Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
To minimize fading with inkjet transfers, you need to have the right ink (not just the right paper). You'll need to use pigment-based ink for the best results.
Jasonda summed it up. The combination of paper and ink will give you the results you need for a great product. Iron All and Pigment ink for me all the way.
Newbie here - so are pigment-based inks and dye-sub inks different?? I just got a heat press and am using heat transfers made with an hp deskjet (also using thermoflex plus in combination with my plotter)
Am worried about having to go out and get an epson printer as well....thoughts?
-g2
The best result I have seen so far is using a color laser copier with fuser oil and an opaque laser transfer paper. The paper is being sold OEM here so I don't know the brand. I'm waiting for some Laser One Step Opaque transfer from PaperHood.com for testing, and hopefully I will get some Laser Opaque from Imprintables. I have also heard of this transfer paper for solvent inks but I have not tried one yet. I'm also waiting for some samples so I could test them.
Hi Gary,
I use inkjet Magic Mix Pigmented inks and MagicJet (Transjet ll) paper exclusively. I have been using this combo for a little better than 5 years and have done almost 14,000 transfers with them. I don't send out wash instructions as I have shirts I have done myself that are over 4 years old and have some in the field over 3 years old with no problems. This combo will work on about any type of fabric, 50/50, 100% cotton, Polyester, cotton canvas etc. as long as it's light colors. White, Ash & Natural are best with Pastels after that. You have to consider the color of the fabric as it willl tint your inks since the inks are translucent. For instance, a blue lake pressed onto a yellow shirt will give you a greenish lake. Blue + Yellow = green.
The Dye Sub inks will give you a brighter color with no hand (stiffness) at all but only works on synthetic material like Posyester, Nylon, etc. On the 50/50 shirt, it will only adhere to the Polyester threads and the inks on the cotton threads will wash out. However on a 100% Polyester shirt, they are beautiful. Hope this is what you were looking for. If you want to try a sample of the inkjet transfers, send me a private email and I will send you a couple to try. You can reach me at . However, I suggest this for any new system your looking at if you have no experience with it. Have a BLESSED weekend.
God Bless You
Don
I did a wash test with Iron all and transjet ii here on the forum and Iron all won. I even took shirts to the show (iss) and showed the shirts to a distributor that sells transjet II and they agreed with me. However Don is right. I know he has stated many times that transjet ii was a great product and if I was in a bind then I would use it but only if I was out of Iron All. Don, if you get a chance to pick up some Iron All give it a try.
thanks don, badalou, all the rest - so iron all seems to be the fav paper - i assume when used in conjunction with pigmented inks? am i fooling myself into thinking i can do shirts and mousepads with an hp inkjet and regular ink?
Which Transfer Paper? 
