Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
Currently I'm investigating Jet-Pro SofStretch heat transfer paper. I've been hearing lots of good things about it and I'm interested in hearing people's results. Does it really deliver superior results over other papers? How does it stand up after multiple washings? Fading? Cracking? Any info or experiences would be appreciated.
I haven't done multiple washes yet, but according to the results I've had with the tests that I've done, I'd say that I've achieved the same results as another forum member who has washed his at least 25 times and experienced almost no fading what-so-ever.
We're both washing on HOT and drying on HIGH, against manufacturer's recommendations.
I have to pay for my wash and dry cycles at my apartments, so I'm going to have my dad do my multiple wash tests for me on my old washer that I gave him when I sold my house.
One prominent member famous for his work with transfers has told me that NO paper is commercially viable...yet...but several other members, including myself, would have absolutely no problem selling a shirt done with this paper.
Before I did my tests I was hopeful, but I was also a skeptic. Now I'll recommend it to anyone! As long as you trim your designs.
Thanks to Coastal Business Supplies for providing this paper and allowing me to test it!
Hi I am the one with over 25 washs now here is the pic it looks good and to make A note I have look at it the fibers is what makes it look faded fibers come out of the shirt cant stop that .
I all so did over 300 shirts for friend and he is very happy with them just did jod for 70 shirts to day I have never had complants on ths pics or shirts just one time some one said they could smell smoke will I let that job go I do guarantee my work for 1 year and I do tell them how I do them so they dont think I am screen printing them I do lot of pics kids and poeple that have past on.
Hi Jeff, heres a JPSS thread that has a ton of comments and user reviews. I notice there a quite a few JP threads out there now, but this one is a few pages and all on JP. Hope it helps: SofStretch Coastal Paper Question
One prominent member famous for his work with transfers has told me that NO paper is commercially viable...yet...but several other members, including myself, would have absolutely no problem selling a shirt done with this paper.
Before I did my tests I was hopeful, but I was also a skeptic. Now I'll recommend it to anyone! As long as you trim your designs.
Thanks to Coastal Business Supplies for providing this paper and allowing me to test it!
I am going to take a guess and say that was me... However.. my opinion was based on transfer papers in general.. I think the advancement of this paper may be the turning point of transfer papers being used commercially. So being the professional person I am I will admit I may have been a bit hasty with that judgment. Lou
Currently I'm investigating Jet-Pro SofStretch heat transfer paper. I've been hearing lots of good things about it and I'm interested in hearing people's results. Does it really deliver superior results over other papers? How does it stand up after multiple washings? Fading? Cracking? Any info or experiences would be appreciated.
I've been running a test on a baby onesie I printed. I've washed it seven times and the only change has been that it has gotten softer with each wash. No fading or cracking. I also use this on a couple hoodies I made my daughters. If you close your eyes and run your hands over the hoody, you really can't tell where the print is. It's great for larger prints where you don't want that really stiff feeling you get when you have a large design. I was using Trans Jet II, which I really liked a lot but now I use the Jet Pro Sofstretch exclusively. There's no flaking at all. The only negative I see right now is the it curls a little when it hits the preheated garment. If you hold down the paper on the corners for a few second it reducec this somewhat. It won't deter me from using the paper since the positives far outweigh this.
Sorry, Lou. Yes, that was you. Thank you for posting.
I trust you and everything you've done for these forums, but after doing my own test and seeing the tests that others have done with JPSS, I wouldn't have a problem selling shirts with this paper.
David is even offering a 1 year guarantee on his shirts! I'm not ready to do that yet, but from everything I've seen, I think this is a VERY high quality product, as far as inkjet transfer papers go.
Again, I meant NO offense to you, Lou. That's why I didn't specifically say your name.
One prominent member famous for his work with transfers has told me that NO paper is commercially viable...yet...but several other members, including myself, would have absolutely no problem selling a shirt done with this paper.
Before I did my tests I was hopeful, but I was also a skeptic. Now I'll recommend it to anyone! As long as you trim your designs.
