Shirty by design – Bundaberg Today
By Angela Norval
Jessica Herbert, owner of GC Supply Co and printer in the region, is becoming a name that’s literally on the lips of many people around the area.
Jessica founded the company as a way to return to work and because she saw the need for a direct-to garment printing business in the area.
Jessica, who has been using a printer as a hobby for the past three years, finds this career both flexible and fun. Her two children are both in school.
Jessica stated that even though she has only been working since late March of this year, she has already learned so much.
“I have experimented with things I probably wouldn’t have but my lovely customers pushed me to give it a go with no pressure with nine out of 10 having been a success,” she said.
“We have been investing in more accessories like our Junior Platten so I am now able to print onto children’s clothes and I have only just purchased a hat press so we can move into doing a hat and shirt combo deal.
“There is a bit of a process for each shirt, as we do both direct to garment and direct to film which both have a different process, while I now have a DTF Oven, Heat press, pre-treatment cube and of course my Brother GTX Pro printer.
“Art work is the first thing that needs to get sorted and it usually takes the most time.
“Luckily, I now have a local graphic designer Arin Crook to help with all the little fix ups and logo designs.
“We then need to load our image onto the printer pretreat the shirt and brush the fibres flat and then press the shirt.
We can now load the shirt on the platen. This is like a table you slide into a printer. When we press the button, the printer prints directly on the fabric.
“After it is complete, we then need to press the shirt to cure the ink and that shirt is done.
“DTF is a little different, we don’t need to pretreat the shirt only press the moisture out.
“We load the image onto the printer to print reverse onto a special film, we then cover that with our DTF powder and cook it in our DTF oven.
“We can store these for about eight months and we do sell the prints to small business who press their own shirts however we usually just print on demand.
“Once we have cured the ink in the oven, we then press this into the shirt, peel off the film and then press the shirt again to set it.”
Jessica is not willing to compromise on quality. This includes using AS colour, which is part of Better Cotton Initiative, as well as responsible procurement.
“These shirts are the reason we can get a crisp print using DTG, the tightly woven cotton that is standard with AS Colour is why most DTG Printers will stock their shirts.
“They are the industry standard and we are thankful to have an account with them.
“I also take great care as listed above with every shirt to make sure the fibres are flat to get that print, we all want, I won’t send out something I’m not happy with.”
It is clear that GC Supply Co shirts have received a lot of positive feedback.
“We did shirts for the 1770 super jam event and we were so excited to do those, as I’m a sucker for kids and charity.
“Wattle Woman, what can I say, Lili is so creative and the printer had no trouble creating her images onto the shirts; they were so vibrant.
“As a fellow business woman, I feel honoured to be working with Lili and to grow with her.
“As with Off Tap Apparel their success goes hand in hand with my business success, my biggest supporters are the little guys and I am truly thankful.
“With small businesses who only need a few shirts, this option in the region has been missing and we have had fantastic support from people who have been using DTG Printers from Brisbane who were looking for someone closer and also all the small businesses who love to support another local small business.
“Business owners appreciate the opportunity to speak to someone in person in regards to their design and shirts and also be able to try them on making the process a whole lot easier.”
Visit their Facebook page for more information or call 0491 706 676.