

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Supacolor/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/supacolor

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@supacolor

How a Professional Print Shop Used Supacolor to Thrive During the Pandemic


G2D Design is a Northern California business specializing in silkscreen printing, print media, graphic design and marketing services. Like many small businesses, the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic took it’s toll on the company, forcing them to adapt and innovate.

Realizing the need to make creative improvements to how they service their clients, G2D Design began incorporating Supacolor heat transfers into their toolkit. “Our customers are very excited about the addition of Supacolor to our production process. It has definitely improved our turnaround time and cost for smaller orders.” Said Jonathan Richardson of G2D Design. “COVID-19 has hurt our company and discovering Supacolor has opened a door to our financial recovery. As a minority-owned business, it important for us to continue to share our story of resilience producing a reward.”

At Supacolor, Jonathan's statement is music to our ears. We exist so that others can grow, and hearing these testimonials is our validation. “It was really great to hear that we helped G2D Design grow their business! That’s what we do this for!” said Santiagio Chavez, Customer Success Manager at Supacolor.

In the near future, Supacolor has plans to announce major news in business development and expansion, and looks forward to continued success in helping people realize their potential.

About G2D Design:
Looking for a new, fresh and invigorating approach to creativity? G2D Design can help. Learn about the various services that we offer our clients nationwide. From silkscreen printing to print media, we can help you standout from the crowd.

Web: http://www.g2ddesign.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/g2ddesigns
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/g2ddesign/

About Supacolor:
Supacolor was created with the mission to make high-quality heat transfers so fast and easy that anyone with a heat press can become a professional printer. We streamlined every step of the process, from pricing and placing your orders to receiving your transfers and pressing them on almost any fabric. The result is the most efficient and versatile heat transfer available. Supafast. Supaeasy.

Supacolor operates facilities in the Unites States, New Zealand and the UK. 

Web: https://www.supacolor.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/supacolorusa
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SupacolorUSA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/supacolor

Georgia-Based Online Entrepreneur Forges Alliance with the World’s Best Heat Transfer Company

Supacolor’s mission is to make high-quality heat transfers so fast and easy that anyone with a heat press can become a professional printer. That’s why we LOVE watching entrepreneurs blossom while using our product. It’s what motivates us to do what we do, every single day!

Recently, Words & Whimsy (an online clothing, jewelry and gift boutique) caught our eye. Owned and operated in Greensboro, Georgia by Kirsten Thompson, some of W&W’s most popular items include graphic sweatshirts - printed with Supacolor - that her customers can’t get enough of.

“I’m proud of the fact that every aspect of the business has been designed by me: all of the graphics, marketing materials, website, everything. It’s kind of like a culmination of everything I’ve learned and done for the past 17 years all coming together to create this business.” Kirsten told us. “It’s a very accurate representation of who I am and what I love”.

Check out this video of Kirsten pressing up new products for her shop, here:

As Words and Whimsey continues to grow, Kirsten has plans to offer her customers subscription boxes and to even help other budding entrepreneurs with various promotions and contests. Supacolor is grateful to be part of her journey!

For more info, stay connected with Kirsten and her business at the links below:

Website: https://wordsandwhimsyshop.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/wordsandwhimsyshop

Facebook: https://facebook.com/wordsandwhimsyshop

YouTube: https://youtube.com/kirstenthompson

Follow Supacolor on social media, here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/supacolorusa/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SupacolorUSA

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Supacolor/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/supacolor

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@supacolor