Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
I'm new to this board and this is my first posting question. BTW, this forum is great! I'm learning so much!
My question is this: When you create and use a heat transfer that just has text, no picture, I'm guessing that the blank transfer paper itself will show up on the shirt in between the text letters, right?
Is there a way to prevent this, or is this where cutting around the transfer comes into play? Does it depend upon the type of paper used and the application method?
Or, is this a good reason to just turn to screenprinting instead of transfers?
I hope I explained this well enough without being confusing.
Almost all the transfer papers leave a border because the entire sheet of paper is covered with a polymer or adhesive. Image Clip is a borderless paper, but it is for laser printers only and it is two steps. Most people will either cut around the letters or put some type of outline box around the text. If you use a cutter to remove the excess polymer on a transfer paper, you are going to need some special heat applied tape that will keep the proper spacing.
I prefer to use Heat Applied Vinyl when I am doing just text. The letters are cut out using a vinyl cutter. You can do it by screen printing, but it depends on the quantity of shirts you want done because you are going to have screen charges. Hope this helps.
I'm guessing that the blank transfer paper itself will show up on the shirt in between the text letters, right?
You are right. I just did a sample shirt for a school a few minutes ago with wording. First I made a line on the back of the transfer to show the middle of the page. Then because I had 4 lines of print I cut out each line real close to the letters on top and bottom. I left about an eighth of an inch. After doing each line I placed on shirt and lined up my marks on the back of the transfer into a straight line so I knew I was lined up and pressed. Doing this I prevented the transfer from showing between each line of wording and I still had it lined up.
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My question is this: When you create and use a heat transfer that just has text, no picture, I'm guessing that the blank transfer paper itself will show up on the shirt in between the text letters, right?
Is there a way to prevent this, or is this where cutting around the transfer comes into play? Does it depend upon the type of paper used and the application method?
Or, is this a good reason to just turn to screenprinting instead of transfers?
Yes, inkjet heat transfers will need to be "cut out" to remove the box. Depending on the paper, some will have a more obvious box than others.
Your other options are to have your shirts screen printed, use vinyl and a cutter, or order plastisol transfers from a screen printer. Plastisol transfers are made with the same ink as screen printing, so there is no "box" to cut out. The same principles as screen printing apply - the more colors you get the more expensive it will be, and higher quantities will be cheaper per piece.
When you create and use a heat transfer that just has text, no picture, I'm guessing that the blank transfer paper itself will show up on the shirt in between the text letters, right?
Yes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Suz
Is there a way to prevent this, or is this where cutting around the transfer comes into play?
The latter.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Suz
Does it depend upon the type of paper used and the application method?
Not really.
(imageclip for laser printers transfers ink only, dye sublimation transfers ink only, but standard inkjet papers transfer ink and paper)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Suz
Or, is this a good reason to just turn to screenprinting instead of transfers?
I think you go with what works best for you. I would think that getting transfers from a transfer company with just text would be pretty straight forward. They also have lettering kits but that would be a pain to put all those letters on each shirt.
I have done a few dye-sub tests with the vapor apparel and I have been able to eliminate marks without trimming the paper. The vapor t-shirts feel really nice and the printing results are outstanding.
I think for text heatpress vinyl is a terrific product. The ability to put whatever text on a shirt on the fly is perfect. At events we do...custom one off shirts are 80% of our business. Custom shirts have their own price value in the minds of the consumer. A one off custom shirt you can get right now is a nice carrot. Heatpress vinyl opens that door and makes it feasable.
Does it depend upon the type of paper used and the application method?
Not really.
I'd disagree with Solmu here; I've heard several people in the past discussing different papers and saying that the wax window varied from paper to paper. A good quality paper such as Magic Jet/Transjet II (assumedly this also applies to IronAll/MiraCool) will have only a slight wax window that is nearnly unnoticeable on white or ash t-shirts. You should cut close to the design/text (about 1/8" away), but cutting it out precisely really isn't necessary for normal healt transfers.
I'd disagree with Solmu here; I've heard several people in the past discussing different papers and saying that the wax window varied from paper to paper.
That just affects the range of how visible the window is; not whether or not there is one.
That just affects the range of how visible the window is; not whether or not there is one.
Ah, I see the side you were looking at this from now. True, it will always HAVE a wax window, but the paper choice is still a definite factor, as how visible the wax window is is quite important.
Some of the papers are good enough to have a small enough wax window that most customers wouldn't even notice it at all, whereas some of the cheaper papers are pretty plainly visible.
heat transferring text only 
