Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
New adventure for ME and very discouraged. I have used paper that came with heat press, paper ordered on ebay, paper from office depot and avery.
I have set printer to every setting available. I have peeled hot and cold. Used up 3 shirts and not one picture worth saving. Some pictures half smooth, half rough, some look cracked. Half of paper sticks. Set heat press to what paper calls for most is 350 for 10-20 secs.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thank you, jalaze
Last edited by JALAZE; August 3rd, 2008 at 06:17 AM.
Reason: MISSPELLED WORD
Hi Jalaze, I use jet pro soft strech transfer paper, with great results. I have used Ironall, but, very flaky and fading issues. Definitely use a quality transfer paper, and trim as close to the image as you can. Try doing a search of forum discussions using the link on the upper left hand side of this page. Welcome to the forums.
Mike
I do agree with Mike, JPSS is the paper that gave me the best results. Are the t-shirt you are printing 100% cotton?
Avoid papers from the office supplies.
Hi. Most important before you attempt to affix any transfer is to pre-press the garment for a few seconds to release any trapped moisture. Print setting needs to be at least 300 dpi, which is text and graphics setting on Epsons. Allow the transfer to thoroughly dry. I would suggest an hour, unless you are in a hurry. Make sure your press is getting up to the right temperature before attempting to press.
Problems with transfers normally come when they are washed. If you are having problems before this stage, then you are either have wrong pressure set up, or temperature is incorrect. If item is not sticking to fabric and you have pre pressed the garment, then it is more likely to be an incorrect temperature. It will not be the transfers themselves, as you are using three totally different brands. Try increasing the temperature by about 15 degrees, use an old shirt and see if that works out.
What brand of heat press are you using? It sounds like the heat platen may not be consistant throughout, since half the paper is sticking, half the paper is smooth, half the paper is rough. You maybe having cold spots.
I truly think if you buy some quality paper like JPSS mentioned before, you will have great success. If you think the press may be heating unevenly, I suggest buying a IR heat thermometor from Harbor freight tools for around $30.00 this will answer the uneven heat question. i wish you good luck. .... JB
I've had to use Avery a few times in a pinch when I run out of JPSS and it worked fine during the application (not so sure yet about the fade resistance! LOL).
Anyway, I printed at 375 deg for 30 secs (same setting as JPSS) and it peeled like butter.
I also used a teflon sheet....
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New adventure for ME and very discouraged. I have used paper that came with heat press, paper ordered on ebay, paper from office depot and avery.
I have set printer to every setting available. I have peeled hot and cold. Used up 3 shirts and not one picture worth saving. Some pictures half smooth, half rough, some look cracked. Half of paper sticks. Set heat press to what paper calls for most is 350 for 10-20 secs.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thank you, jalaze
What kind of printer and ink are you using? Also office depot transfer paper is useless made to be use with an iron that's a no no for me.
I remember buying t-shirt factory deluxe that came with avery paper in office depot when i first started and had this same issue your having. That's till i found this forum
I think the problem lies in either the process, the press, or the paper, and in that order I'd try to eliminate some of the variables. Try to fix the easiest things first. Increase your time, temp and pressure:
Pre-press your shirts to remove that moisture.
This should also Preheat your lower platen, if not, preheat that, too.
Up your temp to 375* like John.
Increase your dwell time to what John said, the 30 seconds.
Make sure your press is set to high pressure.
Also important, make sure Seams of the shirt are not preventing the press from applying full pressure to the image area.
Try those for starters. I don't think the problems you describe will come from the ink you are using, that will come into play in the washing machine. Another reason for some problems could be if you are using polyester shirts with a cotton/cotton blend process.
I also used Avery in the beginning, and it printed and pressed beautifully. Somewhere along 8 to 10 washes, it cracked and started fading, which is why I now use Jetprosofstretch. JPSS does not crack or fade.
Try to increase your temp, time and pressure. These are the main things that go into the tranfer on the press side of it.
If you still have troubles after that, then print a transfer and cut it into 9 pieces. Place those 9 pieces around on your press, and press everything (remember to still pre-press the shirt or fabric). If they apply unevenly, your upper platen is giving you trouble for sure.
Bad transfers 
Re: Bad transfers 
