How To Print On Socks At Home – You can’t buy them at Walmart, Target or even your local department store. No way David! You need to either know how to print on socks at home or how toget custom socks printed.
Printing on socks at home could seem like a daunting task, but it’s not as hard as you might think. The key is not to get overwhelmed by the process. If you’re looking for some tips on how to print on socks at home, keep reading.
Table of Contents
The Ugly Sock Trick
This is the first of two articles on how to print on socks. The second article will deal with the actual printing process.
Here are a few tips for printing on socks with an inkjet printer and a pair of scissors.
Cut off the top of your sock, so that it’s about 3 to 4 inches long. This will allow you to use the entire sock as a template for your design
Print on your sock using a printer that has an ink cartridge that produces red and blue ink. The red and blue ink cartridges are used to cover up any white space that may be left on the sock when you print out your design.
You can also print the design onto paper, then cut it into strips and glue them onto your socks with an adhesive like Elmer’s Glue or something similar.
For more information on how to print on socks, check out this article: How To Print On Socks At Home – The Ugly Sock Trick
Print all four feet
Here are a few pointers to help you get the best results possible when printing on socks.
1) Don’t use too much water. Use the least amount you can so that the ink is still properly transferred to the fabric (you should be able to see it on the paper). If you drench the socks, you will end up with a big wet mess.
2) Use thick socks. You want to use a thicker sock so that the ink will not seep through and transfer onto your feet.
3) Make sure your socks are clean and dry. I washed my socks and dried them in a dryer before printing them, for maximum absorbency.
4) Print all four feet. Make sure you print all four feet and not just one because if you only print one foot, then it will be obvious that the other three are blank! The image below shows what this looks like:
Don’t use too much ink
1. Clean the socks
2. Insert a piece of cardboard inside each sock. This will help prevent ink from leaking through the socks.
3. Set up your printer to print on transfer paper.
4. Print, and then cut out, the designs you will be using for your socks.
5. Place the cut out design on top of the sock, facing down.
6. Set your iron to a high heat setting, without steam. Allow it to become hot and fully heated before proceeding to the next step. If you are using a heat press, set it to between 330-350 degrees Fahrenheit (165-175 degrees Celsius).
7. Cover your ironing surface with parchment paper or another protective cover to avoid damage from melted ink or hot iron plates (if using a heat press).
8. Place the iron over the design for 15 seconds, applying pressure and moving in small circles over the image, making sure not to leave any area un-ironed as this can cause white spots on your printed design (if using a heat press, press down firmly for 15 seconds). Remove iron and allow to cool slightly until touchable but still warm (approximately 30 seconds).
9. Turn socks over and gently peel away transfer paper from back
Buy fabric glue instead of spray adhesive
1. Buy fabric glue instead of spray adhesive. The problem with the spray adhesive is that it is not flexible so when you pull on a sock it will crack.
2. Buy socks with a flat surface. The more texture the sock has, the harder it will be to get your design to stick.
3. Prep your socks by ironing them to make sure they are smooth and free of wrinkles.
4. Lay the socks out flat on a large piece of cardboard and cover with a thin layer of fabric glue.
5. Place your printable transfer paper on top of the fabric glue and let dry for at least an hour or two until completely dry to the touch.
6. Follow the directions on the back of your inkjet transfer paper for printing, applying, drying and washing instructions as each brand may be different slightly in their procedures and quality level.
Choose your color combination wisely (some colors bleed, others don’t).
Printing on socks is an inexpensive way to make custom promotional products. There are several options for printing that you can easily do at home.
You can print on the front or back of your items and choose the color combinations that work best for you. The more colors used in a design, the more expensive it will be to print.
Whether you’re printing on socks or not, there are a few things you’ll need to know before you start. First, there are a few different types of printers and ink cartridges. There are dye-sublimation printers which require special paper and produce amazing results, but those can cost upwards of $500 to buy. An alternative is the direct-to-garment printer (DTG) which can print images using standard ink cartridges and paper, but it doesn’t produce as high quality prints as the dye-sublimation printers. DTG printers range from $100 to $250 and you can find them at brick-and-mortar office supply stores as well as on Amazon .
The other thing you’ll need are socks. Choose your color combination wisely; some colors bleed, others don’t. In addition, choose socks that aren’t too thin or too thick because they may wrinkle when they dry. Also
Final Thoughts
By learning how to print on socks at home, you have become empowered. You can have blank socks printed and then go sell them yourself or you can sell your services as a designer to companies that sell branded merchandise for their company.
You control the quantity, the price, and the design of your creations. Whether this becomes a retirement plan or supplemental income is up to you. It’s always great to learn new things and add to your portfolio. Because not only are you an awesome graphic designer, but you are also able to create really cool merchandise.
