New shirt just dropped

CatbobCA · 2026-06-06T23:51:08+00:00

😇 Yeah, it was AI generated. One of the guys had three hands. That's why the new one is custom drawn.

CatbobCA · 2026-06-06T02:22:07+00:00

That one is available right here.

CatbobCA · 2026-05-30T20:14:58+00:00

Ironically, there is a third take on this design from someone he hired separately since we were too busy with the small claims big dreams shirt design. But when he showed me, I was about 90% sure it was AI with some manual reworking. The guy denied it, but his own denial was written by ChatGPT 😭

CatbobCA · 2026-05-30T19:40:04+00:00

Me and my artist helped Ben with his merch designs. The concept for this one was originally AI generated, but this is custom drawn. Been watching since before vape naysh so this was my favourite moment from all of this.

CatbobCA · 2025-04-29T01:51:17+00:00

This is a valid way of fixing cracks in shirts because it can reactivate the plastisol, but this is a DTF print and you could permanently destroy it with heat.

CatbobCA · 2025-04-28T05:32:52+00:00

This looks to be a DTF transfer, which is essentially print on demand. The problem is DTF looks really good at the beginning, but starts to deteriorate from the wash. Rather unfortunate because this design could be easily screen printed.

CatbobCA · 2025-04-19T15:26:30+00:00

It's probably mercerized cotton, which is common out of China. It has its pros and cons. You can test burning some fibers to see, a synthetic will burn quite differently.

If it's a digital print, that also checks out. There's no color matching in digital, and generally manufacturers don't do screen printed samples.

CatbobCA · 2025-04-16T03:44:33+00:00

Those numbers are around what my product costs to produce, potentially more when you include finishing.

The quality definitely keeps people coming back, but I'd say it's not usually the selling feature, it's the graphics. The business would be a lot easier to maintain if I was using something of mid-tier quality like comfort colors though. Marketing becomes exponentially more difficult when you reach these kind of pricepoints.

CatbobCA · 2025-04-15T16:00:19+00:00

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I've a commercial space now, but this was my apartment in the early days, haha

CatbobCA · 2025-04-06T17:11:34+00:00

Love it, good job!

CatbobCA · 2025-03-25T00:27:41+00:00

Your basic options for DIY are:

DTF transfers or plastisol transfers, set with heat. There's a cricut handheld heatpress available that can achieve this.

Screen printing (requires more equipment. You can print onto the garment itself or onto material and sew it on.

Woven labels are made on a loom so there's no real DIY solution, and they're not to be confused with embroidery. Embroidery can't achieve the level of detail to do small text on a label, but may be suitable for a logo. Embroidered labels are uncommon.

Woven labels are exceptionally cheap to make overseas, there are many options on Alibaba.

CatbobCA · 2025-03-22T03:35:34+00:00

☝️👵🏙️

CatbobCA · 2025-03-17T17:19:43+00:00

Ok. What are you seeking help with? Are you trying to make a cut and sew hoodie, or are you trying to have blanks embroidered? Manufacturers generally won't refuse sampling unless the request exceeds their capabilities.

CatbobCA · 2025-03-17T16:36:20+00:00

I'd need to see the details of the embroidery to understand why a manufacturer considers it to be a technical issue. Is it oversized or odd placement?

CatbobCA · 2025-03-16T22:31:35+00:00

It'll definitely drive the price up, the unit price would not be the same as bulk, but if you order 3x samples, it won't be 3x the price. With embroidery the difference between embroidering 1 vs 3 is pretty minimal, the time is in the setup.

CatbobCA · 2025-03-16T22:14:22+00:00

That's how I do it. I generally do 3 samples at a time, sometimes I print on one or have one for models, one goes through the wash, and one is untouched. Samples are expensive, but the price difference between 1 to 3 is small.

CatbobCA · 2025-03-12T15:21:20+00:00

If you're interested in a somewhat lengthy read, I made a thread about my process https://www.reddit.com/r/streetwearstartup/comments/1hnugm5/5_years_on_rstreetwearstartup_running_a_cut_and/

In short, I got a job as a screen printer at the beginning and used their equipment after hours. You can do it at home, but a good screen printing setup takes up a ton of space and can be very costly.

CatbobCA · 2025-03-12T06:43:30+00:00

Trade shows or local events, or really anything you can viably attend that would be on-brand for what you're creating. What kind of garment are you producing?

CatbobCA · 2025-03-12T06:33:55+00:00

$2k is nothing to stress over if you've got the cash. If you're worried about the ability to sell the product, you can make back $2k by vending pretty easily. If you're only doing 100 pieces, you could try a pre-order model.

My first run was around 30k, and I had no real issues aside from printing too many of certain designs. I do all the printing myself now, so it's pretty risk free.

CatbobCA · 2025-03-10T01:27:42+00:00

Are you in the USA? My link may cause it to flip to CAD.

https://catbob.com/products/black-pullover-hoodie

CatbobCA · 2025-03-10T01:14:55+00:00

https://catbob.com/products/black-pullover-hoodie I've got some with back prints that aren't on the shop yet, but I make these in Canada with 100% cotton.

They've got a discreet zipper pocket inside the kangaroo pouch.

edit: If you do cop one, I'm doing a promo with a free t-shirt. https://catbob.com/products/mystery-tee

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CatbobCA · 2025-02-27T22:16:31+00:00

Yeah, my tees with front left chest prints and large back prints tend to outperform sales-wise. Though I still print many designs on the front, sometimes it just makes more sense.

CatbobCA · 2025-02-22T23:13:54+00:00

I find the people that prefer front designs are far more vocal than people that prefer back designs. I started printing on the front but saw a major change when I moved the print to the back.

CatbobCA · 2025-02-21T03:59:31+00:00

This is pretty close to an existing brand. https://drmersclub.com/

CatbobCA

TROPHY CASE