Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
Silicone is a treated parchment paper with a silicone coating on it. Teflon is a sheet made of teflon. Both are made to not stick to transfers, but its really a preference thing for most people. I do dtg printing and use to do transfers, and I always used the silicone parchment paper. Alot of people also prefer the teflon sheet as they dont wear out. So its really a choice of what you prefer. The silicone parchment and the teflon sheet are both used for covering the transfer when pressing so it doesnt stick to the top platen of your press. So yes it is important, but the choice is really yours which you prefer Hope this helps to explain things.
I was wondering the differance and what ones I need to buy for my heat press.
thanks
the silicon is used in the heat press machine's below board,people put tshirt on it.
and teflon is used in the above board,for press transfer work prefect.
Teflon sheets tend to get used more for protecting garments from scorching and for protecting the heat press itself. Even though my machine plate is Teflon coated I still use a separate teflon sheet. 'Better safe than sorry'.
Thanks Dreamglass and Coeds,
So teflon is a must. check How often would I need a new one? Or how many should I buy to start?
What about the silicone sheets then? What would they be used for?
Caution about using teflon or silicone sheets. The image is not suppose to stick to this material but sometimes it does. Especially when the surface or the coating are worn out. If you are not careful the faint trace of the image can be transferred to another shirt. Silicone sheet is disposable while teflon can be reused multiple times. Just keep an eye on the faint image sticking to it and wipe it off if possible.
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Luis MAD Scientist JR. AKA MS2 Digital Artist. My canvas is t-shirt and my paintbrush is heat press.
Caution about using teflon or silicone sheets. The image is not suppose to stick to this material but sometimes it does. Especially when the surface or the coating are worn out. If you are not careful the faint trace of the image can be transferred to another shirt. Silicone sheet is disposable while teflon can be reused multiple times. Just keep an eye on the faint image sticking to it and wipe it off if possible.
the silicon is used in the heat press machine's below board,people put tshirt on it.
and teflon is used in the above board,for press transfer work prefect.
This is not correct, the silicone treated parchment also goes on the top of the garment, it is used in the same manner as the teflon. You dont need anything on the bottom platen.
This is not correct, the silicone treated parchment also goes on the top of the garment, it is used in the same manner as the teflon. You dont need anything on the bottom platen.
I was thinking that the thicker silicone pads can go under the project and the teflon sheet over.
I dont know about silicone pads, maybe you are talking about teflon pillows? Those are used for putting under the garment for when you are doing things such as shirts with buttons and such so they dont leave an imprint in the garment. Hope this helps
I dont know about silicone pads, maybe you are talking about teflon pillows? Those are used for putting under the garment for when you are doing things such as shirts with buttons and such so they dont leave an imprint in the garment. Hope this helps
something else to check out - lol
I was tghinking of the silicone sheets/pads that are used for cooking etc that are a tad thicker that you could use them for the extra "cushion"
I will check out pillows
something else to check out - lol
I was tghinking of the silicone sheets/pads that are used for cooking etc that are a tad thicker that you could use them for the extra "cushion"
I will check out pillows
As a matter of fact I use silicon baking cookie sheet when I am pressing the two sheets of Imageclip transfers. It helps maintain the temp of the two sheets while the sheets are peeled apart. It also helps improve the polymer being transferred from the polymer coated sheet to the image sheet with minimum polymer speckle in the unprinted area around the image.
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Luis MAD Scientist JR. AKA MS2 Digital Artist. My canvas is t-shirt and my paintbrush is heat press.
Yep I too always use the silicone parchment baking sheets. For me they seem to have much more even heat then the teflon sheets. but I also do direct to garment printing and have a need for quick moisture release, which I dont think is as great with the teflon sheets. I also used the parchment when doing transfers before dtg to though.
Silicone or Teflon?? 
Hope this helps to explain things.
Re: Silicone or Teflon?? 
MAD Scientist JR. AKA MS2
