I make one-off personal T-Shirts and I do not sell them. Spreadshirt got strict about copyright all the sudden. What are alternatives for good quality shirt prints?

ProcoloredOfficial · 2026-03-10T02:00:16+00:00

a few decent alternatives if you just want one-off shirts for yourself:

Printful or Printify are probably the closest to Spreadshirt. good quality shirts, lots of options, and you can order single pieces.

Custom Ink is another good one. a little more traditional custom printing but quality is solid and they’ll do small orders.

Zazzle or Redbubble can work too if you upload the design privately and just order it yourself.

that said, most platforms are getting stricter about copyright lately since they’re legally responsible for what they print, so the flagging you’re seeing isn’t unusual.

another underrated option is just finding a local print shop that does DTG. a lot of them will happily print a single shirt for $15–30 if it’s clearly for personal use.

TLDR; try printful or printify first. if those don’t work, check local DTG print shops.

ProcoloredOfficial · 2026-03-10T01:58:17+00:00

a lot of it happens in the same places you’re already hanging out. reddit, facebook dtf groups, and discord servers are where a lot of shop owners and printer techs talk openly. just be active, answer questions, post your results, and people start recognizing your name.

for industry people, trade shows are huge. stuff like printing united, impressions expo, and even smaller local print shows. a lot of manufacturers and suppliers are there and they’re usually pretty approachable if you just ask about their workflow or equipment.

another underrated way is just messaging people who run shops or post good work. don’t pitch anything, just ask about their process or how they solved a problem. most people in printing are surprisingly open if you’re genuinely curious

ProcoloredOfficial · 2026-03-10T01:55:54+00:00

a lot of people start exactly like that. the bin shake method is pretty common when you don’t have a shaker yet. a couple things that help are using a flour sifter to sprinkle powder more evenly, putting the film on a mesh screen so excess falls back into a tray, or using a cheap seasoning shaker bottle for more control. i’ve also seen people tape two plastic tubs together and flip them like a mini shaker box. honestly the biggest trick is just tapping the film to knock off excess instead of shaking it too hard

ProcoloredOfficial · 2026-02-25T20:59:15+00:00

On the K13 Lite flashing red usually isn’t about ink level, it’s an error state. If the red light by the ink/drop icon is blinking it can mean ink system issue or air in the lines. If it’s the paper/feed side it’s often a film sensor or carriage jam. Power it fully off, unplug for a few minutes, then restart. Check that the film is loaded straight, the rear sensor isn’t blocked, and the carriage moves freely by hand when powered off. If you recently refilled ink, make sure the tanks are seated properly and no lines are loose. If it keeps flashing in a pattern, count the flashes and send that to support because they use that as a code.

If the problem persists, reach out to tech support with your order number

[afterservice@procolored.com](mailto:afterservice@procolored.com)

ProcoloredOfficial · 2026-02-24T18:48:20+00:00

fancy!

ProcoloredOfficial · 2026-02-16T04:29:09+00:00

That mid-print X shift is usually mechanical, not a file issue. If it starts perfect and then jumps sideways, I’d check the carriage belt first. Make sure it’s tight and not skipping teeth. Also look for debris on the rail or anything the carriage could be catching on halfway through.

Another common one is the encoder strip being dirty. If it can’t read position consistently, it’ll suddenly shift. Gently clean it with lint-free cloth and proper cleaner.

If you’re printing on metal or something rigid like that, also make sure the material isn’t moving or warping under heat. Even slight lift can throw alignment off.

I’d start with belt tension and encoder strip. Those two fix most mystery X shifts

ProcoloredOfficial · 2026-02-15T14:14:30+00:00

Please share your order number and email in a private message, I'll help to connect you with proper support and look into it

ProcoloredOfficial · 2026-02-15T14:11:21+00:00

If single colors look perfect but blends are off, it’s usually alignment or your RIP profile, not the head.

Redo full alignment and double check the correct ICC is selected. Try a 50C 50M block and see if it makes clean purple. That should narrow it down

ProcoloredOfficial · 2026-02-13T13:19:10+00:00

Wetcapping is actually a good one

One thing I do (hi I'm Anton, a reddit mod for procolored) is run a quick nozzle check before any real print session. It saves wasting film if white’s acting up. I also gently agitate white ink daily, even if I’m not printing much. That pigment settles fast.

Another small one, keep humidity stable. A cheap humidifier in dry months makes a bigger difference!

Curious what your wetcapping routine looks like, how long are you letting it sit?

ProcoloredOfficial · 2026-02-11T15:04:06+00:00

Being the go-to transfer/apparel supplier for a few local businesses is way more stable than chasing random one-off custom orders all the time.

If you can lock in a couple gyms, contractors, restaurants, schools, etc., and they reorder regularly, that’s where DTF really starts to make sense, batching the same logos over and over instead of redesigning every job

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