Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
I press up a t-shirt the other day with one of my designs. I used the Avery brand paper on one and the Lasertran papaer on the other(both were for dark color
shirts)...I used a relatively cheapo heat press machine set to 350 degrees. I pressed the design on for around 60 sec.
when I washed the shirt about a week later, the design had all sorts of wrinkels
on it and felt horrible...I was wondering what part of the equation went wrong?
was it the quality of transfer paper?
was it the heat press?the quality? too little heat? too long or short pressing time?
is it all? is it neither?
I am not sure what caused it so I would love to talke part of the wisdom
of this forum
The paper sounds like the cheap kind, so it may have been that. I'm on the fence between Ironall (and it's variants) and Ironman. Ironman has a more plasticy feel to it, but vibrant colors.
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unfortunately I used a cheapo heat press that I borrowed from a friend of
mine until I could afford a higher quality one - this is one that they regularly
sell on E-Bay for like $150 -200 bucks...made of all wood or something...
how little time for a temperature of 350 degrees? I use American Apparel tees
The wooden press? I don't even think you can press a sandwhich with one of those!
I've heard that the heating platen can be unevenly heated on those. And you might want to check your temperature. Were you also using opaque transfers? Those can wash badly.
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The original Thread Killah!™ Heavy Metal Art and more @ www.deathisgain.com
The wooden press? I don't even think you can press a sandwhich with one of those!
I've heard that the heating platen can be unevenly heated on those. And you might want to check your temperature. Were you also using opaque transfers? Those can wash badly.
opaque? what do you mean? arent all transfer papers basically the same? I used
the Avery brand and the Lasertran brand which I think are semi-opaque..I dont have the pack with me so I am going by memory
I certainly think is the paper. I have had the same results on Avery paper as well. They look great when done, but after the item is washed it looks as though it's 20 years old w/ cracks and all. I suggest you go w/ a different kind of paper.
Personally I think its all of the above.. as Jeff Foxworthy says .."You cant put lipstick on a pig" ...
In other words you can't use cheap hobby type paper..and a funky homemade looking heat press and expect to produce quality shirts..
Just my 2 cents.
that is true, but conceptually if you are just pressing heat, why should it matter if the pressure and heat is the same?
I heard of a company called dharma trading (Dharma Trading Co. Homepage) that has some good quality paper.... I will try your tips again (in terms of waiting to get a high quality press, transfer paper etc)
Part of the problem as to why it matters.. is that many cheaper heat presses dont have even pressure which is important.. or consistant heat.. or even the same heat all over the press.. They can have areas of them where the pressure is differant.. or the heat varies.. and all these factors can cause problems with your transfer...
Making tee shirts can be frustrating enuff without adding any of the above to the mix
I have one of the cheaper presses and had problems at first. Turned out to be the paper I was using (from Dharma Trading). I bought some Iron-all and have had good success with this so far. I have been heating for 20-25 secs at 375 degrees. I wasted many t-shirts finding the perfect combination of heat, time, pressure and product but in the end it has been necessary to get "the feel" of it. I hope to get a better heat press but some of us simply don't have the bucks to do this at first.
what went wrong with the heat transfer? 
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