Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
This might be an impossible question...but here goes!
I bought a t-shirt a while back that seems to have some kind of ultra-high density ink, am trying to figure out what process was used to achieve this style of printing. I have attached some photos, but I reckon it might be a little tough to tell what process is used without feeling the shirt itself...the ink almost feels plastic-like. Can anyone clue me in? :?
seems to have some kind of ultra-high density ink, am trying to figure out what process was used to achieve this style of printing. I have attached some photos, but I reckon it might be a little tough to tell what process is used without feeling the shirt itself...the ink almost feels plastic-like. Can anyone clue me in?
I've often pondered on this question my self, now i'm no expert but you're presuming your shirt must have been printed using ink. There are other print technologies/methods, have you thought maybe your shirt could be 'flex' ? ...which is a heatpressed vinal.
have you thought maybe your shirt could be 'flex' ? ...which is a heatpressed vinal.
Yeah, i thought about that, but i started thinking that that may not be the case as the company that makes this tee prints all their tees like this (in quantities of 1000+ im sure). It might be my green naïvety, but the fact that they are mass produced for the line made me rule out heat transfer/vinyl processes (because the only way i have seen that done is one at a time).
Anyone have any other ideas? Would more pictures help?
This might be an impossible question...but here goes!
I bought a t-shirt a while back that seems to have some kind of ultra-high density ink, am trying to figure out what process was used to achieve this style of printing. I have attached some photos, but I reckon it might be a little tough to tell what process is used without feeling the shirt itself...the ink almost feels plastic-like. Can anyone clue me in? :?
TIA!
Joel
Hi JK, the photo you posted just looks like regular screen printing (not a heat transfer process).
It can be done by most screen printers you might find local to you.
Sometimes it's called "bulletproof" screen printing, which just means they lay down a lot of ink for the design.
Wow, i would have never though it was just regular ink :? It feel almost plastic-y. It definitely has a thicker feel to it, but opposed to other screened shirts i have, seems to be different.
I have this one black tee that originally had bright white type on it. When new, the tee definitely looked as though it had been screened on 5x over to attempt to make the white ink on the black tee as opaque as possible. Now, as you see in the image below, the ink is falling apart, cracking and crumbling (while the original shirt didnt). Was the cracking maybe a result of cheap ink or something?
The printing on the two tees definitely feel as though they used different inks. The former feels like if you stretch the shirt out enough, the ink would "rip" as if it were rubber, the latter feel like it would *and did* crack.
Wow, i would have never though it was just regular ink :? It feel almost plastic-y.
What do you think plastisol is? It's PVC.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ktz
It definitely has a thicker feel to it, but opposed to other screened shirts i have, seems to be different.
It could be high density printing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ktz
Now, as you see in the image below, the ink is falling apart, cracking and crumbling (while the original shirt didnt). Was the cracking maybe a result of cheap ink or something?
It was probably undercured.
__________________ "Ah, Henny Penny," said Chicken Little, "the sky is falling, and I must go and tell the king."
Well then, i guess the question is (if it is plastisol), is there a process that enables direct to garment screenprinting with plastisol ink? Reading this wiki makes it sound otherwise - Plastisol transfers - T-Shirt Wiki. I have to apologize in advance for not knowing this stuff. Im a designer and, unfortunately, have very little knowledge of the different inks and processes that can be used when printing a tee.
The reason I ask this question is because I know that these shirts were mass produced. It seems like that would be very difficult if done the heat transfer way. Is this not true?
Well then, i guess the question is (if it is plastisol), is there a process that enables direct to garment screenprinting with plastisol ink?
The majority of standard textile screenprinting is done with plastisol, it's the industry standard for commercial printing (of placement prints anyway). Sometimes it's thinned down, sometimes it's intentionally printed thicker, etc. etc., but it's the most commonly used ink.
Rodney and I wrote that article, but unfortunately it's still a draft. It is about plastisol transfers specifically; there are other uses for plastisol (not all of which are even textile related). If you could let us know which parts made it sound specific to transfers we'll see if we can fix it up a bit. Does it just need some kind of "Plastisol is also ... " kind of clarification?
I guess there's always a lot more information that needs to be said, it's just hard to remember it all at once sometimes
Quote:
Originally Posted by ktz
The reason I ask this question is because I know that these shirts were mass produced. It seems like that would be very difficult if done the heat transfer way. Is this not true?
While you could mass produce something as a heat transfer and make it profitable, it would without a doubt be (a lot) cheaper and easier to screenprint it. So yes, basically true.
__________________ "Ah, Henny Penny," said Chicken Little, "the sky is falling, and I must go and tell the king."
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