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charles95405 · December 11th, 2007

Not hardly Kert...if I understand your question.
1) with a vinyl cutter you have to use a vector design....unless you have a cutter that has optic eye or similar to cut around an inkjet image..bear in mind it will not just cut one person in a photo etc
2) when doing vinyl with a couple of colors...you will cut one color..replace the vinyl with the next color and cut. Then you can either press one color then line up the next color..or some have press one color and then lay the next color on top of the previously pressed color...a method I dont like
3) you do not print on the vinyl (unless you have a 12K Roland Verscamn). you can print on special paper with an inkjet and then have the cutter...if it has an optic eye..cut around the image..just the same as you would with scissors..just quicker...and in this case you are not working with vinyl...just transfer paper
4) how does it know where to cut...that is what the optic eye does and reads the registration marks.. Caution...not many of the entry cutter have that...I know the roland GX24 does...

jundogg · January 10th, 2008

i have a question too.

last night i did a rubberize transfer on a 50/50 polycotton shirt. my set temp was 170 Celsius and 10 secs time. It took me several more presses until the rubberize transfer got contact with the shirt, however, this process was easy when i did it on a normal cotton shirt (one time press only).

my analysis, does the shirt's blend matter when pressing rubberize transfers?

please advise. thanks

also, does this "shirt blend theory" also apply to normal heat transfer papers? (for light and dark shirts)

Chani · January 10th, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by charles95405


	4) how does it know where to cut...that is what the optic eye does and reads the registration marks.. Caution...not many of the entry cutter have that...I know the roland GX24 does...

Actually, even with cutters that have that optical eye for registration marks, all the eye does is read the position and spacing of the reg marks. You still need to feed your machine with vector information for where it should cut.

You first take your bitmap, then create an outline curve (your cutting path), then you add registration marks, print, and cut.

So you still do need some vector information.

The GX-24 has the sensors for reg marks, yes, but the Graphtec CE5000-60 is a better value. It's got a less expensive base price (especially if you buy it from Specialty Graphics Supply ) and includes a stand, which I've found to be invaluable. When you add a stand to a Roland GX-24, it ends up costing about $500 more than the Graphtec.

Also, a great starter machine to buy (also from Specialty) is the Graphtec CE5000-40 CraftROBO Pro. It's about $400 less than the CE5000-60 (tho it doesn't include a stand), but is the same machine as the 60, only a little smaller. It will handle any material up to 19" wide, and will cut up to almost 15" wide. It also has the ARMS (Automatic Registration Mark Sensor).

The one benefit to the Roland that I know of is that their software includes a way of creating a contour outline of your bitmap design automatically. I haven't discovered that feature in Graphtec's software yet (if it exists). But if you have Illustrator or CorelDRAW, you don't really need that. Either brand will cut directly from Illy or CorelDRAW.

Chani · January 10th, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by jundogg


	i have a question too. last night i did a rubberize transfer on a 50/50 polycotton shirt. my set temp was 170 Celsius and 10 secs time. It took me several more presses until the rubberize transfer got contact with the shirt, however, this process was easy when i did it on a normal cotton shirt (one time press only). my analysis, does the shirt's blend matter when pressing rubberize transfers? please advise. thanks also, does this "shirt blend theory" also apply to normal heat transfer papers? (for light and dark shirts)

I wish I could help you.

I'm not sure what you mean by rubberized transfer, tho. Do you mean plastisol transfers?

jundogg · January 10th, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chani


	I wish I could help you. I'm not sure what you mean by rubberized transfer, tho. Do you mean plastisol transfers?

i think this is also called as vinyl transfers =)

Chani · January 10th, 2008

Ah...vinyl!

We've done vinyl on 50/50 sweatshirts with no problem. What brand are you using? Most will do just fine on all cotton or poly (or blends) shirts.

What you need to know with vinyl is if it's a cold-peel, hot-peel, or warm-peel. Sometimes even with hot- or cold-peel vinyls you still need to let it cool a little before peeling the backing off of your design. I've had this happen with a couple of different colors of ThermoFlex Plus. Black and Royal Blue mostly. If it's a cold-peel vinyl, don't even think of peeling it until your shirt reaches room-temperature.

