You Bought the Heat Press. Here Are the 7 Things Nobody Told You to Get Next.
Most people spend their first month buying the wrong sizes, ruining good shirts, and wondering why their prints look homemade. This is the short list that skips all of that.
The press is out of the box. It heats up. You press the button and it goes clunk, exactly like it should.
And then you realize you have no idea what to actually put in it.
That is the part nobody covers in the unboxing videos. We print for thousands of people who were standing exactly where you are, and after reading a few thousand of their reviews, the same seven gaps come up over and over. Here they are, in the order they will bite you.
Seven things to line up before your first shirt
Designs that are already print-ready, not files you have to fix
The first wall most people hit is not the press. It is the artwork. A design that looks fine on your phone turns into a blurry mess at full size, and you will not find out until it is already on a shirt.
Ready-to-press transfers skip that entirely. The file is already sized, already the right resolution, already printed. You are not designing, you are pressing.
The right size for the shirt you are actually pressing
An adult large and a toddler 4T do not take the same size print. Get it wrong and the design either swims on the shirt or looks like a sticker someone slapped on a chest.
Every transfer in the kit is adult size, made for the adult tees in your kit. No guessing, no math.
Shirts you already know will take the print
Not every blank behaves. Cheap polyester scorches, heavy cotton blends can hold moisture and bubble, and thrift store shirts have already been through a dryer forty times.
Starting on a blank you have never pressed means two variables at once, and when it fails you will not know which one failed.
A finishing sheet, if you want it to stop looking homemade
Here is the difference between a shirt that looks made and a shirt that looks bought. Pressed on its own, a transfer can sit slightly shiny and slightly stiff. A silicone finishing sheet on the final press knocks that down and softens the feel.
It is not required. Plenty of people never use one. But this is what customers say after they try it:
Real answers, not a guess
Most presses ship with a generic chart. DTF has its own rules, and there is a lot of vocabulary, file prep and troubleshooting nobody explains up front.
So most beginners end up piecing it together from forum posts and videos that contradict each other, usually after a few ruined shirts. It is much easier to have the answers in one place before your first press.
Something to practice on before you risk a good shirt
This is the one almost nobody thinks to buy, and it is the thing most beginners are actually anxious about. A customer said it better than we could:
You should be able to burn one press figuring out your machine, not one shirt. Every heat press is different, even two of the same model.
A human to ask when it goes sideways
At some point a corner will lift, or a white will look gray, or a peel will pull the design. You can spend two hours in a Facebook group getting six contradictory answers, or you can ask the people who printed it.
Pick Your Starting Point
Same seven things in every kit. The only question is how many shirts you want to make before you reorder.
- 6 designs, your choice
- 3 Softstyle tees, your colors
- 12x9 T-Seal finishing sheet
- 5 storage bags, 14" x 14"
- Practice fabric & transfers
- Press with Confidence: The DTF Handbook (PDF)
- 15 designs, your choice
- 4 Softstyle tees, your colors
- 12x9 T-Seal finishing sheet
- 10 storage bags, 14" x 14"
- Practice fabric & transfers
- Press with Confidence: The DTF Handbook (PDF)
- Free shipping
- 25 designs, your choice
- 5 Softstyle tees, your colors
- 12x9 T-Seal finishing sheet
- 15 storage bags, 14" x 14"
- Practice fabric & transfers
- Press with Confidence: The DTF Handbook (PDF)
- Free shipping
Kit pricing is already discounted, so coupon codes do not apply.
You Pick Every Design. We Print Them.
Choose your kit size
Starter, Maker or Pro. Pick how many shirts you want to make.
Pick your designs
Choose from our 100 top selling full color designs. Want the same design twice? Go for it.
Pick your shirts
Choose sizes and pick from 30 popular colors. We print, pack and ship the whole thing as one box.
Questions we actually get
How long until it arrives?
Everything is printed to order in our shop in Spring Hill, Florida. Our normal production time is 3 to 5 business days, plus shipping transit time.
Free ground shipping is available on orders of $75 or more, which includes the Maker and Pro kits. If timing is important, you can upgrade to UPS Ground for just $3.75 more, and we also offer 2 Day Air and Overnight shipping.
Need it sooner? Add a Rush Production Upgrade for Same Day, Next Day, or 3 business day production. If you have a hard date, message us before you order and we will tell you honestly whether we can make it.
Carriers do not honor delivery guarantees due to weather or other acts of God, but we will always do our best to take care of you. Please enter your full and correct shipping address at checkout. Full details are in our Shipping Policy.
Do I need a special heat press?
No. A standard clamshell or swing-away works, and so do most of the smaller presses people buy first. You need consistent heat and firm pressure, not an expensive machine.
How do I apply DTF transfers?
You can use a home iron, Easy Press or heat press. DTF transfers are great for fabric, and many customers use them on wood projects too. Read our full How to Press DTF Transfers instructions here.
What if I ruin a shirt?
That is what the practice fabric and practice transfers are for. Every kit includes 4 fabric swatches to test on. Get your settings dialed in, then press the real thing. For your own future projects, always test on the same fabric you plan to use.
What if something is wrong with a transfer?
Your transfers are covered by The We Print U Press Print Guarantee.
Will these work on dark shirts?
Yes. DTF prints a white underbase, so colors stay bright on black, navy, maroon, anything. This is the main reason people move over from sublimation.
Will it wash out?
Not if it is pressed properly. Wash cold, inside out, and tumble dry low or hang dry. A customer who has been washing hers for eight months: "I have washed my kids designs multiple times in the last 8 months and they still look as good as the day I pressed them."
Do I have to use the T-Seal?
No. It is there to improve how the finished shirt feels and to help your work stand out. Skip it and your transfers still press fine. Freezer paper or parchment paper can also be used instead of the T-Seal for your final press.
How do I get the DTF Handbook?
Press with Confidence: The DTF Handbook is a PDF sent to you automatically. We update it often, and you will get each new edition as it comes out.
Can I use a coupon code?
Not on the kits. Kit pricing is already 32 to 41 percent below the value of what is inside, so codes are excluded.
Your Press Is Ready. Give It Something to Do.
Pick your designs, pick your shirts, and get everything you need for your first real project in one box.
Build My Starter Kit, $49.99
