Discuss the various aspects of heat pressed vinyl transfers. Popular and new types of vinyl media, suppliers, vinyl cutters /plotters, press times, quality, how to instructions and more can be found in this heat press sub forum.
I'm a new memebr so my apologies if my question has been answered before. We currently do direct to garment printing (T-Jet) but are now experimenting with laser heat transfers. We do a significant amount of our printing on black - so we're testing opaque paper. Our designs can get detailed and we do use various font styles, some of which are fine lined and cursive, and printed in white.
I've been doing some research on the Roland GX-24 Vinyl Cutter but can't get any information on how detailed the cutting can get. Does any one currently use this cutter and if so how detailed can the output get? Here's a typical design example.
Last edited by blymer; July 4th, 2007 at 02:37 PM.
Reason: grammar
That logo would work great on the Roland.
What you want to avoid is lots of small lettering or small cuts that would drive you crazy weeding. Some fonts like 'Cracked' need to be a few inches tall because of all the little pieces in each letter.
I also try to keep the lines thicker than 2pts. The thinner lines don't seem to stand up after repeated washings. They will crack or start to come off with the T-shirt fuzz in the wash.
The cut vinyl works great for small runs or unique garments like team jerseys. If you plan on 12 or more of the same design, screen printing is a better choice. (saves time and material costs)
The Roland will cut smaller pieces than you want to use with T-shirt vinyl.
Thanks for the replies. In most cases we'll be using opaque heat transfers. I've found that I can leave the fine "black" lines as part of the print rather than weeding.
Two questions:
1. Have either of you used heat transfer opaque papers in the Roland? If so, what brands?
2. Regarding transfer to the garment - what techniques do you use to line up a number of individual pieces into a complete final print?
The above is just an example and nowhere near approaches the detail the Roland is capable of.
The roland has a mechanical resolution of .0005" (no, not a typo), so the limitations aren't in the detail that you can cut, but in what kind of detail you are willing or capable of weeding and how small you can go before the vinyl adhesive will not bond with the fibers of the shirt you are applying it to...
For example, your flaming skull design and text above would be a cakewalk to cut and weed from Thermoflex even if cut as a 2.5" left chest design.
Quote:
Originally Posted by blymer
1. Have either of you used heat transfer opaque papers in the Roland? If so, what brands?
I prefer to cut my transfers from Thermoflex colored vinyl rolls. Printed transfers of any kind have a poor feel, look, and durability (I know many here use them, so this is simply my own honest opinion).
Quote:
Originally Posted by blymer
2. Regarding transfer to the garment - what techniques do you use to line up a number of individual pieces into a complete final print?
A steady hand and a good eye for detail (micrometer-like eyeballs ). I'll use a steel ruler from time to time for centering (particularly on very large shirts or when a design has a long straight edge that runs horizontally or vertically as those are the most obvious if you are off a bit).
Last edited by gothicaleigh; July 5th, 2007 at 07:37 AM.
The two brands that I have the most experience with are Image Jet Lite II (light transfer paper - has a red grid on the back of the paper) and Image Jet Dark II (dark transfer paper - has a blue grid on the back of the paper). Both work pretty well doing print-cut with a Roland GX-24.
When doing separate pieces (i.e. individual letters), look at using a transfer mask. It is a special type of masking tape that will allow you to pick the transfer off the transfer backing page, move it to the shirt, press it and then take the transfer mask off without affecting the design. Do a search in this forum and you can see more information about this. Some people have called it Magic Mask, but it seems like others refer to a different product named the same thing. I know that The Paper Ranch sells the transfer mask. Call them and they can give you more details. Best wishes.
Many thanks to all who have replied. You've answered my questions and then some. I contacted a Roland supplier - CoastalBusiness.com - and they ran sample cuts for me using some example designs on opaque transfer and then unrequested, on vinyl. They're in the mail right now. I'll post the results once they arrive.
You have a DTG printer and you're now opting to use the lowest quality method available, opaque transfers? Am I missing something here?
Don't mix highly technical with high quality. There is no correlation. The TJet is unpredictable, requires constant maintenance, wastes materials (inks and shirts), and requires a messy pre-treatment to print on black. We need to provide customized and personalized designs, quickly, and at an "acceptable" quality. The medium, the method, and more importantly, the actual design, will determine the quality IMHO.
Don't mix highly technical with high quality. There is no correlation. The TJet is unpredictable, requires constant maintenance, wastes materials (inks and shirts), and requires a messy pre-treatment to print on black. We need to provide customized and personalized designs, quickly, and at an "acceptable" quality. The medium, the method, and more importantly, the actual design, will determine the quality IMHO.
I wasn't trying to say that DTG was the epitome of quality (screen printing is going to be better), but opaque transfers are generally considered the lowest quality method available (and some, including myself, don't think they're worth using at all). I think that this is pretty telling. The fact that someone that already OWNS a T-jet would actuality switch to opaque transfers says a lot about the T-jet. I knew there were problems with the DTG printers and dark shirts, but I never would've expected someone to favor opaques.
Roland GX-24 Vinyl Cutter 
). I'll use a steel ruler from time to time for centering (particularly on very large shirts or when a design has a long straight edge that runs horizontally or vertically as those are the most obvious if you are off a bit).
