Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
Hi,
I'm interested in using some iron on transfer sheets I got from a craft store. I want to do it right, but am not sure if I will be successful using them on fleece material. I got the opaque transfer sheets since some of my fleece is darker in color.
Are there any tricks or products I should know about in order for this to work? The fleece I will be using is slightly stretchy and super soft.
Do you have any extra fleece you can experiment with? I would be interested to find out if this will work as well.
From the start though, prospects are not that encouraging that you will have great success - but I am hoping your product will come out fine, so if you decide to just proceed, please update this thread.
Okay, first, usually paper from a craft store isn't a high caliber paper, but, you choose wisely with opaque - I think - as coverage is taken care of.
All fabric has moisture, so you will want to remove the moisture by heating the area for a few seconds (5-10 for cotton and blends- not sure on fleece) to remove moisture b4 you press.
Factors to your success will be your paper, your ink and what method you are going to use to apply the image.
The last concern is the stretchiness of the fleece. If your paper is not made to stretch, then when your fabric stretches, you image will not and it will crack.
Jetprosofstretch and Ironall are papers made to stretch. Your ink should not be dye in if you plan to wash the fabric as it will wash out.
Though most others will say not with good lasting results, and this may be true, you can apply an image with a home iron. You don't mention if you have a press or not. If you do not, please search for a thread using an iron to apply. Lou (Badalou) posted great instructions how to achieve good results with a home iron.
Good luck to you, if you proceed, will you update this thread so others can have the benefit of what you've done and how it turned out? Thanks!
What is fleece? Is it polyester? If it is, your inkjet ink won't stay on it. Ink needs a cotton or cotton blend. If fleece is poly, you would need sublimination dye. Is fleece recycled soda bottles, haha, someone help me out here.
She mentioned opaque. Ironall and Jet pro SofStretch are for lights. Ironall for dark is opaque and there is a rumor that Neenah is working on Jetpro SofStretch for darks.
Kirstel, you can try Ironall for dark. It is super stretchy. It works for inkjet and laser printer. I have tried it with both printers. Looked wash out though with inkjet. It is vibrant with laser but the toner starts to wear off after 6 washes. It may have been the way I pressed it though. I have not tried it again so I can't tell you if that is the case.
I am so excited at the prospect of a JPSS dark ~yeah Neenah~.
I know she said opaque, and my post would actually be unclear - even though I mentioned the opaque as a good choice, you're right, thank you, Luis. I was interested to see if Kristal was going to proceed with the craft store paper, but you are right, had she just gone and ordered JPSS, that wouldn't have done her any good. No harm intended Kristel!
Luis, Ironall dark shirts look good after many washes. I have some after about 10 washes and they look quite nice - I'd say as they were when made. No issues. But, I don't use alot of detergent, and I do a short wash cycle. Wonder if that helps with the fade.
I am so excited at the prospect of a JPSS dark ~yeah Neenah~.
I know she said opaque, and my post would actually be unclear - even though I mentioned the opaque as a good choice, you're right, thank you, Luis. I was interested to see if Kristal was going to proceed with the craft store paper, but you are right, had she just gone and ordered JPSS, that wouldn't have done her any good. No harm intended Kristel!
Luis, Ironall dark shirts look good after many washes. I have some after about 10 washes and they look quite nice - I'd say as they were when made. No issues. But, I don't use alot of detergent, and I do a short wash cycle. Wonder if that helps with the fade.
The inkjet did not fade as much maybe because I pressed it per instruction. When I saw what it did to the vibrancy(washed out look) and the paper got darker I changed the pressing settings when I pressed the laser version. It did looked vibrant and the paper did not get dark as shown in the photo. I pressed it for 10 seconds at 360 degrees and medium pressure. I am assuming at that setting the toner did not fuse or embed properly on the opaque material.
My wife washes with cold water, shirt inside out and low heat dryer settings. I don't have problem with other shirts with transfer so washing procedure is not the culprit.
Yes it would be best I think to wash cold and hang dry especially for opaque since they are prone to cracking, peeling and fading when subjected to harsh wash/dryer condition. That is what is recommended for vinyl transferred garments.
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Luis MAD Scientist JR. AKA MS2 Digital Artist. My canvas is t-shirt and my paintbrush is heat press.