[chameleonNZ]

I have read through the other threads and i can see there are a lot of different opinions on using a heat press for curing Plastisol..

I would like to hear from people who do it successfully and HOW they do it.

Thankyou for any advice!!

 

[marcelolopez]

I tried a couple of times, before buying a flash dryer.
With a heat gun you dry the ink, so it will be non sticky to the touch. Then cover it with a teflon sheet and heat press it.
The print looks glossy, which sometimes is a nice effect, and sometimes it's not.

 

[veedub3]

A plastisol heat transfer is not fully cured until it is heat press onto a shirt.

What I think you are referring to is when you gel the ink after screen printing the design. (This is when you are able to touch it and it feels slightly tacky) Yes I have tried a heat gun, the flash dryer, and even the heat press slightly open (seen this method on you tube), and all of these methods were very inconsistent. Every now and then I would produce a really good transfer this way but more often than not the transfers were over curred and would not adhere to the shirt properly. Because I would be doing these for clients, I just couldn't risk this so I would suggest a conveyor dryer which I feel is the best way to produce quality plastisol heat transfers.

The heat gun was very bad and a huge waste of time and material. The finished product never adhered to the shirt properly.

With the flash dryer the temperature fluctuates often and for a quality plastiol transfer I feel you need even and consistent temperature for the transfer to be worth the paper it is printed on.


Just my 2 cents.

veedub3

 

[marcelolopez]

Yes I meant to dry, not to cure the ink.
And you can cure with it a heat press, as long as you maintain the temp and time required.
I tested it on one of my first screen printed t-shirts, which I didn't sell, but use it myself, and many washer after, it still looks good.

 

[chameleonNZ]

Yes I meant to dry, not to cure the ink.
And you can cure with it a heat press, as long as you maintain the temp and time required.
I tested it on one of my first screen printed t-shirts, which I didn't sell, but use it myself, and many washer after, it still looks good.

Can you tell me exactly how you did it please...

 

[marcelolopez]

After you printed (screen printed ) the t-shirt, you use the heat gun the start the curing process with it. But just pass it over the plastisol enough time to dry the ink. When it is dry to the touch, then heat press it.

 

[chameleonNZ]

Sorry for all the silly questions...

Do you put something inbetween the shirt and the press and pull it right down or have the press a inch or so away????

What temp and time do you use??

Thanks for your help.

 

[marcelolopez]

Then cover it with a teflon sheet and heat press it.

Temp about 320F, 30 second, medium press.

 

[chameleonNZ]

Thanks heaps.

My telfon 'sheet' i have came with the press and is approx 1cm thick. Is this what you are talking about? Or is there a thiner type?

 

[hendog]

i put a teflon sheet over the shirt and press with light pressure for 30 seconds 320 degrees then check teflon sheet make sure theres no ink residue left on sheet, if there is i wipe it off with damp cloth with windex, then repeat process, once i start doing more volume i'll invest in a flash unit, but this works fine for now.

 

[knifemaker3]

I had some troubles the other day on a design that was approx. 13x16 curing it with a flash dryer. I had to cure part of it and then cure the rest in order to get it to properly cure.

I made some hat transfers right after that and thought I'd experiment with using the heat press to fully cure. I direct printed the transfer design on a scrap shirt, placed it on my heat press with transfer paper sheet over it, and pressed at 375 for 10 seconds. Perfect cure.

The only thing I would do different is to gel the ink before moving the shirt to the heat press so that you don't get smears and use a teflon sheet instead to reduce cost.

This ain't rocket science. It's no different than making a plastisol transfer and heat pressing it on. Still the same quality, just a lot slower than using a regular conveyor dryer. When I can afford one, I will definetely buy a conveyor but until then will keep using the heat press to cure.

Good Luck!!!!!