Week 1
Stage 1: From Pixels to Prints - Starting a DTF T-Shirt Business
The journey begins. Taking Chickenpie from digital art to physical merch with DTF printing. Week 1 of building a custom t-shirt side hustle.
This Week's Revenue
$0
Key Metrics
Initial Investment
$850
Shirts Printed
5
Designs Ready
3
Orders
0
Wins
- Secured DTF printing equipment and supplies
- First successful test prints - colors are vibrant
- Dialed in heat press settings (165C, 15 seconds)
- Created 3 initial designs for Chickenpie collection
- Set up workspace in spare room
Challenges
- Learning curve steeper than expected - wasted first 2 transfers
- Film alignment tricky on dark shirts
- Shipping costs for supplies higher than budgeted
- Still figuring out pricing strategy
Insights & Lessons
Every empire starts somewhere. Mine starts with a heat press, some DTF film, and a dream of seeing Chickenpie art on actual humans walking around in the wild.
Why DTF Printing?
After researching screen printing, sublimation, and DTG, I landed on DTF (Direct-to-Film) for a few reasons:
1. Works on ANY fabric color - My designs have white chickens. Need that white ink to pop on dark shirts.
2. No minimum orders - Print one shirt or fifty. Perfect for testing designs before committing.
3. Durability - DTF transfers stretch with the fabric and survive the wash. Important for a quality product.
4. Lower startup cost - Compared to a full DTG setup, I could get started for under $1000.
The Setup
Here's what I'm working with:
- Heat press (15x15 inch) - $280
- DTF transfers (outsourced printing for now) - $3-5 per transfer
- Blank t-shirts (Gildan 5000, comfort colors) - $4-8 each
- Teflon sheets, parchment paper, workspace setup - ~$70
Total startup: ~$850
First Prints: The Reality Check
YouTube makes it look easy. It's not. My first two transfers were disasters - peeled too early, adhesive didn't set. Wasted $10 learning that patience is literally money.
But print #3? Chef's kiss. The Siesta Disco Club design came out crispy. Colors popped. The white was actually white, not that cream-colored sadness you get with cheap transfers.
What's Next
Stage 2 will focus on:
- Finalizing pricing (currently thinking $35 per shirt)
- Setting up the shop page on chickenpie.co
- First real drop announcement
- Maybe getting my own DTF printer (researching the A3 options)
Revenue this week: $0. Investment: $850. Lessons learned: Priceless (and also about $10 in wasted transfers).
Building in public, one week at a time
