Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
Hey, so i made my first t shirt about a week ago using my HP D4160.
Turns out the colour ink was pigment rather than dye, because after the first wash, the colour was still in there. Il take some pics when i get home from school. The coulours will appear a bit lighter because i printed it through word
Rather than my software.
But i;ve got a question regarding INKjet Paper through Laser printers. Is this possible?
And if i do buy laser jet paper and print using toner, Could i still use a hand iron to transfer the images.
Re: Update: HP Deskjet Vivera Ink, and dark transfer.
But using a hand iron SHOULD transfer the toner on the transfer paper right?
The reason i ask is because, i dont have much ink at home. its ink jet. If i can go to kinkos and print it out, and transfer, it would be much easier/faster.
Re: Update: HP Deskjet Vivera Ink, and dark transfer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cirrus
So i guess laser jet transfer papers wont work with an iron eh.
I'm not understanding why though.
Too bad kinko's use laserjets.
Several variables go in to printing a good transfer. Time, temperature and pressure. I heat press can be set at a specific temperature (375 F or 400 F) and will apply even pressure on the entire transfer for the same amount of time. With an iron you can't control all of this. Irons work well for the kiddies birthday party that don't need to be good quality for very long.
A good heat press is worth the expense. Even if all you do is have fun doing this for a hobby you want to proud of the finished product.
Re: Update: HP Deskjet Vivera Ink, and dark transfer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cirrus
Hey, so i made my first t shirt about a week ago using my HP D4160.
Turns out the colour ink was pigment rather than dye, because after the first wash, the colour was still in there.
What paper did you use. If it was JPSS Jetprosofstretch, that may work fine with dye ink and not fade.
If you used another paper, you should know, dye ink does not always wash out on the first wash. It could last a few washes nicely, but then, the fade begins to happen. In about 1 to 3 months, the product could look terrible.
A transfer can and should last for a long period of time. I will expect 2 good years out of my JPSS shirts. Others may expect more or less, but from what I've seen, my guess is I will get at least that long out of the image.
I just wanted to mention that a dye can hold up for a few washes, some don't make it past wash one, but some do make it for alot longer, but not nearly as long or as well as a pigment (unless you use JPSS or Claria ink - but that's still experimental. ). Moving on...
Quote:
But i;ve got a question regarding INKjet Paper through Laser printers. Is this possible?
Luis/Infortun has run Ironall Dark through his laser printer. What you must find out is if your laser printer gets hot on the inside. I am not very familiar with the lasers, at all, but I have even read on transfer papers that say they can use all inks, including laser, that some lasers must be avoided because they are heated inside.
For the best answer if no one else can give you more than this info, look up Luis/Infortun and ask him what laser he uses, and why can he run the Ironall Dark. I never asked, I just know he has. But I also know some folks say don't because of the paper melting inside.
You'll need to find out the specifics and which laser printer type you have.
Re: Update: HP Deskjet Vivera Ink, and dark transfer.
Well, Cirrus, I stayed away from that bc I don't work with laser transfers. I don't know if they need a specific heat temperature or not to work best. I can tell what temp my press is set for, but not my iron.
I know most folks feel you can't successfully heat press inkjet transfers with an iron and get durable results, but my husband and I have. He was the "heat press", tho, and he has very large arms, and he was able to apply the pressure I, as a woman, could not. I don't know if laser transfers can work as well. If I wanted an answer to this Q, I think I would ask Luis/Infortun. He seems to me, to know the most about Imageclip, maybe he can tell you, if not, this Q may be buried in this thread, and a new thread asking about the possibility of hand ironing Laser paper. You'll probably have to wade through the "press is best" posts, but may find someone who experimented and had success. For me, I say, when in doubt, try it out, lol... but that's just me. Good luck to you, Cirrus, hope it works out one way or another.
One other thought: Will a local shop press them on for you for a fee? Some folks get their transfers applied this way until they get their own press. Someone said they just do it this way as business as usual, because they make it up in the shirt price, and don't want to own a press.
Re: Update: HP Deskjet Vivera Ink, and dark transfer.
The reason that you can not use inkjet transfer paper for lights in a laser copier/printer is its polymer coating has a much lower melting point than the laser transfer paper. Most of the new model laser copier/printer have oilless fuser that runs very hot for inkjet transfer paper. You can damage the fuser. You are liable to pay for it at Kinko's or some other place that do print/copy service.
