It's not your usual caricature and portrait

Arttees3's Customized Chibi Shirt is a fun and the freshest way of expressing yourself in your shirts.  It's not the usual or common caricature or portrait of yourself printed on your shirts. 

It's YOU being drawn as Cute and Short characters in big heads, small bodies, and wide eyes.  

 

 

Cute Twin Brothers in Arttees3 Customized Chibi Shirts

We ask our clients to provide a photo of them for our Artist's reference and also their preferred theme or background on their Chibi.  Lets say, if our client is a basketball player/fan,we can draw them with a ball with a basketball court in the background.  If our client is a CARS movie fan, we can draw them in a CAR.
 

Basketball Player/Fan in an Arttess3 Customized Chibi Shirt



The Cute kid is a CARS fan


But What Does Chibi Mean?

Chibi is Japanese slang for "small" or "short." It’s usually applied to objects, animals, or people (ie. a short person or a small child).

When chibi is used in manga and anime, it tends to have a positive, kawaii connotation. But in real, human conversation it may not. In fact, most of the time, calling someone chibi is going to hurt their feelings. But it can be used to show affection, if you know what to say and how to say it.
Think of it this way: if you go up to someone who is shorter than average and say "Hey, Shorty," or "Hey Small Fry," how do you think they'll react? It's likely they'll get a little angry (if only quietly on the inside, waiting to strike). But maybe not. Depending on your relationship to the person, it could be a sign of affection. Like calling your child "munchkin." A tough call in your native language. Even tougher in a second.


The Origin of Chibi


Chibi has its roots in kobun, or classical Japanese. The kobun noun tsubi 粒つび, which means "tiny, rounded thing," eventually evolved into the verb tsubu 禿つぶ, which describes something becoming worn down or sharp edges getting rounded out.
A good example would be a calligraphy brush losing its hairs (because that’s what they used to write back in the days of classical Japanese).
The reading of tsubu eventually changed to chibiru 禿ちびる, and suddenly we’re not too far from chibi.

Some examples of chibiru in action are:

Japanese 下駄げたが 禿ちびてきた。

EnglishMy geta1 sandals are getting worn down.

Japanese 禿ちびた 鉛筆えんぴつしかないよ。

EnglishI only have pencils that are worn-out.

Eventually the word chibiru got worn out and gave way to the adjective chibi ちび, a smaller version of itself. Chibi is the chibi version of chibiru. How meta!

Chibi is usually written in hiragana or katakana, as in the word chibi-geta ちび 下駄げた (worn-out geta), or chibi-enpitsu チビ 鉛筆えんぴつ (stubby pencil).

Though chibi has kanji (禿び), I’ve never seen it written that way. Probably because it uses the same kanji as hage 禿はげ, which means "bald." It’s easy to see the connection when you consider chibiru was used for describing a brush losing its hairs.

Scholars haven’t yet found the exact years these words spun off from each other. The earliest use of chibi comes from the Taiheiki 太平記たいへいき, a Japanese historical epic written by Kojima Houshi in the 1370s.

A sentence in it reads:

Japanese 歯禿はちびて、 僅わずかに 残のこれる 杉すぎの 屐あしだあり
EnglishThere is a pair of geta with worn out supports.

So chibi is at least as old as the Taiheiki, which is pretty dang old.

Also old but not as old as the Taiheiki are Kachou Fugetsu 花鳥風月かちょうふげつ (The Beauties of Nature) published in 1457 and Nichipo Jisho 日にちポ 辞書じしょ (Japanese-Portuguese dictionary) published in 1603. Both use the word chibifude 禿ちび 筆ふで, which is that worn out calligraphy brush I keep bringing up.

Mentions of a new evolution came in 1753.

The Japanese onomatopoeia chibi-chibi ちびちび first appears in Imayo Tsuji Dangi 当風辻談義いまよつじだんぎ written by Joukanboukoua. A second onomatopoeia, chibiri-chibiri ちびりちびり appeared in the story Shodou Kikimimi Sekenzaru 諸道聴耳世間猿しょどうききみみせけんざる in 1766.

These words means "a little bit" or "little by little." For example, you’re cheap so you only spend a little. Or you don’t want to get drunk, so you drink your beer little by little.

Japaneseお 酒さけをちびちび 飲のんだ。
EnglishI drank alcohol a little by little.

Japaneseお 酒さけをちびりちびりと 飲のんだ。
EnglishI drank alcohol a little by little.

For hundreds of years, chibi was only used with nouns, like in the word chibifude. But in the Meiji period (1868-1912), people began using the word by itself. Chibi finally won its independence from compound words!

