Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
Good morning
I just purchased some jetflex and I did not think you had to trim for light colored shirt, but I must have been mistaken.
We are new to transfers, we do sublimation and the Brother direct to garment as well as vinyl but thought I would try the tranfers for the Old car show we are doing today, to keep costs down.
Why is there a feel if you use the whole sheet, when we went to a seminar they showed us this paper and there was really no feel to it. But now that I think about it I don't think they had it on a cotton shirt.
What do you do when you have letters and an image? Is there always going to be a mark around where you didn't get close enough
I've been doing heatpress/transfer work for about a year now and the paper you bought is the best I've used. Yes, there will always be the border around the area that was cut. It is relevant less on whites and ash and more prevelant on reds and other colored shirts.
One hint to get a softer hand is to slightly stretch the shirt immediately after you lift the heating palet up. (badalou threw this hint out there) The paper will 'pop' up and the transfer will have a better feel. In addition, after the initial washing, the transfered image really softens up.
I don't think that a cotton shirt is a negative as this paper is intended for use with cotton.
To make a shirt look good with transfers, you'll need to become good with the scissors and Exato knife. Also, try not to leave any square corners on the cut transfer - rounded transfers apply to shirts better and don't peel up after washings (for dark transfers usually)
How's that Brother DTG working out for you? It seems that many people start with a heatpress and try to work their way up to a DTG.
__________________
"It's difficult to heat press straight when you're hungover"
I've been doing heatpress/transfer work for about a year now and the paper you bought is the best I've used. Yes, there will always be the border around the area that was cut. It is relevant less on whites and ash and more prevelant on reds and other colored shirts.
One hint to get a softer hand is to slightly stretch the shirt immediately after you lift the heating palet up. (badalou threw this hint out there) The paper will 'pop' up and the transfer will have a better feel. In addition, after the initial washing, the transfered image really softens up.
I don't think that a cotton shirt is a negative as this paper is intended for use with cotton.
To make a shirt look good with transfers, you'll need to become good with the scissors and Exato knife. Also, try not to leave any square corners on the cut transfer - rounded transfers apply to shirts better and don't peel up after washings (for dark transfers usually)
How's that Brother DTG working out for you? It seems that many people start with a heatpress and try to work their way up to a DTG.
Thanks for the info Ryan
I guess I was just expecting more from the transfer. Have you ever used duracotton? I see people say there is not outline, is that true.
The Brother is great, I am so glad I bought it. We have been doing some festivals though and of course we can't take it with us, so we do sublimation and thought about trying out the transfers too so we could cut costs.
What happens when you have text on top and an image on bottom, how do you cut that to keep the box away as much as possible
For t-shirts with a design and text that aren't connected, I'll cut each seperately and then spend the time to line it up individually on the shirt. In fact, if the text isn't too complicated, I'll cut each word sperately and then line it up before pressing. It requires more time and effort, but you eliminate more of the excess transfer paper.
I'm kindof a sucker and I have a hard time telling customers 'no' so I've done shirts with transfers with like 12 words or more and cut each word out individually just so it looks as good as it can.
To expedite the transfer process quicker, you'd have to design the logo so that the text and the logo are connected somehow (if possible - maybe put the text on the logo or put a oval around the entire text and fill in with some color to make it look better). A few hints for text design is to use 'fatter' fonts (like Cooper, Arial Black, Impact) and add a shadow so the words are almost 'connected'. This will eliminate some of the blank space inbetween the words and allow for easier cutting.
I wish I had a better answer for you. The t-shirt transfer is far from perfect. The basics are very easy, but the details are what make a good shirt. I'll try to put some pics up for you of what I mean.
And no, I've never used duracotton paper. I might be wrong, but I believe that paper is for laser printers/copiers and we only use inkjet printers at this time.
__________________
"It's difficult to heat press straight when you're hungover"
Last edited by Peanutz; June 2nd, 2007 at 05:04 PM.
Reason: forgot to add some info
yes you need to cut the design. When you press the transfer and open the press remove the paper and stretch the shirt is all directions immediately this will soften the design on the tee. Lou
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The jetflex paper has given me top results.I have used other brands and jetflex seems to be the best out there for now. Good luck and happy pressing. ..... JB
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