T-shirt Decoration
From Mod Mania
Clothing is a necessity of modern life. We need to cover ourselves, not only for physical reasons like warmth, but also because of social constructs. As such, there are multitudes of different clothing options available. One of the most iconic and undying items of clothing in our modern consumerist society is the t-shirt. The t-shirt is loved by children and adults alike. It is extremely versatile; it can be worn while mowing the lawn, as an under-shirt, and depending on the style, while out on the town. What’s not to love? The only downside to the t-shirt is that every man and his dog has one. Where is the uniqueness? Sure you can get a really cool shirt from some website, that isn’t available in the stores, but for all those creative types, there is the option of modding your shirts. The website t-shirtforums.com is an information and networking hub for people all around the globe that do just that.
Kill Monotony by Enkel Dika
So what exactly is involved in t-shirt modification? Now, we’re not talking about re-stitching your shirt with fluoro thread and adding a pocket for your change or anything like that. Specifically, we are talking about t-shirt decoration. That is, adding a picture, words, or other design on to a t-shirt. There are many different methods of decorating a shirt, and many different combinations and effects available. The main methods are: screen printing, Direct-to-Garment Printing, or DTG, Dye-sublimation printing, embroidery, and transfers. Of course, most of these aren’t available to the amateur t-shirt enthusiast. In fact, unless you are considering starting a t-shirt printing business or similar, the only real option is to use transfers. A transfer is basically the middle man for getting a design from your computer to your t-shirt. Even within the sub-heading ‘transfers’ there are many different types of transfers.
An Iron-on Transfer
The most basic of these, and therefore perfect for amateur home use, is the humble iron-on transfer. The design is printed from a standard ink-jet printer (or sometimes laser printer) onto a special transfer paper. The design is then cut out and placed in the desired position on the t-shirt, and ironed over with high heat and pressure for a period of time, depending on the brand and type of paper. When the paper has cooled, the backing is peeled off revealing the awesome design beneath. This is a very fast, simple and effective way to add a bit of individuality to a shirt, however designs tend to deteriorate over time. A more durable option of transfer is a plastisol transfer. A plastisol transfer is made with the same process as screen printing, except instead of printing straight onto a shirt, the design is printed on to a special transfer film, which can then be stored until ready to be heat-pressed on to a shirt. The beauty of plastisol transfers is that they have almost exactly the same quality and durability as a commercially screen printed shirt. The downside is that they can’t be made yourself, unless you have proper screen printing equipment, which means they must be ordered, usually online, from a screen printing company. Also, to properly affix a plastisol transfer to a garment, a heat press must be used. Decorating t-shirts can be an extremely enjoyable experience; there is little wonder as to why so many people around the world enjoy it, from hobbyists to professionals. It was only a matter of time for an online community based around t-shirt decoration to emerge.
T-shirtforums.com was started in late 2004 by the current administrator, ‘Rodney’. Since then, the group has grown to have over 75,000 members, who come from all parts of the world, and over 77,000 threads. The t-shirt forums is an online community of people who, in some way or another, decorate blank t-shirts. There is however a great diversity among the members, not just because of their location but also because of their level of expertise, their involvement in the online community, and their preferred method of t-shirt decoration. The group ranges from complete novice to seasoned professional, with everyone in between, and in many ways, this is what makes it such a strong community – everyone aims to help one another. Most people who are on the forums, are either involved in some sort of t-shirt printing business, or are aiming to start one. This means that most of the t-shirt modifying going on throughout the community is in the context of reselling, and therefore is not really consumer modding. There is a proportion in the group however, that are hobby-modders; simply purchasing blank t-shirts and then decorating them to suit their style.
The forum is divided up into many categories and sub-forums, making it much easier to find what you are after. One such category is ‘T-Shirt Selling’ which includes forums such as ‘Graphics and Design Help’, ‘Business and Finance’ and ‘T-Shirt Marketing’. Another category is ‘T-Shirt Industry Information’ which includes forums on each of the major printing methods. There is also a set of ‘Region-Specific’ sub-forums, so that you can find information that is relevant to your location. In this way, sun-communities are created. For example, all the Australian members can talk in their sub-forum about where are some good places in Australia to get blank t-shirts, and in doing so form a kind of clique, that you need to be living in Australia to be a part of.
A common topic of discussion throughout the forum is that of “Which printing method is better?”. Everyone usually likes to talk about why their favourite method is best, and convince everyone else of that. However, there are several threads that have been set up in a non-biased manner to outline the pros and cons of each printing method, which becomes an invaluable resource for a newcomer to t-shirt printing to learn from others’ experiences. As mentioned earlier, the community is full of professionals and non-professionals alike. There is an unmentioned hierarchy throughout the community that is based on ones’ expertise and knowledge. Those who have been running a screen printing business for 20 years instantly gain more respect than those who have just started. This hierarchy is reinforced by the stats that accompany each user’s avatar, including Member Since, Posts, and Thanked. These show how old the user is in the community, how much they’ve contributed, and how much people have appreciated their contributions.
Websites such as t-shirtforums.com are a great resource to anyone wanting to modify a shirt, from professionals through to first timers. You can not only learn how to go about doing it, but also what method or product would be best for your project, and where the best place to buy certain materials or equipment is in your area. You can also learn from the multitude of other people in the community that know more about the subject of t-shirt modding than you, which is bound to be useful in the long-run. For these reasons, online communities will continue to aid the well-loved pastime of t-shirt decoration.
