[PLASTISOL TRANSFERS] - a review of 8 different custom plastisol transfer screen printers - samples followup
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This section of the forum is where Rodney, a die hard screen printing fan, journeys into the world of heat press and heat transfers. Coming from the perspective of a complete heat press newbie making t-shirts for the first time. Jump right in :)
[PLASTISOL TRANSFERS] - a review of 8 different custom plastisol transfer screen printers - samples followup
Re: a review of 8 different custom plastisol transfer screen printers - samples followup
After using the information Rodney provided I thought I'd add in my 2˘
Transfer Express: Their transfers peel like butter. So, so good. They're also pretty quick on the turnaround. The downside? They're pricey.
First-Edition: Their transfers were a little trickier, but once I spoke with Janet and got what I needed to make the best transfers (a teflon sheet to put over the transfer), all my transfers print perfectly. Their pricing is very competitive, and their support is top notch. The only downside is turnaround. It's usually about a week.
Boo-Z Wearhouse: I saw this one advertised here and was intrigued by their low prices so I ordered a test run. After two weeks of missed deadlines and poor communication, I finally asked to have my order cancelled. I then found out it was shipped a few days prior (I didn't get a tracking number or confirmation of this) and that it was sitting at UPS (the address on it was wrong).
After picking up the package, I was disappointed to see the packaging they used which was ill-suited for transfers (plastic bags don't protect from bends and tears and is more likely to overheat). Once I got he package home, I was pretty disgusted to see a good portion of the transfers were torn, many of them were missing ink in places, and one of them were outright BURNED as if someone left it on a press too long. Half of the transfers were stuck together (no doubt from the heat softening the ink), and there were no transfer instructions.
*edit*
I went and found a few sheets that were relatively clean, dusted them off and scraped excess ink. Then I found a thread here that mentions someone used 400 degrees as the settings for 10 seconds. Tried that out, and while I did get stray ink on the shirt (must've missed some on the sheet), the transfer actually peeled very nicely. The black could've used a double-print, but other than that, I have to say that the actual outcome (stray ink aside) was pretty good.
It's a shame, it seems like it's a good product. I'm going to see which of the sheets I can salvage.
Last edited by IdleMedia : May 31st, 2007 at 10:17 AM.
Re: a review of 8 different custom plastisol transfer screen printers - samples followup
Request new transfers to replace the botched ones. If it's their fault (which is pretty obviously is in this case), they should replace 'em until you get what you paid for.
I've had some transfers that rubbed off part of the design in shipping (on about half of the 24 pack) from Silver Mountain once (when I was still using them); they sent replacements for the 11 odd DOA right away.
Re: a review of 8 different custom plastisol transfer screen printers - samples followup
Yeah, I'll update this thread, but Bill from Booz has offered to replace the defective ones. I'm going to take him up on the offer because like I said, I was pleasantly surprised at how well they printed
Re: a review of 8 different custom plastisol transfer screen printers - samples followup
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gusto
So i was wondering if any of these companies offer any transfers with glow in the dark paint?
I think all the mentioned companies can make you glow in the dark plastisol transfers.
From what I know, it is a glow in the dark clear base that is added to ONE of the colors in the graphic. I say one of the colors because usually that's what is asked for and easy to do with 2-3-4-5-6 etc color jobs.
After the base is added, that color (yellow lets say), in the day time looks a little faded, but at night it will look like yellow...sort of speak.
Re: a review of 8 different custom plastisol transfer screen printers - samples followup
Hey Rodney,
Yours is a terrific post that I've read and re-read several times already. After much confusion I saw something in your test results that screwed my brain even more.
You showed a transfer with the parrots that looked almost like a photograph (the kind of transfer that you'd expect to get from inkjet or laserjet transfers). Is that actually a plastisol transfer? Are these more expensive than the other multi-color plastisol transfers? Do they originate from bitmapped files?
Sorry for all the questions but I'm brand spanking new to transfers and trying to fully understand their potential.
Re: a review of 8 different custom plastisol transfer screen printers - samples followup
Quote:
You showed a transfer with the parrots that looked almost like a photograph (the kind of transfer that you'd expect to get from inkjet or laserjet transfers). Is that actually a plastisol transfer? Are these more expensive than the other multi-color plastisol transfers? Do they originate from bitmapped files?
You know, that's a good question. From what I understand, it was a plastisol transfer.
I think the little graphic next to the image means that that particular design is a 4 color process (screen printed) plastisol transfer which will only work on white t-shirts.
Re: a review of 8 different custom plastisol transfer screen printers - samples followup
Quote:
You know, that's a good question. From what I understand, it was a plastisol transfer.
Yes, it is plastisol. I spoke yesterday to a guy from Dowling and he confirmed that the parrot design was a 4 color process. I didn't even think to ask if only white shirts would work.
In case you're interested, he told me that to get such a transfer made required a 300dpi JPEG so you could go straight from Photoshop to your email with very little effort.
I'm excited at the potential that plastisol offers.
Re: a review of 8 different custom plastisol transfer screen printers - samples followup
I owe a thanks to Rodney. I received samples from some of the companies mentioned with different results. But I ordered from FM Expressions simply based on your review. Never asked them for samples. Two jobs to do. First 192 shirts - second was 70. Zach at FM is a pleasure to do business with. Turn around was quick, the transfers worked perfectly, and the price is very competitive. Thanks Rodney for doing my homework!
Re: a review of 8 different custom plastisol transfer screen printers - samples followup
Thanx for this thread Rodney it really helped me out alot with understanding plastisol transfers. I'm going to reach out to these companys as well and do some testing myself. I'm also new to the biz and have found myself testing alot of pressure and temperature settings to get the shirts right. Thanx again.
This is a discussion about [PLASTISOL TRANSFERS] - a review of 8 different custom plastisol transfer screen printers - samples followup that was posted in the T-Shirt Crossover - diary of a heat press newbie section of the forums.
Re: a review of 8 different custom plastisol transfer screen printers - samples followup 
