Landracing Forum
Bonneville Salt Flats Discussion => Bonneville General Chat => Topic started by: jimwebb on December 01, 2013, 07:45:05 AM
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2014 will mark 15 short years of running the big red truck at Bonneville. I'd like to get some T-shirts made with artwork similar to those made by SCTA and ERC. Does anyone know who or how the artwork gets produced? I have heard "they have an app for that" and as a follow on question, what vendors would be recommended to produce those shirts from the artwork? Thanks!
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Unless you live in a really remote area there is probably a screen printer near you. If you want to work long distance, SSS does transfer printing.
It depends on how many shirts you plan to do... the set up costs are high for screen printing... but transfer printing is relatively cheap
Did you attend salt talks? The shirts the last 3 years have been transfer prints.
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Thanks, Stainless. I did indeed end up with a Salt Talks shirt. I'm familiar with the transfer process, but I was looking for that 'cartoonish' look that is common on race shirts. I am sure those are not all hand drawn! The other thing I'm pretty sure of is that full color screen prints are pretty expensive with the price increasing for each side, sleeve, etc. Maybe I can go with a line art red truck, white letters on a black shirt. Especially since black is so practical on the salt!
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The fellows with the Got Salt lakester have a T-shirt business: http://cruisints.com/Cruisints.com/Home.html
They have done the shirts for the Gas Up for a long time.
Just another alternative.
FREUD
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I've had T-shirts made through Customink (www.customink.com), and the service and quality have been very good. If you don't have your own artwork, they have graphic designers there who can help, but also check craigslist in your area, or just do a google search--you can often find young, talented kids who are willing to do original artwork for you for a very reasonable price. And that way, you get exactly what you want...
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Since the subject of our shirts/process has been introduced I'll chime in with some information. Jim, we can print ANYTHING onto blank shirts. That is -- if you can find an artist that'll give you the "cartoonish" style like you want -- such as on the Cruisin Ts and so on -- we can then take that art and put it exactly, colors and all, on a shirt. Since ours is a process that uses photo techniques we can offer full color. A silk screen process requires a screen for each different color, meaning the fancier you want the art to look -- the more the basic cost is going to be. There are some pretty danged fancy silk screened shirts out there - don't get me wrong. but I don't know if they're financially reasonable in relatively small batches - say a dozen or even 50. We use dye sublimation (that's the technique's technical name), and it is limited to the number of colors a computer & printer can reproduce. While the literature might say that's 16.7 million -- your eyes and mine are probably limited to a few thousand. Still -- same price as two colors.
Because we're printing onto the shirt with a dye -- the shirt's basic fabric color will come through, so to speak. In other words -- if you want a picture of the Big Red Truck and want it on a red t-shirt -- you aren't going to see much of the truck. Put the red truck on a green shirt -- and you'll get a greenish-red truck. Put it on grey or white -- you'll all but be able to read the lettering on the Moon discs.
Get someone to do the art and then ask me again, hey? Thanks.
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you mean something like this???????
Thanks, Stainless. I did indeed end up with a Salt Talks shirt. I'm familiar with the transfer process, but I was looking for that 'cartoonish' look that is common on race shirts. I am sure those are not all hand drawn! The other thing I'm pretty sure of is that full color screen prints are pretty expensive with the price increasing for each side, sleeve, etc. Maybe I can go with a line art red truck, white letters on a black shirt. Especially since black is so practical on the salt!
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The guy that owned Cruisint's unfortunately passed away. He had been working on some shirts for us at the time.
I looked at several alternatives and ended up with Timeless T's in Torrance, CA (local to us). They done a great job for us and did it in a very short amount of time. They have an artist that will make up the artwork from photos you send. You own the artwork afterwards.
If you would like to contact them, here is their contact info;
Timeless T's
22126 S Vermont Ave
Torrance, CA 90502
(310) 320-5569
Attached is a picture of the shirts they made for us;
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Artwork will vary with the amount of colors and detail ($300 at the bottom of the scale to say $1200 for high end stuff) with setup and shirt prices separate! I know this because I've done shirt art since '95 (my stuff averaged around $800) and even had a pretty nice screen print shop for awhile. Lots of amazing artist's out there! Look at www.badbonzdesigns.com and there's a bunch of artists who do freelance work on there too. Get some money from your sponsors, put them on the left pocket side or on the back with the huge multi-color print on the front. Everyone kicks in a few bucks, do LOTS of shirts and not go broke doing it! Brad
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Thanks to all! Everyone's advice is appreciated. I'll check out a couple of vendors mentioned and I've found a couple more on line to see about artwork generation. Jon, on the dye sub process, what kind of file do you need to use in the process?
