Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
Hi guys, still a newby, I would like to share my experience pressing Bamboo t-shirt (70% bamboo/30 cotton) using JPSS. Its for my kid’s high school robotic club. The shirt is very very soft to touch and “yellow” very easily on the heated area.
After losing my hair I consulted Kimberly Clark and experimented using various temp and timing according to KC suggestion. The temp and time that works for me is 350F for 15sec. Pre heat 4sec before and after. I have also tried pressing 10sec too with no peeling after wash but feel a little scare that it won’t hold up too long.
A lot of care is needed when peeling the JPSS as it WILL stretch the fabric and distort the design. Also the fabric cools pretty fast so an extra pair of hand is needed when peeling and help hold down the shirt.
Timing is key 1 extra sec will yellow the shirt. Well at least for me. Attached is the picture of the shirt and it’s design by me.
Thanks for the detailed post. yellowing most likely is caused by the different chemical make up of bamboo fiber vs. cotton. Cotton's durability comes from fact that fibers are essentially pure cellulose, while other plant species contain other materials along with cellulose.
As a side note, I find it ironic that bamboo fiber is viewed as an "greener" alternative to cotton - both are cultivated crops; cotton on an annual cycle, bamboo abpprox. 7 years. The shorter growing period made it appear friendly compared to trees for paper products, but I can't see an advantage over cotton in garments. Sometime it appears the green thing goes beyond reason...but maybe I'm missing soething....
Just an FYI...you mention Kimberly-Clark - I assume as the manufacturer of Jet pro. K-C "spun-off" the specialty papers businesses a few years ago and they are now independent as Neenah Paper. They still make all the products for heat transfer, but are no longer part of K-C.
sam
sorry for taking so long to get back with you, I see you are using White shirts, I use natural color shirts. I think that is where you have problems bamboo is natural light tan color. your problem is what they use when making the shirt white, when heated it will change colors. I have just did one that was white and the same thing is happin to me to. (so yes temp is what is doing this)
__________________ Never say "no I can't" when you can just takes time and patience!!!!
I did test on a 10% bamboo/90 cotton before this. It's still very soft and the temp was the same as what I used for cotton so I was very surprise that 70/30 acted differently. I'm not sure if the brand plays a part.
No the brand has nothing to do with this it is the way they make them white and now I need to get other colors to see if they will be the same. (remember I use natural so there is nothing being add to the shirt)
__________________ Never say "no I can't" when you can just takes time and patience!!!!
JPSS on Bamboo t-shirt 
