Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
I am really confused on what printer to buy and what ink? Im still working on my business plan.. Im just trying to figure out the cheapest printer that is compatible to make high quality shirts.. another thing is how much do quality plastical transfers cost on average. Also how much Prints will your ink last for about before it runs out.. And also Whats the average size of plastical paper..
If neone can answer any of theese questions it will be greatly appreciated
sorry can't help with the plastical question but i am sure there will be someone that can I had an epson which used pigment inks but although very good was expensive to run i didn't have room for the bulk system.So after reading up a lot of posts i decided to go with a Laser printer OKI 5600 and not looked back its a lot cheaper no good me saying prices as i live in UK so will be diff, i put a new batch of ink in on 30/01/08 so far have done about 150 full col print on t/p another 50 on paper testing out the print col before putting onto t/p, 300 leaflets 1/2 col and still haven't run out I bought the machine last yr and still using the original black ink hope this helps a bit
If you go with an inkjet u will need pigment inks as the dye ones will wash out, the OKI uses a none oil fuser's and is a lot faster then the inkjets
I think you mean plastisol transfers. Those are actually silk screened transfers -- not something you print on a printer.
There are several companies who will provide those for you. Transfer Express is the one I use. Search around here, and you'll find the names of other companies.
How much in your printer will use on a transfer depends alot upon the design.
Many of the people here are using Epson printers with a pigment ink. I use an HP Printer with Vivera inks.
I don't do alot of the inkjet transfers...more plastisol. And I also do custom cut vinyl.
Hope that helps...just keep on scouring the board...you'll find a ton of good info.
ok if you are going to print your own then jetpro softstretch for light color shirts will do very nice read some of the post around the forum and you will see
__________________ Never say "no I can't" when you can just takes time and patience!!!!
If you are going to use inkjet transfers, the best paper available, as David said, is Jet-Pro SofStretch (or Jet-Pro Light as it's also called). Just keep in mind that it can only be used on white or light-colored shirts.
For dark shirts, IronAll Dark is considered the best available inkjet transfer paper right now. I haven't use it yet, so I can't really comment on it right now.
It doesn't really matter what brand of printer you buy as long as it uses pigment inks for all cartridges (some printers use pigment inks for black and dye inks on colors...no good).
Also, be sure you buy a printer that will print your designs the size you'd like them. Personally, I find 8.5x11 transfers to be a little limiting, so I use 11x17 transfsers. But a printer that will print 11x17 will cost more.
Another thing to keep in mind when buying a printer is that to save costs, there is something called a Continuous Ink System (CIS). That will allow you to buy your inks in bulk to save money. But they're not available for all printers. I don't know too much about CIS's. I have one, but I'm no expert on them. Others here will be able to help you more on that if you're considering it.
I do highly suggest you look into plastisol transfers. They'll cost a little more than inkjet transfers, and aren't appropriate for all designs, but they'll give you the look and feel of screen print (that's what they are), and a lot of customers want screen printed shirts. Inkjet and laser transfers just don't have a very good reputation with customers, tho they're getting better.
But you can't print plastisol transfers unless you have a screen printing setup, so those will need to be outsourced.
Thank you so much! What type of printer do u have my i ask? My designs are going to have alot of color in them.. and i hear plastical transfers get really expensive if you have alot of color. is this true?
I personally have a Canon i9900, which generally prints with dye inks, but I was lucky enough to find a CIS with pigment inks for my printer. I can't recommend this CIS to others yet until I do more testing, but so far so good.
Yes, your price will go up the more colors you have in your design.
One of your options for plastisol transfers is having them made with the 4-color process, which uses CMYK inks to create the illusion of more colors. You might want to look into that, too.
IronAll Dark I would not use I know that there is lot of people that will use it I dont like the feel and it looks cheap to but that is me that is why I have made the jump and got Vinyl cutter so I can use this on dark color shirts and well be do one to two colors that will be the only draw back on this but there is lot more you can do
__________________ Never say "no I can't" when you can just takes time and patience!!!!
If you are going to use inkjet transfers, the best paper available, as David said, is Jet-Pro SofStretch (or Jet-Pro Light as it's also called). Just keep in mind that it can only be used on white or light-colored shirts.
For dark shirts, IronAll Dark is considered the best available inkjet transfer paper right now. I haven't use it yet, so I can't really comment on it right now.
It doesn't really matter what brand of printer you buy as long as it uses pigment inks for all cartridges (some printers use pigment inks for black and dye inks on colors...no good).
Also, be sure you buy a printer that will print your designs the size you'd like them. Personally, I find 8.5x11 transfers to be a little limiting, so I use 11x17 transfsers. But a printer that will print 11x17 will cost more.
Another thing to keep in mind when buying a printer is that to save costs, there is something called a Continuous Ink System (CIS). That will allow you to buy your inks in bulk to save money. But they're not available for all printers. I don't know too much about CIS's. I have one, but I'm no expert on them. Others here will be able to help you more on that if you're considering it.
I do highly suggest you look into plastisol transfers. They'll cost a little more than inkjet transfers, and aren't appropriate for all designs, but they'll give you the look and feel of screen print (that's what they are), and a lot of customers want screen printed shirts. Inkjet and laser transfers just don't have a very good reputation with customers, tho they're getting better.
But you can't print plastisol transfers unless you have a screen printing setup, so those will need to be outsourced.
Good luck!
Yep, jetprosofstretch is the best available for light colored garments. For dark garments, I have not used Ironall for darks so really cannot comment on the quality of the transfer but there are those forum members who claim it works well. As far as inks, the pigment inks will not experience wash out like a dye ink will. So that would be my reccomendation there. So please consider that my 2 cents on what to use
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Creativity is your vehicle, profit the destination.
David also has a shirt that he's washed in HOT water (against manufacturer's recommendations) over 25 times now with little or no fading. I'd call that pretty high quality!
Alittle Stuck-Printers and Inks? 
i didn't have room for the bulk system.So after reading up a lot of posts i decided to go with a Laser printer OKI 5600 and not looked back its a lot cheaper 
no good me saying prices as i live in UK so will be diff, i put a new batch of ink in on 30/01/08 so far have done about 150 full col print on t/p another 50 on paper testing out the print col before putting onto t/p, 300 leaflets 1/2 col and still haven't run out 
