Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
hi had anyone got experience heat pressing plastisol onto american apparel shirts? AA cotton is very soft and I wondered how suited it was for plastisol?
I'm seeming to get better results pressing on a cheaper rough cotton like gildan.
Or maybe i just need to adjust my settings. Thing is I do want to use the AA cotton. Its much softer and ive had better feedback for the AA shirts than the Gildan shirts because of the softness.
I swear I thought I responded to this already but...anyway...haha. Most of Threadless' shirts are screenprinted on American Apparel I believe, and they come out pretty high quality. It is a matter of personal preference as to which of the two brands fits better. As far as printing, you shouldn't have trouble with either one specifically.
What kind of results are you getting on the AA's? And what are your settings?
when i pull on the plastisol it cracks but it does bounce back. but it some areas the cracking then starts to lift when i put through the wash.
i am using a cold peel plastisol with a matt finish. the transfers are rough and crystalised. is that how they should be?
i am pressing at 180 degrees celcius for 6 seconds.
my friend in the uk is pressing shirts too. but he says his transfers arnt called plastisol they r called hot fix or something like that. he also said he peels off hot.
we r both using AA shirts - but im the only one with the problem with cracking and it lifting when washed.
I swear I thought I responded to this already but...anyway...haha. Most of Threadless' shirts are screenprinted on American Apparel I believe, and they come out pretty high quality. It is a matter of personal preference as to which of the two brands fits better. As far as printing, you shouldn't have trouble with either one specifically.
What kind of results are you getting on the AA's? And what are your settings?
hmmm the threadless shirts i got were haynes... i think
I would think it is the transfer or your heat/time setting. Are you doing the transfers at home or are the done at a print shop? Try hot peel and see if it makes a difference.
__________________ You can learn a lot from the TSF.
I would think it is the transfer or your heat/time setting. Are you doing the transfers at home or are the done at a print shop? Try hot peel and see if it makes a difference.
im doing it at home.
i bought a heat press of ebay. im doing all the labour myself so i dont have to outlay much money as i start my business.
later ill outsource the printing. but for now i want to master doin git myself.
threadless is a tshirt site. Google it and you'll see.
And now for my completely inexperienced point of view based of what I've gathered from these forums. Not all plastisol transfers are the same.. in looking for places to test when I get to that stage I've found several places that have 'regular' and 'stretchy' transfers. Since AA shirts are so stretchy you'll want to make sure you're buying transfers that have enough give to them.
As for the roughness I can't say anything about that, since I don't have the practical experience with it.
threadless is a tshirt site. Google it and you'll see.
And now for my completely inexperienced point of view based of what I've gathered from these forums. Not all plastisol transfers are the same.. in looking for places to test when I get to that stage I've found several places that have 'regular' and 'stretchy' transfers. Since AA shirts are so stretchy you'll want to make sure you're buying transfers that have enough give to them.
As for the roughness I can't say anything about that, since I don't have the practical experience with it.
hey russ where r u located? yes i think i need the stretchy kind.
I'm in Ottawa, Canada. Best best is probably just to email/call the places you're looking at for transfers and tell them what you need. I'm sure they'll be able to let you know what type of transfers would work best for what you want to do with them.
Thats probalby the problem. The press i got from ebay woudl not press onto a crazy 8 soft shirt. I never thought to try a different brand (not soft) shirt before i sent it back.
I don't think plastisol should really crack, per se, but I do agree that you need to get a transfer that has more of a stretchy texture to it. Also, some transfers are rougher in texture, and every company is different. Ace Transfer Co.'s paper for example is heavier and kind of "rubbery." I would probably suggest First Edition myself, but your best bet would probably be to sample different transfers from several companies and see which works best for an AA shirt.
And as Russ said, you want a lighter transfer as well, it should never be heavier than the shirt it is printed on.
I was wondering, besides plastisol transfers, has anybody used their press to cure a screen printed t-shirt? Maybe I won't have to buy a dryer, I could use the heat press for now.
You can, but I don't think they are as reliable, because heat levels are not always balanced, and your production will slow to a halt as well...the best selling point of a flash dryer is that you can cure one shirt while you are printing another. Can't do that very easily with a press.
I'm not sure myself, but you could pm Solmu and Monkeylantern. They are both in Melbourne and would probably know a thing or three about vendors in your area.
Plastisol on American Apparel tees 
