How to Make T-Shirt Computer Transfers

If you have a computer, printer and a pack of iron-on transfer sheets for ink jet printers, then you have everything you need to design your very own T-shirts. Making your own T-shirts is a fun and easy way to create a unique wardrobe or T-shirts for a group or organization.

Things You'll Need

• Ink jet iron on transfer paper
• Ink jet printer
• Computer
• Paint or word software application
• Iron

Instructions

1. Open up the paint or word processing program that you plan to use to create the design for the transfer. Create the image or saying that you wish to transfer onto the T-shirt. Flip your image so that it looks backward on the computer screen; this way once you flip it to iron it on your T-shirt it will appear correctly.

2. Do a test print on regular paper before printing your image on your transfer paper so that you don't waste the expensive transfer paper trying to get your image right. Make all necessary adjustments to your image before proceeding to the next step.

3. Load your transfer paper into your printer as instructed by the package that the paper came in.

4. Print your image onto your transfer paper following the instructions provided by the packaging of the transfer paper. It is important to follow these instructions carefully for the best result.

5. Use an iron to transfer the image onto your T-shirt, following the directions provided with the transfer paper, as directions may differ between different products. The general idea is the place the transfer, image side down, onto the T-shirt that you would like to transfer the image to, and then to run a warm iron over the back of the transfer for a minute or so.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember that your printer does not print white, so those areas that appear white will really be the color of the T-shirt. Also keep in mind the size of the T-shirt that you are transferring your image onto when deciding on the size of your image. Images with less intricate, small details will transfer best. Iron-on transfer printer paper can be found at most craft and office supply stores for around $15 for 12 sheets. You can use any software program that you can print from with the transfer sheets, but a paint or word program, like those that usually come pre-installed on most computers, are best for original creations by a general computer user.