Thanks to Coastal Business Supplies for providing this paper and allowing me to test it!
Not commercially viable? If you're not going to use it to sell a shirt, why would you buy the paper? For personal crafts?
I made many thousands of dollars using Trans Jet II paper.
Trans Jet II is IronAll rebranded, right? Or is that another paper I'm thinking of?
If so, I think I tried that paper, too, and the thing that really scared me about it was the fading when you wash it in HOT water. Most people, when they think of whites, they think hot water washes. I knew if I used that paper that I'd get complaints.
If you haven't, AWESOME! I'm just a little too paranoid, maybe, but with JPSS, I don't think anyone could complain about it.
Anyway, I'm sure there are other good papers out there. We even have an Avery paper for light shirts printed that's lasted a couple of years now with no cracking, peeling, and minimal fading. And yes, I've washed that in hot water, too.
When we speak of commercial branded shirts we think of retail store quality. Those are almost always screen printed and I would have been hard pressed to find the same quality in an ink jet transfer to compare with screen print. I myself have sold a lot of heat pressed shirts to stores for retail and the results we not the best. When my clients come back and tell me of customer complaints after washing due to the design diminishing with every wash. And as for transjet II I am not a fan of a transfer that cracks as this one does. I even took a sample shirt to Coastal who sold me the transjet and a iron all shirt and showed them the difference. And there was a difference. Those of you who sold transjet II shirts had a good reason to.. it was one of the few best papers out there at the time. But the times have changed and we are now going through an evolution of transfer papers. Now we have Jet-pro Sofstretch and iron All for darks and maybe one or 2 others that are giving us great result. . Now I do a lot of promotional shirts and I use the inkjet papers only for a photo type designs that the customer has given me. And I make it plain that the design will have changes due to washing. If it is a design or lettering I go with plastisol. I know when we produce a shirt and it looks great and we fold it and give it to our customers and they say they love it and they take it and they sell it and maybe never see the customer again. But I spent 35 years in the retail game and the idea is I want the customer to come back and buy more. And yes Greg, I too have made many a thousand with transfer paper but it was what we had at the time. Anyone who knows me knows I am a big tester of papers. I was happy with the results because I had to be, there were no options unless I went with screen printing. That is changing and I am glad to see it. And if you remember I was the first one here to tell you all about jetPro as Coastal sent me samples to test for them before they even started selling it. This paper impresses the hell out of me.. So go forth my friends and sell. By the way I will be at the Coastal Booth in Atlantic City and i will be demoing my tee square and we will be placing Jet pro SofStretch on shirts. So if you going come by and see me. If you have never used the paper ask the Coastal people for a sample. Lou
I agree that for some things that Plastisol (or even vinyl) would be better. For lettering we use vinyl, especially on colored shirts. For other, more complex designs, I can see a place for JPSS.
And THANK YOU SO MUCH for introducing us to this paper! If it weren't for your tests I don't think there would be many of us trying it out and it wouldn't have had the exposure that it does now!
I haven't completed my own tests with IronAll Dark, so I can't give an opinion on that paper, but I do trust your opinion, and I'm sure it's great. I just don't like some of the limitations of ANY opaque inkjet transfer paper. That doesn't mean I'll stop my tests and refuse to use it (I know, I've sort of said that I wouldn't use it, but I've decided that there are some things that it might be good for).
The one thing I think is lacking in your tests, lou, is test washing against manufacturer's recommedations. Yes, we can tell our customers how to wash their shirts, but if they happen to not follow those directions and their shirt looks horrible, guess who's "fault" it will be? Do you think that customer will return?
That's why I appreciate David's efforts and I did my own tests. I wanted to see how JPSS held up in HOT water and HIGH heat comapared to IronAll (light), which was horrible.
I wish I could go to all of these industry shows! We only get minor little "get togethers" every once in a while here in Minneapolis.
Have a great time in Atlantic City, Lou! I hope you're able to sell a ton of your TeeSquareIts and a ton of JPSS!
Jet-Pro SofStretch Quality??? 