During World War II, chibi’s meaning became simply "small and short." It described small or short people and animals. And finally, we have the full chibi meaning we know today. An adjective used to show affection or belittle someone we think is short.


Source: https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/chibi/ (What Chiobi Means, Origin and History)

Difference Between Dyes Ink, Sublimation Ink and Pigment Ink

Difference Between Dyes Ink, Sublimation Ink and Pigment Ink

 

 

 

All inkjet printer inks used in the home and most businesses use a similar formulation. The basic make-up of ink jet inks is de-ionized water as the solvent, isopropyl alcohol or glycol as the drying agent, and dye base to provide the color. There is a 3main ink use for printing which is Dye Ink, Sublimation Ink, and Pigment Ink.

 

The dye in the dye-based ink dissolves in water like sugar does in water completely.
It’s also known for easily obtaining saturated, brilliant colors due to its small molecular size, 1.5-4 nanometers (1 nanometer=1/1000 of a micrometer, 1 micrometer=1/1000 of a millimeter).  Because of this, dye-based inks flow better and have been the standard in inkjet printers. But the dye will re-dissolve and the ink will flow across the paper if drops of water hit the paper. For normal document printing on inkjet paper, photo paper, pvc card etc, we would recommend dye ink as it is much economic compared to pigment ink.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pigment inks use tiny particles of colored material to provide ink color, rather than paper-staining dyes. Pigment inks are comprised of tiny, encapsulated particles that sit on top of the paper, instead of being absorbed into a paper is fibers, which is what happens with dyes. Most pigment ink printers also offer more subtle color shading, since they use up to eight different ink colors. Pigment inks are much more stable than dye-based inks, and can last more than 200 years on some paper types, under ideal (museum-quality lighting and framing) conditions. For T-shirt printing on dark based / light based cotton materials with transfer papers, it is good to use pigment inks because it is waterproof.

Sublimation printing has been around for decades, they would print through an inkjet printer that it became an economical and practical in heat transfer printing industry. It is unique in its ability to convert from a solid to a gas without going through a liquid form. (Just like dry ice.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sublimation inks utilize popular desktop inkjet printers from Epson and Ricoh, and a standard heat press machine, to produce premium full-color, photographic-quality images that will not crack, peel or wash away from the substrate.

The conversion is initiated by heat and controlled with pressure and time. Hard items such as ceramic, fiber board, metals, etc. Requires a special coating on its surface to accept the sublimation inks. If the pressure, time or temperature is not appropriate for a particular sublimation blanks, then the quality of printing will be affected.

Before start heat transfer printing, you need to know which ink suitable for gift product to ensure the image transfer are long lasting.


Source: http://www.diyprintingsupply.com/blog/2014/05/13/difference-between-dyes-ink-sublimation-ink-and-pigment-ink/

 

How to Use a Heat Press Machine – The Basic Guide

How to Use a Heat Press Machine – The Basic Guide

 

 

Heat Press Machine or Heat Transfer Printing is the modern, no-fuss way of printing artwork onto t-shirts. It is a great alternative to the classic screen printing. Of course, when it comes to quality and longevity, screen printing still wins the game. But for the regular customers’ point of view, they can’t tell the difference between a screen printed tee and a heat pressed tee. This is a good thing for t-shirt entrepreneurs because not only is heat press printing easy and affordable to do, it also makes custom t-shirt printing possible. With screen printing, the customers have to order in large quantities or else it would be too expensive per piece, but with heat press machine, it’s still affordable even if they order one or one thousand. No wonder heat press is a favorite of many t-shirt entrepreneurs. If you just bought your heat press machine, here is a basic guide on how to use the machine.

 

 

Using the Machine

 

As we all know, not all heat press machines are created equal. There are those machines that are just functional (very basic) which is good for small jobs and home use. They’re much more affordable and could be perfect if you’re just starting out and you prefer to save a few hundred bucks. The professional heat press machines are geared for making bulk orders. They have a much bigger platen (metal board) for a bigger working area to cater large garments. The professional heat press is also complete with more sophisticated time, temperature, and pressure settings. This is perfect for t-shirt entrepreneurs who are planning to offer orders by the hundreds in the future.

But whether you’re using the basic or the pro, heat press machines are basically operated the same way. For starters, here’s a brief step-by-step guide on how to operate heat press machines:

 

 

 

 

• Turn on the power by flipping the on/off switch
• Turn the thermostat knob to the right until you see the red heating light
• When the thermometer indicates the desired temperature for your transfer, turn the knob back to the left until the heating light turns off. The heating light will go on and off to regulate your desired temperature
• If your machine has a digital timer, press it to start the timer and when you hear the alarm, press stop to reset
• Lift up the handle to open the press
• Lay out t-shirt and lay Transfer Paper onto shirt facing down
• Bring the handle down. The handle should lock firmly in place
• Set the timer based on the instructions on your Transfer Paper
• Lift the handle to open the press
• Peel the Transfer Paper from the shirt
• Allow at least 24 hours for the print to “lock” before washing the t-shirts

 

Tips When Using a Heat Press

 

 

Don’t be scared of applying too much heat because it takes a lot of heat to transfer the artwork properly and evenly. If you don’t apply a lot of heat, the artwork might not stick to the shirt properly and would cause issues during washing. If you’re scared of burning the tee, sample print on an old shirt you don’t mind burning. It’s always scary on the first few tries but your confidence will eventually develop as you get the hang of printing shirts using your heat press machine. The rule is simple actually, just follow the recommended temperature for each fabric on the transfer paper.

Load the shirt onto the heat press straight. The last thing you want is a crooked print. You most certainly can’t sell (or wear!) crooked shirts. How do you prevent that from happening? There are many ways to do this without using grids, lasers, and rules. One way is by making sure that the tag is aligned to the backbone of the heat press. But for a faster and more efficient way of ensuring the right t-shirt positioning, consider a system that projects a laser onto the garment.

Stretch your shirts. Before putting them on your heat press machine, make sure you stretch your shirts. This should be done to avoid the print from cracking.

Test Print. Before printing your design to a transfer paper, make sure you test it by printing it on a regular paper. Transfer papers are expensive and you do not want to waste money. Printing a preview is essential to check if the design is within the margins, if colors print correctly and just to see how an artwork looks like when printed. And of course, before you print on a tee, make sure you test print the transfer paper with a fabric you’re willing to throw away.

 

 

 

Choosing the Fabrics

 

 

Not all kinds of fabrics can be printed on using heat press. Anything that melts with very hot surface (synthetic material, thin fabrics) should not be considered.

 

 

 

 

Make sure that if you’re printing shirts, or any item that will need washing after it’s being printed on, that you will pre-wash them. If you don’t pre-wash them, there’s a chance they’d appear wrinkly after your first wash. The most popular types of fabric for t-shirt printing include cotton, polyester, nylon, spandex and Lycra. If you have fabrics that are not included in this list, make sure you consult a clothing expert.

 

 

Preparing for Artwork

 

 

The standard way of preparing artwork for heat pressing is by printing a design using an inkjet printer unto a transfer paper. First, you have to design your artwork using a design software like Corel or Adobe Illustrator. One challenge of printing using heat press machines is that inkjet printers are not capable of printing white. That means that if you try to print something with white, the result is that instead of white, it will show the color of your fabric. Consider this when creating your t-shirt artwork. One solution is by making your whites off-white. Consider this when creating your t-shirt artwork. Also make sure that you flip your artwork horizontally using your design software. Not doing so would result in a t-shirt with a flipped artwork.

 

 

Choosing the Right Transfer Paper

 

 

Before going too excited with printing your tees, make sure that your transfer paper is the right match for your printer and design. There are so many kinds and brands of transfer papers and it would require you to get a good amount of research. But let’s just get to the basic.

 

 

 

 

Most transfer papers you see in the market are for inkjet printers so if you’re using a laser printer, make sure you’re not using a transfer paper for inkjet. The search for the right transfer paper is more complicated than just matching the printer to the transfer paper, there are also other things to consider. For example, transfer papers for white tees are different from transfer papers for black tees.

 

 

Caring for Heat-Pressed Tees

 

Heat-pressed t-shirts require more care from the printers as well as the consumers than screen-printed shirts. Heat-pressed tees last longer when: you turn them inside out before washing (to prevent fiction and rubbing), hang them to dry instead of using the dryer, avoid harsh detergents, making sure that the shirts are not damp when placed in the closet (to avoid molds). Doing all these things can help prevent premature damage to your heat-pressed tees. If you own a t-shirt business, make sure you don’t only put these instructions in the tag, you should also print these instructions in a cardboard so the customers will surely be able to read them.

Hopefully by now you learned the basics of heat press printing. It’s a long read, isn’t it? But I we just touched the surface. In order for you to really become an expert at heat press printing, you have to read more about heat press printing – from matching the fabrics to the Transfer Papers, to adding accents to your tees. You have to read a whole book! But, of course, experience is the best teacher. Just get the most important points and start experimenting. If you’re a t-shirt entrepreneur, include the expenses for tinkering your new machine as part of your expenses. Once you learn how to do the basics, you can start printing t-shirts for your family and friends. Find out what they think about their shirts after a few washes. Is the print still intact and beautiful? Are there cracks? Did they peel off? It is normal not to make perfect shirts the first few rounds but if you keep learning and experimenting, you’ll get there. Get your artwork ready, buy a few good-looking tees, and start getting your hands dirty. It’s super fun learning how to crack the code of heat press t-shirt printing. Just make sure you don’t burn yourself in the process.

