[led graphics]

A newbie here, any help is appreciated. I am printing heat transfers and pressing with a 15x15 starter heat press with pretty good luck. Some of my transfers have been slightly crooked. Is there a way to properly line up the graphic on the shirt, prior to placing the shirt in the press, hold the ransfer in place with some sort of tape, then put the shirt with the transfer held in the right spot all in the press at the same time?

 

[mr300s]

a lot of folks use the T square it. I tried it and it just wasn't for me, a well made product though.

I found myself folding my shirts in half and pressing a center line, folding my transfers in half and making a center line align the two and press.

You could also buy a roll of heat press mug tape and use that. I have also used regular tape and held it up if it looks good lay it on the press careful remove the tape and press away good luck...

I must say I also bought the logo it and that I love and use all the time

 

[acetransco]

Hey, The New T-square, is much ez-yer to use than the older t-square's also they offer a pre-setup pad for setting up transfers, on a table, and then moving it to the press.
Just ask LOU, i saw him and the New products this last weekend, What a great product for new and seasoned t-shirt transfer printer's. ( Make's it EZ to train New Employee's)

I Think it is t-squareit.com

Regards, David

 

[led graphics]

is there a tape that can be used that you can leave on when you heat press the transfer?

 

[selanac]

The old transfer and sub people used Heat Tape. You can find it at places like Coastal Business Supplies. Look at the link above on the left.

Also, most new t-shirts have a crease on them anyways. If your transfers have a Straight Edge on top, use a ruler or level just under the collar, about 4 inches down. The bottom of the ruler or level, if you're holding it horizontally, should be 4 inches down.

Then with one of the score lines on the level or ruler, the line (vertical crease) on the t-shirt should match even though it's a short score.

I than make sure the t-shirt material hanging off the sides is equal all the way down.

After the t-shirt is straight and equal on both sides, put your tranfer on with the top edge against the Ruler or Level. If that is straight, and your t-shirt is straight you're good.

If you back up a little, you'll get a better view and will see if the transfer and t-shirt are straight.

I've done a zillion that way, and I first started with the T-SquareIt and it's worth every penny.

Just google T-square It and you'll find Lou's website. I believe it's www.tSquareIt.com I think it's under $50 shipped, and he also has U logo It or something like that for logos.

Where do you live, maybe someone can come over and help. A good cup of coffee, and a cookie will get you a bunch of help. Lol.

 

[vadan]

We use the fold and crease method as mentioned in earlier post. Works a charms on any part of tee. Only need to press 1 second.

 

[wormil]

You don't need tape or gimmicks, just find the centerline of the transfer, pinch the top and bottom then center on the neckline. Use your fingers to measure down from the neck. If it is an off center print then find another alignment point like the edge of the collar, etc. If you mess around with tape and gimmicks it will take forever if you have a good size order. The reason I take the time to find the centerline of the transfer is because they usually aren't centered on the paper.

 

[laz0924]

The tag on the neckline is usally the center of the shirt measure 3" down from the neckline on the front and 4" down on the back. works for me.

 

[binki]

t shirts are the hardest thing to center because the shirts are basically irregular from one to the next.

this might help,

pre press the shirt for a few seconds to flatten it out.

Then use a centerpoint ruler. that is 12 to 15 inches and have it touch the top seam on both sides at the end while centering on the neck line. This will make the ruler straight horizontal to the shirt.

For square designs or ones that have a straight line on top of the transfer or in the design you can get it straight to the shirt.

Now, our ruler is a cardboard one we got from one of the shows and it is 3" tall, perfect for the location of the transfer on front and back, down from the collar.

Also, as mentioned, you can use the t-square-it and big pad. We just started using these for our work. We have 3 big pads and 2 16x20 presses so we can stage work and move faster.

Notes:

• The tags are often not in the center
• We have gotten shirts that were already screen printed and were asked to add to them, normally names to numbered jerseys, and we find that screen printers are often off as much as 2.5 inches from center and often have over an inch float from top to bottom on the same size shirts. Point is, you are not alone.
• The shirts themselves may be irregular. We find the T's to be 0.5" off from one side to the next. Measure a few from the collar to the sleeve and you will see what I mean. Hoodies are the worst, I have seen those off up to 3" on pullovers with the muff pocket
• Make sure the shirt is straight on your platen. The big pad will help with that.
• Don't use tape, it will leave a mark on the garment
• Next time you are out, take some time to look what t's with graphics and you will see how many are off center and not straight.