Custom Iron-on Decals for T-shirts (or Whatever)

If you have an iron and an inkjet printer, you can make your own iron-on decals. The thermal transfer paper runs about $1 per sheet. This one is supposed to be one of the best.

The easiest way to do this is to use white fabric. Then you can simply scale the picture you want to print and take the mirror image (if getting the orientation correct matters for your image) and print it onto the special thermal transfer paper. Then you press the paper onto the fabric (pre-ironed, so it's smooth) with a hot iron (though not against an ironing board, because an ironing board is soft and the transfer will become distorted... one needs a hard, flat surface).

It's really not that difficult, and making something like this gives a feeling of satisfaction. My first test is shown here. My plan is to custom-design a T-shirt. Maybe with discreet logos on the sleeves.

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If you need ideas for designs, check out some of the cool shirts at Topatoco: