Heat transfer vinyl on textiles is one of the most widely used printing methods by textile printers as well as clothing brands. Whether you're thinking about getting started in the field of textile printing or you simply want to learn more about heat transfer vinyl, this article is for you!
In this article, we're going to calculate the cost associated with creating heat transfer vinyl on textiles, so you can get an idea of the cost and the price to charge your customers who want to order custom textiles.
1 - The different types of heat transfer vinyl
The consumables used to create heat transfer vinyl designs are generally sold on the market in rolls of several meters. These rolls are called "heat transfer vinyl" and will need to be cut to the shape of your design using a cutting machine, then pressed onto a textile. 👕
It's essential to first analyze the various types of heat transfer vinyl, because their prices vary depending on their features.
So here we're going to analyze 3 different types of heat transfer vinyl in order to get an idea of the price to pay based on these three examples:
a - Standard heat transfer vinyl:
Standard heat transfer vinyl is a completely basic vinyl in a solid color that has no particular special features.
Solid-color heat transfer vinyl is very popular with clothing brands (like ZARA, Pull and Bear...) as well as with customization companies. ✅
The price of a standard heat transfer vinyl can vary depending on the different suppliers. As for the price we offer, it's 9€ for a roll of 30cm x 2 meters.
b - Glitter heat transfer vinyl
Glitter heat transfer vinyl has a higher cost than other heat transfer vinyls. As its name suggests, it's a vinyl that gives a glittery and shiny touch to all your designs. It's often used during events such as wedding parties, birthdays, etc...
Price: about 11€ for a roll of 30cm x 1 meter
c - Velvet heat transfer vinyl
Velvet heat transfer vinyl gives a very soft feel to your creations, and its high quality often pleasantly surprises the people who try it. However, its price is high, so you'll need to be sure you can be profitable with this kind of vinyl before diving in.
Price: 5€ for a roll of 30cm x 50cm
💡 Tips and tricks: If you're just starting out with heat transfer vinyl on textiles, we recommend that you first use standard heat transfer vinyl, which is cheaper than velvet vinyl and which will let you get familiar with the different heat transfer vinyl customization tools and machines.
2 - Heat transfer vinyl price: The price of a vinyl based on the size of the logo:
This part is fundamental, because the price of a vinyl design varies mainly depending on the size of the design you're going to cut. And you'll see that the price difference between a small design and a large design is not to be overlooked!
So we're going to take 2 different logo sizes to compare the prices:
▪️ Large logos correspond to logos of 30cm x 30cm
▪️ Small logos correspond to logos of 8cm x 8cm.
Here we consider that the type of heat transfer vinyl is the standard vinyl at 9€ euros for 30 cm x 2 meters.
a - Large Logo
As we said earlier, the price of a standard vinyl of 30cm x 200cm is 9€. On a roll of this size, you can therefore make 6 large logos.
So we divide 9 by 6 and that gives us 1.5€ per Large logo.
So you should count on each large logo you make and press onto a t-shirt costing you close to 1.5€.
b - Small Logo
As for the small logos, you can generally line up 3 across the width of a single roll and line up close to 24 along the length, so the total number of small logos you can make is 3x24, or 72 logos.
9/72 =0.125 The price of a vinyl design of 8cm x 8cm is less than 13 cents.
So you'll only pay about 13 cents per logo when you make small designs.
Tips and tricks: Here we've done quick calculations that don't necessarily reflect the absolute reality. Indeed, when you make 6 large logos on a roll, you can still use it to make about ten small logos, which can save you a few euros.
Also, don't forget that it's possible to run into problems when making a logo, which would require starting over, thereby causing a loss in cost for that logo.
TO GO FURTHER:
If you want to go further and learn how to precisely calculate your cost price for heat transfer vinyl and adhesive vinyl (without approximations), Atelier By B has created a super-practical little booklet.
It helps you calculate cost prices and avoid common mistakes.
By clicking on the link, the promo code PAPIERTRANSFERT is already applied, so you get -15% off the booklet.
4 - The price of a custom textile:
We're now going to calculate the price you'll have to pay for a t-shirt with a customization done by ourselves.
Let's assume that you want to customize t-shirts and that you resell them for 20€ each.
The purchase price of a blank t-shirt is about 3€ and the price of a large logo in heat transfer vinyl is 1.5€
The total cost price of a customized t-shirt is 4.5€ and you can resell it for 20€!
As you can see, heat transfer vinyl on textiles can offer you a nice margin for each t-shirt sold. It's important to let you know that this scenario corresponds more generally to the selling price of clothing brands.
Textile customization companies offer more competitive prices for heat transfer vinyl customization (because they sell t-shirts in bulk and not individually.)
5 - what are the tools and machines we need to make quality heat transfer vinyl?
To do heat transfer vinyl on textiles, you'll need 3 fundamental products:
a - heat transfer vinyl
Heat transfer vinyl is the consumable that will be worked to reproduce your design in vinyl.
b - A cutting machine
The cutting machine lets you cut the heat transfer vinyl to reproduce your logo. The best-known cutting machines on the market are:
- The Silhouette Cameo
- The Cricut Maker.
These machines run at around 300€.
c - An iron
Once your logo is ready, all you have to do is iron it onto your textile with an iron so that the vinyl turns out well.
You can also use a heat press, which is a more professional tool, and you can now find them on the market at a good starting price (around 300 euros)
However, it's important to note that when you're starting out, getting a heat press isn't necessary.
6 - The reasons why heat transfer vinyl is one of the best printing methods:
Heat transfer vinyl is one of the most widely used prints by printers and clothing brands.
Indeed, this textile printing method offers excellent elasticity, thereby ensuring the design is preserved even after it's applied to the fabric, with no risk of damage.
Heat transfer vinyl also has a high durability over time and it withstands a minimum of 60 washes.
As we've seen, the cost of heat transfer vinyl is affordable and the price of cutting machines for heat transfer vinyl is much cheaper than the price of machines for other textile printing methods:
The entry price for electric embroidery machines is around 800€
The price of DTG printing machines is close to 2000€...
What's more, heat transfer vinyl on textiles is practically without limits, because there's a wide range of heat transfer vinyls that other types of prints aren't able to reproduce (For example, velvet-effect vinyl, 3D vinyl, glitter vinyl or even Holographic vinyl).
I hope this article will have helped you better understand heat transfer vinyl on textiles. And more importantly, that it will have helped you see a little more clearly about the price of heat transfer vinyl and the costs you'll have to take into account to make a custom t-shirt yourself. 👕
If you want to get started with heat transfer vinyl on textiles simply and quickly, we offer the Magic Starter Pack, which will let you start using heat transfer vinyl right now without any hassle.😉
If you've already embarked on this wonderful adventure, we also offer a whole range of heat transfer vinyls in our online store!
