For musicians, a band t-shirt is much, much more than a fabric and design with a logo on it. It’s a way to show devotion to their fans while serving as a brand-building tool. Whether you want to create shirts for your next big gig or you have to rebrand, you’ll learn how to make a band T-shirt your fans will adore.
From planning and creating the designs to finding a vendor to print your T-shirts, we cover all the steps for a seamless process. Thanks to our expert advice, you will have all the necessary knowledge to give your fans T-shirts they will love and wear with pride.
How To Make a Band T-Shirt Step-by-Step
Making a band T-shirt or an entire merch is not as complicated as many think. The process requires focus and devotion while following the steps on how to make a band T-shirt, outlined below.
- Creating the design
- Selecting T-shirt
- Researching printing methods
- Research and start contacting printing companies
- Negotiate terms for collaborating
- Start a marketing campaign and sell your designs
Creating the T-shirt design
The first step in how to make a band tee, and probably one of the crucial ones, is to create a design. Generally looking, the creation of the design may take the longest as every musician’s dream is for their merch to align with the idea behind their music and the preferences of their fans. The best practice is to create a design that will resonate with your band and music style.
Some popular band T-shirt designs include:
- Band logo
- Band name
- Lyrics from popular songs or quotes
- Illustrated picture from the band artists
- Album art
- Tour dates
Whichever band T-shirt design idea you go with, we advise you to hire a professional designer to do the job. They are experienced and will help you with conceptualization, and usage of relevant imagery, typography, and colors, and some might even prepare the design for printing.
Last but not least, you should ensure that the custom T-shirt designs you create match with the overall style of your band merchandise.
Selecting the T-shirt
The selection of T-shirts for your band merch shouldn’t be rushed. Start by choosing the material and the fabric. If you want to win over your fans turn them into recurring customers, you shouldn’t sacrifice quality. Always opt for a durable fabric that is comfortable to wear. If you don’t know what to choose, you can never go wrong with cotton as the most breathable and soft fabric.
It is essential to choose shirt colors that will match your design. Not all T-shirt colors are suitable for printing any design. Use complementary, analogous and triadic color schemes to adjust the T-shirt background with the design to achieve contrast. Also, consult with your printing company about any color limitations and color reproduction.
Lastly, always consider the different fits and styles. Consider the preferences of your target audience and offer them a variety of options, including fitted and oversized.
Researching printing methods
When it comes to band T-shirt printing, you will have a variety of options available. For starters, different printing methods can be utilized for band T-shirts, such as:
- Screen printing
- Direct-to-garment printing
- Dye sublimation
- Heat transfer vinyl
- Plastisol heat transfer
- Air brushing
Out of all the options, you can choose the best method by considering various factors such as the fabric type, order volume, design complexity and your budget. All T-shirt printing methods have their own advantages and disadvantages. Still, screen printing takes the lead as the most commonly used printing method, with direct-to-garment being right behind it.
Research and start contacting printing companies
Once you have the basic details about your design, T-shirt and desired printing method, look for a printing company that will tick all the boxes. The easiest way to find one is to do a local online search. Read reviews and testimonials, and contact the best ones you can find.
Negotiate terms for collaborating
A significantly important step in how to print band T-shirts is negotiating the terms for collaboration with the printing company. Some of the aspects you should pay attention to are:
- Possibility to get a sample before starting the bulk order
- Payment options and deadlines
- Printing quality standards
- Shipping and delivery options
- Dropshipping
- Intellectual property rights such as copyrights and trademarks
- Returns and exchanges
- Order cancellation conditions
For instance, many of our Thrive Screen Printing clients are highly satisfied with our transparency, quality, fast turnaround times, and wholesale apparel fulfillment services.
Start a marketing campaign and selling your designs
The ast, and probably the continuousnuos in makingmake a band shirt is marketing. You can implement different marketing strategies to promote your fresh band merchandise. Nowadays, you can utilize various paid and unpaid marketing techniques.
When it comes to selling, the two most common ways are physical and online merch sales. You can sell your band T-shirts and other apparel at your band concerts or plays, or you can offer them to clothing stores to sell them for you. You can never go wrong in creating a band website and have a specific section about your merch.
Quick Tips on How To Make Your Own Band Merch
Are you wondering how to make merch for your band successful? Well, for starters, understand your audience. The design of the merch should resonate with your music and attract your customers. Being familiar with and tailoring the products according to your fans’ needs and preferences will bring you one step closer to bigger sales and a higher revenue stream.
Next, offer a variety of products. From T-shirts, hoodies, caps, and hats to stickers, patches, keychains, home goods, artwork, the options are nearly endless.
Most importantly, everything you plan to sell should be priced reasonably. Estimate what your fans are willing to pay and calculate the cost of making the merch. Occasionally create bundle deals, one-time discounts, offer limited edition custom band merch and create a sense of urgency and exclusivity.
Conclusion
Knowing how to make a band T-shirt and following the recommended steps will make the process much easier and quicker. You should always start with brainstorming ideas and creating the design, and continue by selecting T-shirts, printing methods and a printing company. If you decide to go with the best printing method, screen printing, our experienced team of experts is here to turn your designs into high-quality merch products. We will ensure you get them on time so you can start selling them to your fans as soon as possible.
Robert Fisher is the founder and CEO of Thrive Screen Printing and brings extensive experience in the screen printing and fulfillment industry.