Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
Hi all, I feel like I'm in AA meeting. I'm Terry and I'm a newbe.
I bought a new Hix swing man 15, I ordered Proworld stock transfers, and I am using Fruit of the Loom black t-shirts 50/50. I have tried a lot of times on the same hot peel transfer. It has 5 colors. I get it to transfer great except the red ink. It comes out very light. I pre press until all the moisture is gone I have the pressure to the place it takes a little extra pull to get it to lock down. I set the heat at 400" for about 12 sec. When that did not work I called Proworld and they said to set it at 385" for 10 sec. and increase the pressure. I did and it did the same thing except the red came out even worse and some of the other colors are also left on the paper this time. Anyone have any ideas. Thanks so much.
Re: Need help with transfer -part of ink not holding
All mine have been Hot peel transfers. The dog ones and the floral transfers give me alot of trouble. They dont want to stick to the shirt. The transfers (still on the paper) look like they were air brush on (very then ink) Very smooth. These are the ones I HATE! I dont offer many of them on our site, but I get request for them. I end up buying at least 3 because I know I will have problems with them.
Re: Need help with transfer -part of ink not holding
Hi, I called Proworld again and they said that all their presses are at 395 and they pre heat about 10 sec. and press the transfer for 10 sec. I tried it and I noticed that pre heat for 10 sec is not enough some times because I still get steam off it so I do it for 15 sec and use a piece of plexaglass to see if there is any more moisture. I set the pressure to where it is rather hard to pull and lock. I think the extra pressure realy helped. Then i press for the 10 sec and on most of the transfers they do well. I do make sure I pull the paper right away and that seems to help also. I don't know if this will be any help but it worked with me.
Re: Need help with transfer -part of ink not holding
Is the transfer in question a X-IT transfer? I've noticed their red ink doesn't wanna peel as easily as the other colors.
My suggestions - prepress for 8 seconds or so. Press set at 390 for 8-10 seconds - heavy pressure. Don't use a teflon sheet - press the transfer directly. While the directions say "peel immediately", I wait about 6-8 seconds and then peel. I've found that it's a little easier to not peel the backing off while the design is still really hot - but there's a small window of time before the paper doesn't come off at all. I like to press the design again using a teflon sheet after the backing is off. Many people don't like doing this because of the glossy finish the teflon sheet leaves on the design, but I think it makes the design look sharp. In addition, the glossy look disapates after the first washing.
I was so frustrated with the stock transfers for the first few times I used them. I was ready to give up on 'em - I was following the directions to a T and it wasn't working. I thought "man am I dumb - I can't even do this right". With time, I've become a transfer master and you will too.
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Re: Need help with transfer -part of ink not holding
Keep the press at 400 and the pressure is fine. All you need to do is increase the dwell time from 10-12 then 12-14 then 14-16. The Pro-world transfers come from several manufacturers. Every now and then you will find a transfer that just doesnt print consistently so we just dont order those images. Peel the hot-split and hot peels asap...dont wait 8-8 seconds.
Re: Need help with transfer -part of ink not holding
I agree with David. Most opaque/thicker inks need more dwell time and temperature. I also have hix swingman, and if ProWorld transfers didn't completely transfer the first time, I bump it up to 400 degrees and 12 sec.
Re: Need help with transfer -part of ink not holding
The transfers with the thicker ink I dont have alot of problem with, its the smooth ink one. The ones with the bird houses and flowers and little blue birds. Them! I get 1 out of 5 to come out right.
David, you said I should set temp to 400 and fine pressure for those type of transfers?
Re: Need help with transfer -part of ink not holding
I just basically keep my press at 400 and increase dwell time. I think your pressure was ok. I had a very thin ink butterfly transfer that just would not transfer correctly. I have three other images from the same designer and company done with the same thin ink materials and they all press perfectly.
Re: Need help with transfer -part of ink not holding
I got A crazy question, I unscrewed the Temp Guage from the front of the press. Can I put it in water with another guage and test it. I want to know if its reading correctly. Would it work?
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Need help with transfer -part of ink not holding 
