| The Indian apparel marketplace for t-shirts is huge | | | | use, there are design interfaces offered by some |
| (valued at INR 12500 Million as per IMAGES-KSA | | | | websites that can be used to arrange, resize, edit or |
| Technopak survey for the year 2001-02, probably | | | | reshape different images on a t-shirt. Whatever the |
| close to INR 20000 Million today!) and has been so | | | | method used to make the artwork, the following |
| far dominated by ready-mades. This means that, | | | | basic guidelines will ensure that it looks good when |
| although a customer has a huge variety of t-shirts to | | | | printed on a t-shirt: |
| choose from, she still could not get that particular | | | | * Texts such as slogans, names etc can be typed in |
| design she wanted or that particular slogan she | | | | one or many lines but ensure that the text is not too |
| wanted if it was not in stock. This provides an | | | | crowded. The size of the letters should be a |
| opportunity for offering made-to-order products to | | | | minimum of 1 inch to ensure good readability on a |
| individual customers based on their own designs, | | | | t-shirt. |
| delivered quickly and with no minimum order quantity | | | | * Ideal text length should not be more than 4 words |
| restrictions! | | | | of average length in a line and not more than 4 lines |
| The concept of Customized T-shirts | | | | in the 10 inch by 10 inch print area. This will ensure a |
| A blank t-shirt with a specific, customer provided | | | | text size of about 1.5 inches which is comfortable for |
| artwork or photo printed on it is generally referred to | | | | reading from a few feet distance. |
| as a Customized T-shirt. The blank t-shirt can be | | | | * Ensure that the quality of the artwork is excellent |
| chosen by the customer as per color, type, other | | | | (300 dpi) as this will ensure high quality reproduction. |
| requirements and quality considerations and the | | | | Define a print area of reasonable size; a t-shirt |
| printing process can vary depending on the numbers | | | | covered entirely in prints may not be ideal. Optimum |
| required. The popular printing processes include | | | | print area would be about 10 inch by 10 inch |
| screen printing for large batch sizes and heat transfer | | | | maximum on the body of the t-shirt. |
| or direct to garment printing for smaller batch sizes. | | | | * High quality (300 DPI) photos, caricatures, cartoons, |
| While the concept of customized printing on t-shirts | | | | etc are great for printing. Lower DPIs can be used |
| for individuals is not new even in India, it has been | | | | but the quality will be compromised a little bit. |
| largely restricted to a few small players doing this in | | | | Other customizable products |
| malls and some photography shops having a few | | | | Apart from T-shirts, products like Ceramic coffee |
| standard templates to plug in photos. For large | | | | mugs and beer mugs, Mouse pads, Ceramic wall tiles |
| corporate buyers with large order sizes, there are | | | | and Coasters can be customized with whatever |
| plenty of options but individuals looking at 1 or 2 | | | | artwork an individual wants. The print area available |
| T-shirts to express their passions have not had much | | | | for printing will vary based on the product that is |
| to choose from. An easily accessible place, physical or | | | | used but in general, good quality printing can be |
| online, where individual customers can try out their | | | | carried out if the artwork is of good quality. |
| own designs (not just photos) and see what it looks | | | | Conclusion |
| like before deciding to buy it will be of immense help | | | | Evolving consumer preference and high level of |
| and this is where a site with an easy to use design | | | | competition is driving the world of manufacturing |
| creation application will have a role to play. | | | | towards mass customization. T-shirts are no different |
| Creating a customized T-shirt | | | | and by their very nature, lend themselves to being a |
| The design (also called artwork) is the heart of any | | | | preferred means of expression for the passionate |
| customized t-shirt. While blank t-shirts are pretty | | | | individual. As the customization process is made |
| standard, the quality and creativity of the artwork | | | | user-friendly and the cost made economical, |
| sets apart great t-shirts from ordinary ones. | | | | customized t-shirt and other accessories market is |
| Depending on skill levels, an individual can design the | | | | expected to grow rapidly. While the online market |
| artwork using software like Adobe Photoshop and | | | | place in India is presently small, the entry of many |
| then provide this to the manufacturer who will | | | | new players providing quality products is expected to |
| reproduce this on a t-shirt. Alternatively, for ease of | | | | contribute to explosive growth in the coming years. |