Like I said, we've done 50/50 blend sweatshirts, but for t-shirts we've only done 100% cotton.

jundogg · January 11th, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chani


	Ah...vinyl! We've done vinyl on 50/50 sweatshirts with no problem. What brand are you using? Most will do just fine on all cotton or poly (or blends) shirts. What you need to know with vinyl is if it's a cold-peel, hot-peel, or warm-peel. Sometimes even with hot- or cold-peel vinyls you still need to let it cool a little before peeling the backing off of your design. I've had this happen with a couple of different colors of ThermoFlex Plus. Black and Royal Blue mostly. If it's a cold-peel vinyl, don't even think of peeling it until your shirt reaches room-temperature. Like I said, we've done 50/50 blend sweatshirts, but for t-shirts we've only done 100% cotton.

if that's the case, how come my tests on 50/50 and 100% cotton with the same temp and time do not achieve same results?

the vinyl sits on cotton tightly, while it appeared to be half-baked on 50/50

Im not sure if this one is a cold, warm or hot peel. The distributor did not have it labeled. But, they said it's from the U.S.

by the way, i did hot peel for both garments. only the cotton shirt resulted better than the other.

any advise i could try?

thank you

SICK · January 11th, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by jundogg


	if that's the case, how come my tests on 50/50 and 100% cotton with the same temp and time do not achieve same results? the vinyl sits on cotton tightly, while it appeared to be half-baked on 50/50 Im not sure if this one is a cold, warm or hot peel. The distributor did not have it labeled. But, they said it's from the U.S. by the way, i did hot peel for both garments. only the cotton shirt resulted better than the other. any advise i could try? thank you

Use a hand iron on the highest setting with a lot pressure after applying with a heat press. It will firm the vinyl down. I had the same problem with a 15" x 15" cut on a 50/50 zippered hoodie. When I tried to remove the carrier the transfer came up with it in a few places before hand iron. I warm peeled it.

MotoskinGraphix · January 11th, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by SICK


	Use a hand iron on the highest setting with a lot pressure after applying with a heat press. It will firm the vinyl down. I had the same problem with a 15" x 15" cut on a 50/50 zippered hoodie. When I tried to remove the carrier the transfer came up with it in a few places before hand iron. I warm peeled it.

Why not just use the heat press and do a second press after the initial peel. That is what the machine does and will give you better results than using a hand iron.

SICK · January 11th, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by MotoskinGraphix


	Why not just use the heat press and do a second press after the initial peel. That is what the machine does and will give you better results than using a hand iron.

The iron works, seriously, I use it all the time if I see the transfer coming up with the carrier. Never have the problem with flock, it's always glitter and flex.

plan b · January 11th, 2008

Doug,, I would reccomend that you pre-press your shirt to eleminate any moisture in the shirt, then apply according to instructions, always make sure that the transfer material you are using can be applied to your poly/cotton shirt, it may be just a matter of excess moisture in the shirt.

Hope this helps

R.

miranda · January 27th, 2008

When I cut vinyl for signs, I use an application tape to transfer the decal to the sign. What sort of tape or paper do I use when transfering to the shirt so it can withstand the heat of the press? What is it called so I can order some?

Chani · January 27th, 2008

Actually, with t-shirt vinyl you cut in in reverse (mirrored), and leave it on it's carrier sheet. Then you press that (with the carrier sheet) directly onto your shirt, then peel. You don't need any additional transfer tape or anything like that.

If you're talking about protecting your shirts themselves, most can withstand the high temperaturs, but it IS possible to scorch some of them, especially reds. You'll just need to experiment before you offer your shirts.

miranda · January 27th, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chani


	Actually, with t-shirt vinyl you cut in in reverse (mirrored), and leave it on it's carrier sheet. Then you press that (with the carrier sheet) directly onto your shirt, then peel. You don't need any additional transfer tape or anything like that.

I was wondering about that since I hadn't read anything about buying something extra for that. That's great!!! One less thing for me to buy.

Thanks for your help.

Chani · January 27th, 2008

Yup, the side that you cut actually has the adhesive on it.

It's heat-activated, tho, so the vinyl isn't sticky when you're working with it (cutting and weeding).

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