I wanna start printing designs on t shirts, whether as a serious

It's a margins business from what I understand. Don't invest in any large scale or pro-grade equipment cause you probably can't compete with the dudes selling shirts for a dollar a piece.

>>942402
So then where should I start from to gain an understanding of the whole shtick in the business?

The ink and emulsion is where it gets expensive. The screens are around 30 dollars a piece. If you want to get into screen printing I recommend a small two or four station machine before spending hundreds on a big elaborate machine.

Also the fact is that most small screen printing shops are not very friendly or competitive due to the fact that the demand is low in most cities. If you do a little research I'm sure you will agree.

>>942378
a paper transfer thingy?
i wouldn't use an print out iron on paper transfer for fucking anything, peels off after a few washes. total shit. kind of the same as the huge heat press transfers some small shops do.

screen printing is cool, you can buy some mesh and just make a frame for it out of wood. get a window squeegie or something to spread the ink.
you can do the whole uv curing paste stuff if you want to use just one design on one mesh or you can cut paper to lay between the shirt and the mesh if you want to reuse your mesh for different things all the time.

Go for sublimation printing instead. It's the "new thing" because you can embed any image onto fabric.

Much more expensive to start up than screen print though, but you'll get a lot more business and can sell for way more.

>>942378
I'd say start with a niche market and then expand when you're doing well.

http://cyberoptixtielab.myshopify.com/

I like those guys; they started by screen printing interesting designs on ties, and then expanded to printing on other things.
Their initial goal was to sell less boring ties, and they did that by using designs related to themes that appeal to professions or people.
Like electronic circuits or biological designs.

Become friends with a popular graphic designer in your area, print some of your own designs for practice and then move on to commisions

>>942592
Seriously some form of this. I occasionally do tshirts from relief prints.

And I've gotten more word of mouth referrals from people seeing my friends wearing my shirts I've made.

>aye man where'd you get that shirt. My buddy made it. Ah man does he have a website. Yeah dood.