Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
I just saw that Image Jet is offering a paper that you can transfer images to dark color shirts. The Image Jet Dark 2. Has anybody used these? Are there others like it, (that are cheaper)? How is the quality? I will copy and paste the description where I got it from:
IMAGE JET DARK 2 LOOK! A truly innovative product! Image Jet Dark 2 is a new inkjet transfer paper that will now allow you to print to colored or dark shirts with your inkjet printer in one easy step! Typically, printing to dark or colored shirts requires a two step approach (see above). First printing a traditional transfer sheet which is pressed onto a second white opaque sheet and then finally both are pressed again onto the shirt. Image Jet Dark 2 is a unique combination of both. These bright white opaque backed transfers are printed in your ordinary inkjet printer, trimmed, and then printed directly to the shirt in one easy step! How long have we waited for this! Order your today!
That sound like just ordinary dark transfers with opaque back to me. There is a product called phototrans imageclip, which supposaly created heat transfers that don't have a window around them. That same company is working on a product for dark t-shirts. This product however is the standard opaque dark t-shirt transfers which are poor quality.
Yeah, single-step opaque transfers have been around for a while. They will leave the white of an image white, so you have to cut exactly to the image (making text, for example, impossible). Also, the quality of these papers tends to be lower; they peel/crack a lot faster, and they also have more hand. Not a fan.
jeez I guess its back to the drawing board. My customers really want dark colors (red, navy blue, olive) for my shirts, I guess I have to contract a screen printer. Are there any cheap ones online or is going with a local my best bet?
I'd suggest local, thought you might also look at plastisol transfers which are basically transfer papers that have been screen printed on to and can beapplied to a shirt with a heat transfer. You still have to keep a stock of transfers, but this way you can print on demand for size/color considerations.
So far I'm using Ash (light gray), White, and Natural (an off-white beige). The one shirt I've done on light green turned out well, and I have a bunch of other light-ish colors I've bought to test but have no tried them yet.
Here are two sources for plastisol transfers. The cost varies on quantity. It also helps if you can fit more than one copy of a design one each transfer.
I would definitely suggest grabbing some plastisol transfers from Silver Mountain or somewhere similar. Just got our first order of custom transfers and I can't believe how good they look. There's a little trial and error involved, but once you find the right temp/pressure/time for your press, the sky is the limit.
In fact, after printing my first dozen "custom" plastisol transfers just over an hour ago, I am considering shifting the focus of my designs to predominately dark shirts with mostly plastisol transfers. Printing our own has been fine so far, but the feel of the shirt is so much nicer with a plastisol transfer.
If you don't mind slightly offensive shirts, check this out. It's our first custom plastisol transfer on a black shirt.
And for the record, we were able to get 100 transfers for 81 dollars with shipping. Which is about the same price as 100 copies of transfer paper for dark shirts. And there is no cutting required. Just something else to consider.
In other news, pardon the website. We are in the process of switching from oscommerce to zen cart and the site is a bit jacked up right now. Should have that taken care of tonight.
Good luck and definitely give plastisol transfers a look. You'll be glad you did.
I still need to try them too; I was kinda trying to see what designs were popular before I went for it, though. Since a lot of my designs are text I'll probably try to fit like 3-5 on a single plastisol transfer, then we can cut and use as needed.
Many Differences in Jet Wear Dark Premium vs. Jet Wear Dark
hi gang,
Are there many differences in Jet Wear Dark Premium vs. Jet Wear Dark heat transfers for dark fabrics other than a softer hand with the premium??? is it worth the higher price??
Heat Transfer on Dark Shirts 
LOOK! A truly innovative product! Image Jet Dark 2 is a new inkjet transfer paper that will now allow you to print to colored or dark shirts with your inkjet printer in one easy step! Typically, printing to dark or colored shirts requires a two step approach (see above). First printing a traditional transfer sheet which is pressed onto a second white opaque sheet and then finally both are pressed again onto the shirt. Image Jet Dark 2 is a unique combination of both. These bright white opaque backed transfers are printed in your ordinary inkjet printer, trimmed, and then printed directly to the shirt in one easy step! How long have we waited for this! Order your today!
