[no1viking]

I read some stuff about this awhile back. Can anyone tell me the best way to eliminate the shine from heat and pressure on thin Poly sublimated shirts. Can it even be done?

Thanks

 

[D.Evo.]

What garments are you pressing? White or coloured? What are the settings you are using for pressing?

The pressure could be too high. I usually press t-shirts on light to medium pressure and don't have issues with shine.

Also a good idea to check if your heatpress is warming up to the right temperature - there are digital thermometers for this purpose - sometimes what is says on temp. indicator may not be quite true - it could be hotter or colder than you think it is.


Some coloured garments are more prone to shine than others.

 

[no1viking]

What garments are you pressing? White or coloured? What are the settings you are using for pressing?

I will be pressing Sporteck 3.8 oz competitor t's 100% poly. I dont know the pressure or temp because I havent done it yet. I did research on here and I have purchased the vapor foam sponge. I was just tryin to find out if anyone else has been successful and if so what they were doong. Thanks for your post.

 

[dazzabling]

What are you pressing them with? Teflon Sheet or Parchment Paper?

 

[no1viking]

What are you pressing them with? Teflon Sheet or Parchment Paper?

teflon sheet and vapor sponge. I think that will take care of the lines but Im more worried about the shine on the poly from the heat and pressure. Any experience with that?

 

[dazzabling]

Teflon Sheet tends to bring out the shine in any heat pressed item. You can try parchment paper or textured Teflon sheets these lessen the shine.

 

[D.Evo.]

What garments are you pressing? White or coloured? What are the settings you are using for pressing?

I will be pressing Sporteck 3.8 oz competitor t's 100% poly. I dont know the pressure or temp because I havent done it yet. I did research on here and I have purchased the vapor foam sponge. I was just tryin to find out if anyone else has been successful and if so what they were doong. Thanks for your post.

So, you haven't pressed any of these shirts yet, but you are expecting them to look shiny after perssing?

There are different types of polyester fabric with different weave, dencity, texture etc - they will behaive differently when pressed.

The best thing to do - get some synthetic fabrics to test print and play around with settings: get different polyester fabrics from your local fabric store, off-cuts from a seamstress (if you know one), garments from second-hand store etc.

If you use light to medium pressure, temp about 200C for 45-60 sec. you shouldn't have problems with shine on most fabrics.

Lycra and Spandex-rich fabrics will shrink when pressed. It's best to pre-shrink them before applying a transfer and use tacky spray or tacky paper.

Textured fabrics like sports mesh, honey-comb weave, waffle-weave, micro rib etc are the trickiest (from my point of view): if the pressure is too heavy - you will flatten the texture of the fabric; if the pressure is too light - the ink will start bleeding in all directions into all the groves, gaps and recesses in the weave. You'll have to do some experimenting to find out optimal settings that work for you. Write them down and next time you are dealing with the same type of fabric you'll have a refference point.

If you are using foam to raise the area of the shirt that will have a design on it - theoretically, you may not even need to cover the rest of the shirt with anything because only pressing area will be in contact with platen and it's already covered with transfer. However, to reduce the risk of any kind of contamination from heat platten most people use butcher's paper, parchment paper or teflon sheets. If you are going to use teflon - wipe it often.

 

[no1viking]

Thanks Tania and everyone for the input, I will do some experimenting, I will post my results.

Thanks again

 

[cutter II]

I have pretty good luck with white tissue paper. The kind like you use in gift wrapping. Its like 3 or 4 bucks for a hundred sheets.

 

[no1viking]

I read some stuff about this awhile back. Can anyone tell me the best way to eliminate the shine from heat and pressure on thin Poly sublimated shirts. Can it even be done?

Thanks

Mission accomplished, the vapo foam kit took care of the lines. I experimented with pressure and heat and heres the bottom line that worked to eliminate shine. 340 degrees, for 100 seconds with platen resting on shirt no additional pressure. The extra time is needed for good color transfer. Thanks everyone for your input.