Issue link: https://nbm.uberflip.com/i/1491557
4 0 G R A P H I C S P R O • J U N E 2 0 2 3 G R A P H I C S - P R O. C O M S T A R T H E R E T he art of creating unique heat trans- fer vinyl (HTV) designs is an incred- ibly rewarding way to make money. With a few simple tools and supplies anyone can create beautiful custom designs that will have your customers coming back for more. Whatever your specialty in the graphics market, HTV is worth a serious look as at least a nice profitable add-on you can offer your customers. When it comes to HTV designs, the pos- sibilities are truly endless. From intricate details to bold graphics and everything in between, you can craft eye-catching designs that will appeal to your target audience. Here are some tips on how to get started: Research your target audience: ink about what types of designs they might be interested in and why. Take into account their age group, interests, and style preferences when brainstorming ideas for your HTV designs. For instance, you could reach out to local small busi- nesses and see if they would like to have t-shirts made with their company info on the back. Gear up: Heat transfer vinyl is per- fect for printing on fabric, so look into getting a good quality heat press machine or cutter if you don't have one already. Additionally, you'll need to select the right type of vinyl material as well as a compatible cutting blade and software such as Adobe Illustrator or CorelDR AW Graphics Suite X5/X6/X7/X8. You'll also need other materials, such as a weed tool or tweezers, depending on the complexity Explore an easy income opportunity using heat transfer vinyl Eve Lowry started The Baby's Booty YouTube channel to help others learn exactly how to do machine embroidery, maintain their machines, and what materials they need to accomplish that. The Baby's Booty is in its sixth year of YouTube instruction with over 54,000 subscribers, and seven years in the embroidery business, and has since expanded its services to include rhinestone decoration, direct-to-film shirt printing, sublimation printing, and coaching services. VINYL BASICS 1 Once you've weeded out the words, be sure to lay your heat transfer vinyl (HTV) shiny side up and press according to manufacturer directions. In this case, we used Siser Easy Weed heat transfer vinyl. (Images courtesy of Eve Lowry) B Y E V E L O W R Y 2