A Full-Color Apparel Printer for the community
The Zebrotics Team sporting a bunch of shirts that used DTF Apparel Printing (heat pressed at Maker Works)
DTF Apparel Printers provide full color high res printing on sheets that can be heat pressed onto fabric, wood, metal, etc.
A modern DTF (Direct-to-Film) apparel printer opens up a new world of creative possibilities:
Full-color, high-detail artwork on shirts, hoodies, hats, and bags
Small batch runs (1–50 items) that are very cost-effective and fast
Customizing each individual shirt easily
Consistent, commercial-grade feel and wash durability
It also transfers onto wood, and with experimentation, the community can explore transfers to metal, leather, and other materials. We’re very excited to see where that could lead!
Who will use this?
A member getting creative with masks!
We love seeing the the robotics teams, small local sports teams, businesses, and local non profits using our vinyl cutter and heat presses!
We’ve heard from the community (and experienced ourselves) that small batch ordering of shirts, especially when each is custom is prohibitively slow and expensive.
This apparel printer will save individuals and local organizations money, provide creative opportunities across a variety of materials and shops, and train more individuals on how to create.
Thanks to funding from the Rotary Club of Ann Arbor, we’re looking forward to giving teens free access to this tool in 2026! We’ll go the extra mile and reach out to local schools and non-profits to make it accessible
Cost of a Community-Ready Upgrade
Andria heat pressing a single color vinyl design onto a t-shirt
$8500 to onboard a full color apparel printer and oven with a modern user interface. We’ll update our infrastructure to support it, and provide all the Standard Operating Procedures that help: teach a welcoming class, use the tool confidently, and maintain the equipment so it can benefit the community for years to come.
We firmly believe shared access to a high quality tool is better both economically and environmentally.
technically, what will a new apparel printer support?
One of the Zebrotics’ Mentors sporting an apparel printed design.
Full-Color, Photographic Printing of anything → artwork, gradients, photos, illustrations with smooth colors and sharp detail.
Long-Lasting, Wash-Durable Prints → The ink bonds firmly to the film and fabric, making prints that hold up well to repeated washing.
Modern interface & software → Dramatically easier learning curve, enabling thousands more people to create.
This means greater access to hands-on training, more entrepreneurial success stories, and expanded STEM learning for youth.
You can help!
Whether you can provide a financial contribution, or are a manufacturer or distributor of apparel printers (email us!), we would love your support.
A new, high-quality apparel printer will fuel the next decade of creativity at Maker Works by empowering thousands of students, artists, engineers, youth programs, FIRST Robotics teams, and small businesses across Washtenaw County. It will be one of the most visible and impactful upgrades we can make for our community. Maker Works has a strong history of supporting tool access in a welcoming, shared environment that helps the community grow. We would love for you to help be a part!
Das Button Boyz are two brothers that run a business designing, making, and selling buttons. They stepped up their game with the use of our Vinyl Cutter and Heat Press at our free ‘Open Maker Night’!