Pork Pie, I think you have nailed what I am looking for - you are the designated artist!
KustomBrad - we don't have no stinkin' sponsors! Ha Ha Ha!!!! I'll ask my wife & bookkeeper if she wants her name on "those damn shirts"!
Seriously, thanks for all the tips and please keep 'em coming.
P.s. I work with those young graphic designers every day and could force some at work to do my bidding, but frankly, they wear me down!
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Jim, a jpeg or tiff or bitmap is fine. I set up the "transfer" process in Corel Draw. It's not really a transfer -- because the ink on the "trasnfer" is heated 'til it turns to a gs (it sublimates), and the gas diffuses into the fibers of the polyester fabric, becoming permanent.
Oh, yes -- polyester, not cotton. Underarmour, not Fruit of the Loom (or is that Loot of the Froom?). We have a source for scads of styles -- regular t, polo, and on and on.
I can send information of the many styles (and colors) available.
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While your sending it to Jim, send me a copy too, if you don't mind.
Jim let me know what you find out, as your looking around.
Rouse
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The artwork is what drives the overall cost on these, and simplicity is your friend.
But before you commit to a T-shirt design, think of this in a broader context. This is your opportunity to establish a brand for yourself.
Think of whatever else you might want to use your design on - letterheads, press releases, flyers, videos, premiums and merchandise.
Think of the elements you want to bring to the artwork that will carry over to other aspects of your project, and that will remain consistent from year to year.
Let me throw out an example. Think of the band Cheap Trick. They have kept a number of visual keys and touchstones through their entire career, but let's focus on two -
The checkerboard pattern -
(http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo58/milwaukeemidget/shattered/rn3_zps8237ee76.jpg) (http://s361.photobucket.com/user/milwaukeemidget/media/shattered/rn3_zps8237ee76.jpg.html)
And the logo-type - which has been used in their posters, albums, press materials - everything - since 1977 -
(http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo58/milwaukeemidget/shattered/CHEAP_TRICK_LOGO_WHITE_zpsf0c7da12.jpg) (http://s361.photobucket.com/user/milwaukeemidget/media/shattered/CHEAP_TRICK_LOGO_WHITE_zpsf0c7da12.jpg.html)
Both are borrowed elements - the checker board from racing, and the logo - likely from an old typewriter.
You see either, and the mind instantly draws the association.
The Moon Eyes logo is the same way - even Penske's truck fleet shares the same logo as the racing team. Lips and tongues? Rolling Stones. Bowtie? Chevrolet. Petty Enterprises? Powder Blue.
The challenge could be to develop a visual touchstone or cue that will carry over and tie together your racing endeavors not only for this year, but for years to come. Simple borrowed elements are easiest, and often easy to manipulate.
These are some example of what I'm doing - and it's borrowed from British TV, Ed Roth and Cheap Trick.
(http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo58/milwaukeemidget/shattered/race_zps5d313163.jpg) (http://s361.photobucket.com/user/milwaukeemidget/media/shattered/race_zps5d313163.jpg.html)
Note that this is a black and white drawing - easy and cheap to transfer or silk screen. The cartoonish effect is brought forth by the scale of the drawing and disproportional sizes of the shifter, wheels, grill - etc.
The logo type I chose comes from the 1960's television series, "The Prisoner". When I chose a number for my car, I chose one with the number "6" in it, and all of my correspondence regarding the car includes the logo type used throughout the series -
(http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo58/milwaukeemidget/shattered/the-prisoner2_5448_zpsee163a5d.jpg) (http://s361.photobucket.com/user/milwaukeemidget/media/shattered/the-prisoner2_5448_zpsee163a5d.jpg.html)
The drawing I had made for the logo used the skewed sizing elements of myself - being 6'5", along side the Midget, and while there are those who would argue this is a portrait rather than a caricature, the elements came together in a way that showcases the car well and imaginatively, along with myself, who represents the public face of the team.
(http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo58/milwaukeemidget/milwaukeemidgetracing21.jpg) (http://s361.photobucket.com/user/milwaukeemidget/media/milwaukeemidgetracing21.jpg.html)
The suit? My Mom made it . . .
