🎨 How We Made Custom T-Shirts in Under 30 Minutes with the xTool Apparel Printer

Hey friends! 👋 It’s Kim and Garrett from Kim & Garrett Make It, and today we’re sharing how we whipped up two full-color custom t-shirts in under 30 minutes — from design to print to press — using the awesome xTool Apparel Printer. And yes, we did it all without RIP software, messy powder, or crazy complicated steps. 🙌

If you’ve ever thought about adding custom apparel to your small business, craft booth, or even just wanted to make some shirts for an event or gift — this is the post (and the printer!) for you.

🎥 Want to see it in action?
👉 Watch the Full Tutorial on YouTube
👉 Grab Your xTool Apparel Printer Here (Affiliate Link)

🛠 Why We Made These Shirts

We’ve got our K&G Jamboree coming up (more on that in a bit), and we needed some fun, eye-catching shirts to wear and share. So we fired up our xTool Apparel Printer, opened up xTool Creative Space, and got to work designing our merch.

The coolest part? We went from concept to finished product in about 30 minutes — and that includes playing with AI-generated art, testing designs, and pressing both shirts!

🧠 Step 1: Create Your Design with AI in xTool Creative Space

We started by exploring AI-generated logos in xTool Creative Space. The built-in AI design tools are surprisingly powerful (and occasionally hilarious 😆), so we typed in our prompt:

"Colorful realistic ink cloud with line-drawn fox profile in front, with text underneath: K&G Jamboree"

The AI gave us some great starting points! We tried different variations — from vector logos to sticker styles — until we found one that matched our brand vibe. We also tested out a few fun typography styles like floral text and 70s doodles.

And yes… we did end up creating our final version in Photoshop to fine-tune the look, but Creative Space helped us brainstorm faster than ever.

🖨 Step 2: Prepare the Printer

Before printing, we ran a quick cleaning cycle (because the printer had been sitting for a few days) and checked our white and color ink levels. The printer handled everything automatically — no fuss, no extra steps.

🎛 Step 3: Adjust Your Print Settings

Here’s what we love about this printer — it’s user-friendly! We were able to tweak:

• Print resolution (we used 720x1200)
• White ink fill and feathering
• Ink density
• Mirror printing (important for transfer!)

The best part? We previewed our shirt design on different mockup models and shirt colors right inside Creative Space. It’s SO helpful to see what your print will actually look like before you commit.

👉 Pro Tip: You can even download mockups for your Etsy listings or Shopify product pages. Yes please!

🔥 Step 4: Print and Apply Glue

Once everything looked good, we hit Print — and like magic, the xTool Apparel Printer printed our design, applied the glue, and moved the film into the curing zone automatically.

We didn’t have to mess with powders or heat plates like traditional DTF printers. It just… worked. 🙌

👕 Step 5: Press Your Shirt

We grabbed our heat press, lint-rolled the shirts, did a quick pre-press to flatten the fabric, then lined up our design using the good ol’ fold-and-finger method (3–4 fingers from the collar works for us!).

Pressed for 15 seconds at 315°F, cold peeled, did a second press with a Teflon sheet, and boom — DONE!

👏 Our Thoughts After Printing

We’re honestly LOVING this printer so far. Here’s what stood out:

✅ No RIP software
✅ Mockups included
✅ Clean process — no powder or mess
✅ Batch print-ready (yes, you can print a stack of 10 and walk away!)
✅ Great for colorful, detailed designs that would be hard to screen print

One thing to note: the printer does use proprietary film and inks, so keep an extra set on hand in case you run out. But the convenience and quality make it 100% worth it for us.

🛍 Ready to Start Printing Your Own Shirts?

Whether you're a laser crafter, a small business owner, or just love making things — the xTool Apparel Printer makes custom merch easy.

🛒 Grab your printer here → https://makeblock.kckb.me/310e94f9
📦 Already printing? Don’t forget to grab extra film & ink while you’re there!

🎪 Coming to the K&G Jamboree?

This whole shirt project was inspired by our upcoming K&G Jamboree — a weekend full of hands-on crafting, laser workshops, paint projects, and (of course) custom merch!

🛍 Build your own goodie bag
🎨 Get messy at every station
🧡 Learn new skills + meet your maker friends IRL

🎟 Tickets go on sale to the public April 1st — and our Patrons get early access, so join us on Patreon if you want to grab a spot early!

👉 Join us on Patreon

Thanks for hanging out with us! Have questions about the printer, the process, or anything else? Drop a comment below or come chat with us on Instagram or Facebook!

Stay crafty,
🦊 Kim & Garrett