Looking to start your own home-based business on Etsy or eBay? Buying a machine for printing t shirts could be a solid investment. However, first, it’s important to know exactly what kind of machine you need because each one has its advantages and disadvantages! Here’s what you need to know.
Best Machine For Printing T Shirts Comparison
Below you’ll see a comparison of the different printing methods for t shirts. It’s important to know the limitations of each method for durability, print quality, and color selection before you commit to buying an expensive piece of equipment for your business or side hustle.
Heat press vs Screenprint vs digital t shirt printing machines
| Heat Press Machine | Digital Printing Machine | Screen Printing Machine |
| Most affordable | More expensive | Most expensive |
| Easy to use | Easy to use | Harder to use |
| Okay print durability | Great print durability | Best print durability |
| No color limits | No color limits | Colors are limited |
| Can print photos | Can print photos | Can not print photos |
| Foil, glitter, crystals, patches | No specialty printing | No specialty printing |
| Best for one-off orders | Best for one-off orders | Best for bulk orders |
In short, the machine you need depends on your budget and what you plan to sell. If you want to sell customized one-off shirts, then you’ll want a heat press or digital printer. If you’re going to sell high-quality fashion designs or bulk orders, then a screen-printing setup is best.
For most home-based businesses, a heat press printer is what they start off with. These machines are very affordable and it’s easy to learn how to use them. Heat presses also allow you to do specialty prints like foil or rhinestone. However, the prints will be stiff and they are not the most durable.
Screen printing setups offer the most durable prints, but screen printing is a bad choice if you’re planning to sell customized one-off prints for your customers. Since every color in the design needs its own screen, it’s not cost-effective to do this and is better suited to bulk orders (such as for sports teams or clubs.) Screen printing also means a lot of manual labor switching screens and applying the ink yourself, unless you can afford a commercial grade (very expensive) automated machine.
Digital printing is the best of both worlds. A digital t-shirt printer (Direct To Garment Printer) offers great print quality and durability, it’s easy to use, you don’t have any design limitations as you would with screen printing, and you can easily make and sell high-quality one-off t shirts. The only problem? Purchasing a Direct To Garment printer is the most expensive option.
Okay! Now that that’s out of the way… here are our top picks!!
Best Machine To Make T Shirts
Ricoma Multi-Function Heat Press
Looking to print more than just shirts?
Ricoma’s super affordable heat press allows you to fully stock your Etsy or eBay store with tons of products, and you can do it for less than $600.
Offer your customers personalized hats, mugs, shirts, and even decorative plates with this machine.
With places like Etsy getting more and more saturated every day with t-shirt sellers, this can really give you an edge and bring in more profits.
Keep reading to see sample products! Or, click here to check prices and availability for this machine.
Ricoma’s 4 in 1 machine allows you to print these products and sizes:
12″ x 15″ T-shirt and garment printing
The 4 in 1 has a generous garment printing area, and unlike digital printers and screen printing, you can also take advantage of flashy specialty printing methods like foil or rhinestones for your designs. It also does very well with photo prints if you’re looking to make those kinds of shirts.
3″ x 5.5″ hat printing
Hat prints are large, beautiful, and vibrant. The hat plate works on any kind of hat, and you can even print on the brims if you want to! In addition, you can also use the press for iron patches, sublimation, or rhinestones.
11 oz mugs
Mugs are super popular on Etsy and it’s easy to make designs with this machine featuring quotes, illustrations, your artwork, or even custom designs for your customers.
8″ plate printing
A more unusual item but still very in demand! Custom printed decorative plates for anniversaries or holidays can be big sellers and this press does a great job transferring your designs to them.
In addition, the machine features a heavy-duty steel frame, an extra thick heat plate that gives you even temperatures and pressure, and a timer that lets you know exactly when the print is done.
Click here to get the best price on Ricoma Multifunction heat press.
Ricoh Ri100 Digital T-Shirt Printer
While digital t-shirt printing machines are cool, they aren’t cheap. Professional machines start at around $15,000, so machines in the $4,000 range, like the Ricoma Ri100, are a good deal in comparison.
Don’t be fooled by the cheaper-looking machines on Amazon. These are actually DTF and not DTG printers. DTF is essentially a heat press and you’re paying too much for these machines.
However, the machine is super easy to use, and it lets you fulfill even highly customized orders fast.
You can also print on a variety of items, such as shirts, tote bags, onesies, towels, and pillowcases.
Plus, the machine is lightweight and portable, making it a good choice if you’re looking to sell customized items on the spot at craft fairs, fundraisers, or community events. This machine also works on bulkier items, such as sweatshirts, and it comes with free professional design software.
So, what’s bad about it? Well, unfortunately, this machine does not print white ink and it’s only intended to be used on light-colored garments. For most, this is fine, but keep this in mind before purchasing.
Click here to check prices and availability on Ricoh Ri100
Need an affordable machine for dark clothing? Amazon does have one legit and affordable DTG printer that works on darks. However, it’s a good deal more difficult to use and you can’t use it on heavy garments like hoodies or sweatshirts. Click here to see this machine.
Screenprinting Kit
Okay, so what about screenprinting? Well, the good news is, screenprinting can be very cheap. In fact, if you’re keen to try and your designs are very simple, you can pick up a beginner kit for around $100.
BUT, it’s very labor-intensive if the designs are complicated and it’s NOT the right choice if you want to do one-off customized shirts for clients. Screenprinting is a good pick if you want a budget way to make high-quality prints that are one or two colors and you plan to make them in bulk.
This is popular for bands or artists looking to sell simply merch at shows, or for people who will be bulk printing shirts to sell to a business. That’s because the screens and setup are the expensive part of screen printing and the more shirts you print, the cheaper they are per shirt.
You should also keep in mind that while screenprinting is not hard per se, it does take significantly more skill, and unless you can afford a $9,000+ automatic screen printing machine… it’s also more labor-intensive.
These machines are also HUGE by the way, and unless you have a dedicated business space with a warehouse, you’re not going to be able to use one. This is not an at-home method unless you do it manually.
In closing, there are a lot of ways to print a t-shirt but some are better than others! The best machine to make t shirts is the one that fits the types of products you want to sell and your target market.
Tanya, both a nurturing stay-at-home mom and a skilled crafter, is the creative force behind our blog. As the co-founder of Romney Ridge Farms & Crafts, she’s the editor and curator. She also runs the Romney Ridge Farms & Crafts social media accounts where we post new patterns for you to enjoy.