(http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo58/milwaukeemidget/DSCN4580.jpg) (http://s361.photobucket.com/user/milwaukeemidget/media/DSCN4580.jpg.html)
Anybody can get a cartoon of their car produced - but my thought is that you might want to put into place the elements you can use for promotion, sponsorship, and identification early on, so that your design will serve you and the team for years to come.
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Thanks for all the great advice! Tips from the Milwaukee Midget must be respected what with that suit and the fact that you're from a place called Beerhaven! Is that like the place they hide all the extra beer? Awesome!
Here is place that I found with a web search that does 'racy car' art and shirts. Don't know anything about them besides what I see on the net. http://simesgraphicdesigns.com/tshirts/tshirt_home.html (http://simesgraphicdesigns.com/tshirts/tshirt_home.html)
I'd still like to know who does SCTA event and/or ERC shirts...
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Bill, I found both an SCTA 2013 participant shirt and one from ERC - both still in plastic bags. The ERC one doesn't appear to have any source label, but the SCTA one is shown below. Kinda glare-y, but you can make out the address. I'll see if I can find a label on another ERC shirt. I like Rick Gold's (ERC) shirts the best because they usually have the most and most intense colors.
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Jon,
If it's not too much trouble would you mind showing us some examples of the shirts you've done.
I understand that you can do Under Armour.
We were wanting to use red and white on a dark grey shirt.
So bleeding might be an issue.
Thanks, Don
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Don, I have someplace a bunch of photos of the shirts we can do, but first of all I'll mention that we aren't "painting" the colors on the shirt but rather dyeing the fabric with color. That's a good thing because the "paint" - a/k/a silk screen ink - can wear and flake off. The dye is heated to a gas that permanently colors the fabric.
But -- when dyeing the base color of the item (shirt) doesn't change. So, for instance, if I tried dyeing a red shirt with red dye -- you wouldn't see much at all. If I tried dyeing a red shirt with blue -- you'd get a grungy looking brown or something. And so on. A dark grey shirt would work - sort of - because we'd start with a dark fabric that can only get darker with the addition of a dye. While there are (supposedly) new methods and inks available to dye dark fabric, we haven't tried any of them so can't offer the process - nor even say how well it might work. As for bleeding -- no, that doesn't happen much at all with our process.
And there aren't any white dyes, either, until you're getting into those same kind of brand new products with which we don't have the techniques yet. White shirts do they best in our process. I'm at the house now, but will look at the vendor's catalog tomorrow to see what's what. I know they offer some colored shirts, and if so -- maybe they've got recommendations on how to dye those dark shirts. I'll let you know. In the meantime, here's this year's Salt Talks shirt. This is the first shirt we did -- might not have all of the color balance correct yet. But it's the only photo I've got here. You can see, though, that we can do a full spectrum of colors, not the few that silk screens are limited to using. They do three or four or five basics and can sort of overprint one with another to get a third shade, but only to a certain extent. No limits with ours. And by the way -- we use polyester fabric. The more polyester the better. 100% is great, 50% is acceptable if that's the best you can find, and much less than that won't work worth a durn. Under Armour is 100% polyester.
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Jon,
Do you have access to "Under Armour" shirts or would we need to supply them?
Is there a minimum order.
Thanks again, Don
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Well, sure -- we can get the shirts -- but so can you. We'll make our thousands of dollars on the sublimating (:roll:) and not the shirts. We can find dang near anything on the internet -- and so can you. Heck -- check out WalMart. There's a good source for 'em, and usually fairly inexpensive. If you want to buy them you'd be welcome to find a source, check with us before buying them so that we can assure you and us that they're the right stuff, and then you buy 'em to be either drop shipped to us - or use the WalMart "site to store" function where you buy them online and we pick them up at the local WM.
The only time there'd be any reason for a minimum is if you were getting large quantities - like 50 and 100 and such, because then we'd use an outside vendor to make the dye transfer sheets and they have price breaks at various quantities. Otherwise -- 1 costs the same per item as do 5 - or 13 - or 22 - and so on.
Another point you haven't mentioned but I will -- when you finally get your art done, please have the artist save it as a jpeg or bitmap or something like that. You/he can email it to me, I feed it into Corel Draw and do any other stuff you want (text that the artist didn't put in, etc), and then print it on our Ricoh dye sub printer. Standard printer, sorta, but fancy ink. From printer to press and then -- viola, a decorated shirt. Got it?