Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
I printed my very first t-shirt last night (1:45 A.M.) (Epson 1280, Transjet paper, Geo Knight DK20S press). After i removed the paper, their is some stiffness where the lettering is (expected), and a semi-noticeable outline of the paper (espically between the letters.) . I did trim the paper around the design, but i did not cut out each letter i printed. Will this go away after the first wash, or is this just the way it is? I had my press set at 375 and pressed for 7 seconds. Should i be setting the tempature of the press different or pressing longer? The shirt does look very good though! Anything will help.
It should go away after the first wash. How much pressure did you use? By the sounds of it, I think you may be using too much.
I was pretty much guessing how much pressure, should i have it set on a certain pressure? I wasn't sure what the preesure should be set at, the directions for the press are not to detailed.
What color of shirt are you pressing on? If you're using heat transfer on a dark shirt, you WILL get a noticeable border around your image (in the whitespace). It will also take on the color of the shirt to some degree. The colors I've found to work well are white (obviously), natural, and ash. The one light green shirt I did worked out well too, but I haven't tried several.
The stiffness does indeed go away in the wash, and it's normal. You might try a little higher time too; normal seems to be about 12-15 seconds from what I've seen, though I don't really think it makes a HUGE difference myself. Pressure should be somewhere medium to heavy and it varies by press a bit.
I use transparent transfers, no noticeable transfer after pressing. A slight stiffness is the norm with the transfers I use, it depends on what type you are using. Different transfers vary.
7 seconds is very low. 20-30 seconds is the recommended time for mine.
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Adam - Buy-Tees.com Success is often a rebound of hard work - Fortune Cookie
The "marks" are caused by the transfer paper. Sometimes they go away as the t-shirt cools, and others need to be washer first. Setting the time to 12-15 sec is a good idea to give you a better imprint, but would not effect the "marks"
Decreasing the pressure will though. I would set the pressure so it takes a little force to close the press (just a little) Don't force it.
I currently am using a Hix clamshell press for my shirts and have the setting on 6.5
20-30 seconds is high for Transjet II, most people do about 15 seconds.
I'm guessing he was pressing on a darker shirt, which will always leave a visable border around it for the most part -- but if you're not, THEN you might try dropped the pressure a little bit.
The "marks" are caused by the transfer paper. Sometimes they go away as the t-shirt cools, and others need to be washer first. Setting the time to 12-15 sec is a good idea to give you a better imprint, but would not effect the "marks"
Decreasing the pressure will though. I would set the pressure so it takes a little force to close the press (just a little) Don't force it.
I currently am using a Hix clamshell press for my shirts and have the setting on 6.5
Hope this helps.
I was pressing on a white tee. Will try to decrease the pressure and icrease some of the time. Like i said it was the first t-shirt i pressed, and it actually came out pretty decent. Thanks to all the help on the board
That paper mark, is called a wax window in the industry. It does not go away. I have had so many people come to me with boxes of wax tranfer shirts they Just tossed them for real screen printing.
There is a brand new paper on the market Just last month that does not leave a window!! I read about in this maghttp://www.impressionsmag.com
Most people Cut around the design to lesson the window
I'm sorry, the window will soften after washes but not go away. Show me a shirt and I will tell you how it was printed. Transfer, Direct transfer, Sublimation , Screen printed, hand painted and airbrushed, or the new Direct Digital
Oh, I can't believe I forgot to ask if he cut around to image (leave about 1/8 of an inch whitespace) -- that could be the problem right there. Transjet II does not leave a visible border when cut and press correctly on a white shirt (and _barely_ noticeable on ash and natural).
(Okay, you can technically see it if you hold it at a weird angle in just the right light, but...)
Interesting also how they chose that name seeing as one of their competitors has an almost exact name. Huge shame it is for laser that is sucky. Their claims sound good though.
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Adam - Buy-Tees.com Success is often a rebound of hard work - Fortune Cookie
Stiffness after peeling off paper? 
