Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
Ok, spent an hour or so sifting throught the searches only to read mixed reviews.
Here's my setup:
Epson Stylus Photo 1280
Alpha Double Green Paper (somewhat heavy hand, cracks - but easy to use with nice bright color)
Here's what I print:
High quality, Full color intricate graphics with smooth fades and blends
Here's what I need:
Very soft hand and durability, no cracking!
I need to know what everyone thinks is the best heat transfer paper (in 11x17), why, and where to get it.
A place up the street did a Heat Transfer for me. They said their paper was "Transjet". The color is a little muted, but the Hand it very soft and I cannot make it crack. There is no cutout line either.. Seems like its meshed into the fabric.
So is Transjet the same as TransjetII? Whats the difference? Please advise on other papers too.
TIA
Tony
I need to know what everyone thinks is the best heat transfer paper (in 11x17), why, and where to get it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tony_SS
Ok, spent an hour or so sifting throught the searches only to read mixed reviews.
You'll probably get mixed reviews again Sometimes people's opinions will differ on which is "best", so there may not be a consensus.
If there are 2 or 3 papers that seem to be popping up a lot in your research, then it might be best for you to get samples of each paper and test them to see what results you get and which you prefer.
Iron-ALL is the paper I use. I started out using the Alphadouble green but was very unhappy with the hand. The Iron-ALL will give you a very soft hand, after afew washings its almost no hand. newmilfordphoto.com is the place I have been buying the Iron-All. As Rodney stated, you will get mixed reviews as people are looking for different things. The best way to know for sure is to order the samples of iron-all and try them yourself.
Iron All or Miracool same paper.. different names. I use both.. Lou
__________________ There is a center to everything.. I found mine at.. www.heatpressessentials.com Tools to get the job done! www.tbiz101.com (New)Heat Transfer Education
The paper I've seen most recommended is Transjet II (aka Magic Jet). I get mine from TLM supply house. Good color, little to no cracking, very soft hand, and only a very faint wax window. However, note that I have not personally used many other papers to really compare directly.
MiraCool I've also heard a bit about lately; seems like it's grown in popularity since I've been actively watching the boards and forums! From what I've seen about it so far, it's not friendly to use (flakes, hard to run through printer, etc.) but is great once you get it figured out.
tcrowder,
Thanks for the info. I went there and ordered a sample pack. 5 of their house brand, 5 Iron-Alls, and 5 for Darks all for 8.99. Not bad. Also, I'm going to order a sample pack of Transjet. I'll settle the transfer paper debate once and for all! (at least for myself)
Quote:
Originally Posted by badalou
Iron All or Miracool same paper.. different names. I use both.. Lou
Lou, why would you use both? Why not one or the other? Even if they are identical.
Thanks everyone, I'll report back on the results.
Tony
Because I bought paper from New Milford Photo long before I found out about Miracool I still have stock. I bought some Miracool to find out what the differences were while I still had Iron all. The difference is and the only thing I can find was price. The paper is identical. I had some issues while printing a large order with Iron All and John from new Milford sent me some replacement paper. I also got a sample of transjet ll from Cindy and yes it worked well but the issues are still 1. rougher hand, doest not stretch like IA/MC paper and can not be ironed over with an iron like IA/MC paper. In the end it is all about usage, and deals. By the way from TLM the price for MiraCool is the same as transjet ll. New Milford offers free shipping. I am in California. The added shipping cost can offset the price difference.
__________________ There is a center to everything.. I found mine at.. www.heatpressessentials.com Tools to get the job done! www.tbiz101.com (New)Heat Transfer Education
Thanks Lou,
Things are becoming more clear. I went to order a sample pack from TLM and they want 7.99 shipping for 4 sheets of paper!! I have an email to Cindy about that.
Sounds like I will like the IA/MC paper based on what I'm hearing. If so, NewMilford will be my new supplier.
BTW, ever tested NewMildford's house brand? I have some of that coming in the sample pack.
I have and I did not like it. That was way back when I did not know what I was doing, was that last week., wait hard to remember.. maybe longer.. This getting old stuff really is bad. I think I went through a period where I did not know about pre-pressing and that this forum existed. If I can offer any advice that would be really, really important to everyone it would be .. TEST, TEST, TEST.. The only way your ever going to do it right in the end is to make mistakes.. I have done so many test on shirts they are turning into art pieces.
__________________ There is a center to everything.. I found mine at.. www.heatpressessentials.com Tools to get the job done! www.tbiz101.com (New)Heat Transfer Education
Thanks Lou,
Things are becoming more clear. I went to order a sample pack from TLM and they want 7.99 shipping for 4 sheets of paper!! I have an email to Cindy about that.
Sounds like I will like the IA/MC paper based on what I'm hearing. If so, NewMilford will be my new supplier.
BTW, ever tested NewMildford's house brand? I have some of that coming in the sample pack.
Thanks for the help once again,
Tony
TEST-TEST-TESt- is right.
Also, I dont think its a good idea to limit your self to only ONE supplier of products you need. New products came out often and things change. Like I used Fruit shirts a lot years ago but now I prefer Gildan.... see where this is going ?
By the way from TLM the price for MiraCool is the same as transjet ll. New Milford offers free shipping. I am in California. The added shipping cost can offset the price difference.
It doesn't look like TLM will be offering MiraCool anymore; too many problems with people that didn't try it before buying it:
Quote:
Originally Posted by TLM Supply House
Now, as for the MiraCool paper. I loved that paper too everyone... but here’s the situation.
The samples were stinking awesome! I ordered and the first order I got was somehow flawed and didn’t work as it should have... causing ME to take a financial loss on all the shipping charges of replacing the papers as well as the future packs of paper I gave away for free to those who opted to keep their original orders.
What I’ve run into more recently though, is many customers are ordering 25+ packs of this paper, usually on the recommendation of other happy customers (thank you by the way), but then finding it’s difficult to work with, and then insist on returning it in spite of the fact that our policy is that if they don’t sample it first, we won’t take it back.
Of course, I can’t let a customer get the only bad end of a deal, so I lost even more on taking the orders back and the shipping costs to replace, etc.
It’s because of these things... the inconsistency of the paper as well as the fact that customers often will not order a sample pack and then expect me to refund them when they don’t like the paper after using much of it already, that I just can’t afford to take the losses any longer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tony_SS
Things are becoming more clear. I went to order a sample pack from TLM and they want 7.99 shipping for 4 sheets of paper!! I have an email to Cindy about that.
I think that's a default minimum price since she usually uses UPS. If you talk to her directly you may be able to get her to ship it in a USPS flat-rate envelope or something like that instead.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tony_SS
Sounds like I will like the IA/MC paper based on what I'm hearing. If so, NewMilford will be my new supplier.
Just be prepared to have some failures and to work with it a bit before getting it right; it's more "finicky" than Transjet II/Magic Jet from what I've heard.
I agree with Lou. I'd rather work with the paper more and achieve great results, then easily cranking out a mediocre product. I want to sample both brands and the way the Alpha Double Green is now, either one HAS to be better.
Now what to do with the rest of the remaining 70+ ADG paper? Ebay I suppose.
Need a straight answer on Transfer Paper 
Sometimes people's opinions will differ on which is "best", so there may not be a consensus.
