Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
Background info: I'm using a Hix Presto 15 set to 375 degrees (heavy pressure), Magic Mix ink, TransJet II paper & 100% cotton shirts. I pre-press the shirt until all moisture is gone and I keep the transfers in an air-tight plastic bag.
The problem: When I press a design that has a lot of black in it, a lot of the black ink remains on the transfer paper instead of sticking to the shirt, making unacceptable white splotches all over the black areas. This is not happening with any of the other colors.
Things I've tried that haven't improved the situation:
~ Pressing for up to 30 seconds (when the instructions say 16).
~ Changing transfer paper (from CASI/QLT to TransJet II).
~ Drinking a 12-pack of BudLight (did improve situation temporarily).
Did I just get a bad batch of black ink or what? Has anybody else had this problem? Thanks.
Wow, that is a problem. I don't use magic mix so I don't know about the quality of the ink. I do use durabrite and now pigment ink from Coastal in my everlast system and as you can see from my videos I use transjet II and Iron all paper and the black ink is dominant in my design and I have not Had the problem you are having. Everything you are doing seems to me to be the right thing. I guess I would have to say it is the ink. Lou
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Things I've tried that haven't improved the situation:
~ Pressing for up to 30 seconds (when the instructions say 16).
~ Changing transfer paper (from CASI/QLT to TransJet II).
~ Drinking a 12-pack of BudLight (did improve situation temporarily).
Try this test with the TransJet II and see what happens. Print out a test sheet, cut it in 2 inch strips. (Cut sidways, 5 strips total)
Pre-press a sample T, then assemble all the strips with just a little gap between them, press 350F med. to heavy pressure, 10 Seconds.
After pressing , peel the first strip, wait 10 seconds, peel the second strip, wait 10 seconds peel #3 and so on. The longer you wait, the more tack you will feel pulling on the sheet. At about 30-40 seconds the transfer pulls so hard, it will pull the image off the shirt or become one with the shirt.
Look at your paper backs, did the black stick better after it cooled down a bit? Feel the surface of the image, it will get smoother as you wait longer to peel. Figure out which strip gave you the best image, but gives you enough time to get the backing off before it cools to much.
Let me know if this helps.
Last edited by Solmu; January 6th, 2007 at 10:23 AM.
Reason: fixed quoting
Okay, I'm back. I tried several test strips ... some at 350 degrees and some at 375 and let them sit for different times before peeling as you suggested, John. The solution I found that works best is pressing at 375 for 10 seconds and then letting it sit 10 seconds before I peel.
Okay, I'm back. I tried several test strips ... some at 350 degrees and some at 375 and let them sit for different times before peeling as you suggested, John. The solution I found that works best is pressing at 375 for 10 seconds and then letting it sit 10 seconds before I peel.
THANKS AGAIN!
Great news!
I sometimes wonder how accurate our heat press thermos are. I'm getting an Infared thermometer later this month, I want to see what the best paper temp is to peel. More on that later.
Did you notice any difference in the finished surface between the test strips? Smoothness, thickness etc?
Pressed at 375 for 10 seconds: http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l3...375_10secs.jpg
These were all smooth to the touch. It's hard to tell from the photo but there is a little ink peeling off the first swatch; the second (at 10 seconds) has no peeling at all; the third has the same amount peeling off as the first and the third and fourth get progressively worse. (The banding is because I didn't print at the highest resolution to conserve ink.)
I was lowering my time and temp to get better results. I found this out when I was using a teflon pillow inside of tote bags. The teflon kept the back side of the tote hot longer after the pressing and I was getting blotchy pull-offs.
Black ink not adhering to shirt 