How to Heat Press a Shirt

 

Heat pressing is a way to add your own artwork to a clothing item or personal accessory. A printed design, image or text is applied to a shirt, tote bag or other fabric item using even, consistent heat and pressure from a heat press. Follow these steps to heat press a T-shirt.

 

 

 

Steps

1. Choose the image or design the artwork you want to press onto the T-shirt. Ideas include a personal digital photograph, an abstract artistic design or a slogan.

• Use graphic design software to create or edit your T-shirt's artwork as necessary. Horizontally flip the image or artwork using the software to reverse it.

 

 

 

2.  Print the reversed image or artwork onto heat transfer paper. Avery is one company that sells this kind of paper. Heat transfer paper should have a clear or opaque film on one side of it.

• Transfer paper with a clear film on it is used for white or light gray (ash gray) fabrics. Opaque transfer paper is for fabrics in other colors.
• Load the heat transfer paper into your printer so the artwork or image prints onto the film side of the paper.

3.  Cut out any parts of the transfer paper you do not want to press onto the T-shirt. Because your art's ink needs the paper's film to stay on the T-shirt, any unwanted paper you leave will have its film transferred onto the shirt.

4.  Lay the mirrored artwork or image face down over your chosen T-shirt.

5.  Place the artwork and T-shirt in between the plates of a heat press. Apply heat and medium to high pressure from the press to transfer the artwork or image onto the T-shirt.

 

 

6.  Finished.

 

Heat Press Shirt Printing

 

 

A heat press is a machine engineered to imprint a design or graphic on a substrate, such as a t-shirt, with the application of heat and pressure for a preset period of time. While heat presses are often used to apply designs to fabrics, specially designed presses can also be used to imprint designs on mugs, plates, jigsaw puzzles, caps, and other products.

 

 

 

Both manual and automatic heat presses are widely available. A new style of press that is semi-automatic has entered the market as well, allowing for a manual closing process with an automatic, electromagnetic opening. Digital technology in newer machines enables precise control of heat and pressure levels and timing. The most common types of heat press employ a flat platen to apply heat and pressure to the substrate. In the "clamshell" design, the upper heat element in the press opens like a clamshell, while in the "swing-away" design, the heat platen swings away from the lower platen. Another design type a "draw style press" allows for the bottom platen to be pulled out like a drawer away from the heat for preparation of the graphic. Vacuum presses utilize air pressure to provide the necessary force and can achieve high psi ratings.

Most heat presses currently on the market use an aluminium upper-heating element with a heat rod cast into the aluminium or a heating wire attached to the element. For high-volume operations involving the continuous imprinting of items, automatic shuttle and dual platen transfer presses are used. The substrates to be imprinted are continuously loaded onto the lower platen and shuttled under the heat platen, which then applies the necessary heat and pressure.

The pattern is printed in sublimating ink on sublimating paper which allows the pattern to transfer. You can get some highly effective patterns and great effects using this technique.

 

 

Uses

 

 

A heat press is used to permanently apply a heat transfer to a surface . Common transfer types are Heat Transfer Vinyl cut with a Vinyl Cutter, Printable Heat Transfer Vinyl, Inkjet Transfer Paper, Laser Transfer Paper, Plastisol Transfers, and Sublimation. Using a Heat Press to apply a heat transfer is a way to ensure accurate time, temperature, and pressure, which are all essential to the transfer process.^[1]

 

 

 

 

Types of Heat Presses

 

Heat presses are broken down in three primary design styles: Clamshell, Swing Away, and Draw. There are some types of heat presses that can combine at least two of those three options, either as a Clammshell / Draw heat press, or a Swing / Draw Hybrid.^[2]

Heat presses are also available in manual, semi-automatic, or fully automatic using compressed air.

 

The auto open clam design allows you to multi-task without running the risk of burning garments.

• Best for beginners
• Takes up the least amount of space
• Most portable option

 



Clamshell-type Heatpress

The air swinger/draw design reduces fatigue through the use of compressed air.

• Ideal for high-volume businesses
• Provides a heat-free workspace
• Most expensive option
  
  

Draw-type Heatpress

The swinger/draw design gives you the ability to thread garments on or off the platen in a heat-free workspace.

• Best for experienced heat printers
• Produces a higher volume of work
  

  

  Swing-type Heatpress

  Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_press