Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
Hi Everyone-
I have been reading this forum for a few weeks and it is awesome! You guys answered a lot of my questions. I am trying to get into the T shirt biz myself and have a few questions. I have a Epson Stylus Photo R200 for a printer now. Do I have to get a new one or will that do? Also I heard of that Magic Mix Ink. How does that all work? Also what program do you use to print a reverse image of what you are going to press unto the t-shirt? As far as heat presses go, going by the forum, I guess Hix is the best to get right? Sorry for so many questions! Hope you guys can help me out. Thanks in advance.
That printer will probably work, as long as you can get a pigmented ink (either the OEM Durabrite ink or the Magic Mix ink) to work with it. You can ask Cindy from TLM suppy house (www.personalizedsupplies.com) if she has Magic Mix cartridges that will fit that printer, and you can probably check with Epson if thier Durabrite inks will fit.
Probably the most significant reason to use a pigmented ink is the fact that it won't bleed. Dye-based inks will technically work, but will often bleed on the first wash. This doesn't usually actually hurt the shirt, and should generally go away when washed again, but it just doesn't look a professional product when it bleeds, and it's an annoyance for both the seller and the customer to deal with special washing instructions. Pigmented inks may provide a better, more vibrant color as well, but I'm not certain. Magic Mix inks were designed specifically for printing on to clothing, and they do the job well. Durabrite inks work pretty well too, but you will have to tweak your printer color profiles for best results (if you don't, some printouts - especially photographs - will have a yellowed-out effect). Both work fine for normal printing too, the only problem with Magic Mix is that they will not print well on to glossy paper (the ink won't dry).
Almost any graphics program can do flip operations, and you can also usually set that as an option when printing. For all my basic graphics needs, I use a nice little free program called Irfanview (www.irfanview.com). It handles basic tasks really well, such as converting between file types, resizing, and of course flipping or rotating.
Hix is probably the best brand of Heat Press out there, but almost any brand should work well. The only brand I'd suggest avoiding is Geo Knight. They still press as well as any of them, but they have a known electrical problem which may need replacing at some point. (They should send you a replacement part for free, but it would at least leave you dead for a few days, and it's a known problem they haven't addressed for years.)
Might as well also through out my recommendation that you use Transjet II for your brand of transfer paper, also available from TLM supply House (it's called Magic jet there, now) and a few other places.
Thanks! I am going to contact Cindy and see if she has cartridges that will fit my printer. As far as heat transfers go, I noticed their were some t-shirt colors and material to avoid. What colors are safe to do heat transfers on? Do they have to be 100% or can they be 50/50?
AFAIK, you should be fine to do 100% cotton, 50/50 blends, OR 100% polyester t-shirts. Avoid 'lighter' materials, such as nylon, because they can't stand the high tempretures of the heat press and may melt. Dye sublimation (also done with a heat press, but specialized inks and paper) can only be done on man-made products, like polyster.
As far as colors go, you're going to have to go with light-colored t-shirts for the normal heat transfer method. White, Ash (light gray) and natural (beige) are colors I've found to work well. Darker colors may discolor the transfered image somewhat, as well as leave a visible border around the transfered image. Semi-light colors may work too -- The one transfer I've done to a light green shirt worked well... I have a few other light colors I've bought to try out, but I haven't had the time to test them yet.
i agree with twinge, a looked at quite a few different places. Plus Cindy is a very personable when replying to emails, she will not just give you yes and no answers, she will explain. Something i really liked, i would even pay a little more through her, for the customer satisfaction
You cannot really print the color white; since the only colors you can use it on are very light shirts anyway, the shirt color can generally work fine for the 'white'. otherwise, you might try a slightly offwhite and see if that works.
The difference shouldn't be too significant. The main thing there is that you have to change your color profiles when printing with Durabrite inks, otherwise some prints (especially photographcs) will take on a 'yellowed-out' effect. I personally am just using Durabrite inks myself... if you'd like to inquire furthur with people who have potentially used both, you might try asking over at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Heat_T...ktop_Printers/
"i agree with twinge, a looked at quite a few different places. Plus Cindy is a very personable when replying to emails, she will not just give you yes and no answers, she will explain. Something i really liked, i would even pay a little more through her, for the customer satisfaction"
I have to agree with you here Triplebtees. At times Cindy replies with a small book in an email. LOL. I told her one time that it must sound like a machine gun when she is typing. I don't know how she finds time to type that much. I think she types faster than I can read. BTW, My wife and I got to spend a couple of days with Cindy, Courtney and Colton a couple of years ago when we went to Branson. Their just as nice in person as on the boards.
New to the T Biz 
