tko51

I guess unless you are really lucky, one must learn from failure a few times before producing the ideal shirt via heat press.

In my case... I have failed a couple times so far, and I want to end that now.

Using JPSS transfer paper & Hix Swingman 15x15:

First of all I want to add that I have been advised by a "pro" that after your heat press reaches the desired temperature, it is wise to do a press prior to placing the transfer onto the shirt... it helps smooth out the surface, etc, I did that in each of the following "failed" attempts... if this is something that might be affecting the outcome of my shirts or the "burn" I got in example #2, please advise.

1st try. The first time I pressed my design on to shirt at 350degrees, pressing down somewhere between 15-20 seconds, the peel sucked and about half of the design remained on the original transfer. No burn outline, but ultimately: Failure.

2nd try. Learn from your mistakes... I should have referred to the instructions on the JPSS package... 350-375 degrees and press for up to THIRTY seconds. I must have released too soon last time. But to be sure I was getting enough heat, I decided what the hell I'm going to crank it up to the max (400), press down for 30 seconds, release and peel... my initial response was Yes! Exactly the outcome I was looking for! The peel was very smooth, the design looked perfect, no loss in color or quality AT ALL... EXCEPT upon closer review: Failure. Two problems:

a) I have a 15x15 yellowish burn outline on the shirt. Should I have kept the heat at the lower 350-375 temp and pressed for 30 seconds? Do you think that would solve this problem.

b) More importantly: The design seemed to make its way THROUGH the shirt, onto the back of the shirt(!) AND all the way through to the LOWER pad of the heat press! Has this happened to anyone, where did I go wrong? And how do I clean it??? I have seen that teflon sheets are recommended for the upper platen as well as other cleaners "EZ-Off" sounds good for the upper platen, but my problem is on the soft lower pad... wtf? My upper platen looks totally clean no problems there yet (knock on wood), it's just the lower pad where I see the faint stain. Am I the only one? Ideas, suggestions, on how to clean this? And prevent it in the future. I have a couple theories of my own, but with $600+ equipment, I would prefer to make sure I do it the RIGHT way and not cause any further damage.

This forum has been a big help the few times I have used it... hope I will learn something once again =)

 

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splathead

So let me get this straight. You are pressing every way EXCEPT what the instructions say, and you are asking us why your transfers are not working?

 

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tko51

You could say that... but I have read there is no concrete setting when using the heat press and that often the user will have to play around with it before finding the settings that will produce the desired outcome. In my case, I did get the desired outcome on my second try, but it came with a yellowish 15x15 burn but the image was crisp and clear, could not ask for a better result there. But what caused the burn? When heat was reduced, transfer did not peel off correctly. Would reducing the temp 15 degrees actually prevent the burn from happening while getting a proper press onto the shirt? How can I clean the lower platen, alcohol after machine has cooled? Once I find the configuration that works for me, it should be smooth sailing from there... so I think my question is to you, how do I keep this clean and how would you operate the heat press using the JPSS paper because I must be misisng something here.

 

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mrdavid

What I have done with JPSS
1. set heat at 385F
2. prepress to get moisture out
3 press transfer for 30 seconds
4 lift and peel and stretch

This is all I have ever done and have no problems hope this will help.

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Never say "no I can't" when you can just takes time and patience!!!!

 

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splathead

If you burned your shirt on the 2nd try, then you did NOT get the desired outcome.

Why are you wasting paper and time? Just follow the instructions and THEN come to us if you don't get the desired results.

 

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mrdavid

When I first got started I to made some mistake's but that is part of hands on learning. Just take your time and yes wast some paper and shirts. I started with 300 shirts before I sold any trying new things out and other paper. Dont think your not going to trash out some shirts because you will Intel you learn and feel comfortable then start to sell !!

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Never say "no I can't" when you can just takes time and patience!!!!

 

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