Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
I always store my transfers in a plastic bag to keep dust off them. I suggest waiting for the ink to dry and then store in a plastic bag away from sunlight. .... JB
Awesome! Thanks Rhonda. This helps a lot. I can sleep better now. Trying to start a business is very stressful when you have limited budget.
Hey, I'm from Duluth, Gwinnett. Which part of town are you Rhonda?
Where do you get your blank tshirt and what brand?
Thanks for the information.
No problem, Sam. I am in Midtown and I usually buy my blanks from TSC which has a pickup location in Norcoss. I also sometimes order from Broder Brothers and they are in Duluth.
I agree with JB about storing the transfers in a plastic bag ... especially here in GA where it's so freakin' humid.
One thing to keep is mind is that after a while the printed transfer will start to look faded, but once you press it the colors will be 100% revived.
Pressing on dark T. I have seen on youtube where you just press the printed image. No need to trim around the image. Only the ink part is tranfered to the T. This save a lot of time. I wonder if you or anyone know the brand or where to get it.
Also, what's the fastest/best way to handle big quantities like 50 T.
Pressing on dark T. I have seen on youtube where you just press the printed image. No need to trim around the image. Only the ink part is tranfered to the T. This save a lot of time. I wonder if you or anyone know the brand or where to get it.
Also, what's the fastest/best way to handle big quantities like 50 T.
Thanks
That sounds like plastisol transfers (AKA indirect screen-printing).
For a quantity of 50 I would go with plastisol for sure.
You've got great info from Rhonda and JB. One thing I would add is to be careful when putting your transfer paper in the bag so as not to bend them or chip them on the closures at the top of the bag. The coating can chip or be scrapped off, and I have ruined a few designs that way.
To fix very minor mistakes like that, I use pigment fabric markers to "color" in the area after pressing. For tiny imperfections, they are perfect.
Do you know that JPSS/Jetprosofstretch is for light shirts? You'll have to use an opaque paper for dark shirts, or the plastisol transfers that Rhonda told you about.
This is interesting. At what quantities do you print your own transfer? Sorry for asking silly question. I really haven't a clue to this business.
I guess I'd say anything over 30ish? It's kind of hard to say ... I started out with an Epson 1280 but have been converting most of my designs over to plastisol because they are easier to deal with than my finicky printer (just my opinion).
Rhonda, my printers have been getting so difficult to deal with now that they are getting the action they used to. It's driving me nutz. If I were using plastisol... I wouldn't be having any problems at all. Great point, another "score" for plastisols. - Kelly
I have a Epson 1520. What printer problem do you have?
Mostly getting the color correct and consistent. I end up wasting a lot of paper.
I have to do a head cleaning every single time I print ... not a huge deal but Epson Printer Utility crashes after every cleaning (I'm on a Mac).
Yesterday I was trying to print and even though the preview showed the graphic within the print area, the printer would start the top of it half-way down the sheet meaning most of it got cut off. Never did figure out what was causing that.
That's all I can think of for now, but that's not all of the issues I have had. None of the above seemed so bad until I used plastisol and saw how much time I saved. Not to mention ... NO TRIMMING!!!
how much time I have after printing 
I am in Midtown and I usually buy my blanks from TSC which has a pickup location in Norcoss. I also sometimes order from Broder Brothers and they are in Duluth.
from PA.
- Kelly
Never did figure out what was causing that.