It is true that I used laser printer with Ironall for dark. The transfer is not made like the polymer coating for lights that melts when heated. Ironall for dark will tolerate the fuser temperature because it is a solid material that does not melt with surface coating that will accept ink or toner. The heat from the press seals the ink or toner.
I would not recommend using iron for laser transfer. As explained by other members, in order to have a good transferred image the pressure and temperature must be evenly distributed at a given time.
I press at 400F with very high pressure but when I lowered the temp to 375F the image did not transfer as good as pressing at 400F. Most of the laser transfer paper are pressed between 375F and 400F range.
There is just no way it can be achieved with home iron.
You can try though. It is your call.
__________________
Luis CorelDRAW macro author Macro Website
Re: Update: HP Deskjet Vivera Ink, and dark transfer.
ahh true, thanks.
I can provide pressure. Actually, i place a plank on the ground, my shirt on top and the image /sheet on top of that. Then i press, and i think its enough, anymore and my iron would break. And since its below me, im sure it gets enough pressure.
but heat, ill have to see about that.
Im not sure how high the temp of my iron will reach, but if it is somewhere around that it should suffice right?
Ill have to look around the city to see if anyone will do it for free or cheap. IM 16 years old so i dont have the funds (yet) to buy one.
Any ideas for measuring the heat of an iron?
EDIT: ON second thought, 400F equals around 200 Ceclius, and theres no way a household iron will heat to 200 celcius. Dang.
Last edited by cirrus; May 31st, 2008 at 12:44 PM.
Re: Update: HP Deskjet Vivera Ink, and dark transfer.
Cirrus, keep checking garage sales, and such. I've heard of at least 2 people saying they picked up presses recently for around $20 at garage sales. Also, I admire your work ethic at your age. Way to go. Last, if you are converting to celcius, I have a tiny bit of unverified information for you. I heard that irons in the USA used to heat higher than they do today. Now they limited in heat to what they are, but, I heard, and I can't say where I even read this on the net, that irons in Europe still heat to very high temps in celsius. That's all I have for you, Cirrus. It's just a little lead for you to run down to find out if that goes anywhere helpful for you. I'm in the US, so I didn't bother following that any further.
My husband stood on a stool at the counter. The counter was below his waist, so he was also able to get alot of pressure down on the iron. The handle used to bend in a slight U under his pressure. ... we waited for the handle to crack, but we got the press in time before that happened. Those shirts are still A#1 OK, and I can't tell which ones were press, and which ones were done by Mark the Human Heat Press, as I used to call him. No one was happier than him when we got the press. Good luck, Cirrus, I'm unsuscribing to the thread now. I hope it all works out for you. Bye Luis.
Re: Update: HP Deskjet Vivera Ink, and dark transfer.
Hello cirrus. The reason I now have spent thousands of dollars on heat press equipment is because of some simple Iron on transfers. I used stock transfer sheets from office depot and a cheap iron. My friends I made the shirts for just loved them. That was last year and they still look good. Not commercial quality but good home quality. If your starting a t-shirt business, get a decent heat press. If your making a few shirts for friends, use a good iron and good quality transfers. If you intend to make several shirts a year for friends and family maybe save your money and get a cheap press off ebay or a entry-level name brand press, something around a couple hundred bucks to start. I'd stay with inkjet commercial quality transfers. They don't usually require as much heat or pressure as Laser paper seems too. If you need something perfect get shirts made by a local shirt printer. If you are more interested in giving something you made then I would not worry about it being perfect or commercial. That's why it's called home made, no factory, just love! Those first two shirts I pressed with an Home Iron came out very good the first time. Can't tell you how many commercial transfers I've done with a professional heat press that did not come out good!
Re: Update: HP Deskjet Vivera Ink, and dark transfer.
Early on, while deciding if I really wanted to do tees, I used a hand iron.
Make sure the surface you are using is a hard one. I slipped a pillowcase over a bread board.
I used a dry iron, so that there was no issue with the steam holes...found that at VermontCountryStore.com
DharmaTrading.com sells a good quality soft hand inkjet transfer paper in small quantities. I think it's ironall, but I'm not sure.
It worked out fine. You just have to use a lot of pressure, and press longer than you would with a press.
By the way, if your HP uses a tri-color cartridge, the color ink is dye based. Their black ink is pigment ink. I use HP, and have pretty good luck in spite of the fact that the color ink is dye based.
This is a discussion about Update: HP Deskjet Vivera Ink, and dark transfer. that was posted in the Heat Press and Heat Transfers section of the forums.
Update: HP Deskjet Vivera Ink, and dark transfer. 
- but that's still experimental. 
). Moving on... 
