[klclewis]

Hi gang! The title says it all -- how appropriate is 100% polyester for inkjet transfer, provided that the product doesn't give warnings against 365 degrees of heat? The reason I ask is that I ordered some tote and beach bags from S&S yesterday, and didn't pay enough attention to the product descriptions. I thought I was ordering canvas, and neither of the products are -- they are polyester. The "Promotional Tote Bags" (I got a dozen) plainly say on the label not to heat above 265 degrees, so they are clearly inappropriate. The beach bags have no such warning, though. So can I apply inkjet transfers to them, and if so, what temperature and time should I use?

I know -- I expect a lot of information for my $.25.

 

[photodiver]

It should not be a problem to heat it to that temp. When I did dye-sub we would heat them to 400. Try one and see. We would imprint them at 360 for 15 sec.

Hope this helps.

 

[klclewis]

Thanks, Dave. I'll give it a try. I was very concerned about having melted polyester all over the place.

 

[MarkSD]

Thanks, Dave. I'll give it a try. I was very concerned about having melted polyester all over the place.

Post your results. I've seen those bags at S&S and have a customer that is interested in them.

Mark in SD

 

[Twinge]

Poleyster shouldn't have a problem with melting in most cases, but definitely avoid nylon and silk.

 

[klclewis]

Update on the Beach Bags experiment:

Yes, it does work. The bags have a pocket on one side, and a seam centered on the opposite side, which makes design position a little tricky. There's about 12 inches between the pocket and the seam, both sides, and about 14 inches from top to bottom of the printable area. Including the pocket, this divides the bag into three printable areas, the pocket being smaller than the other two. Also you cannot use a large (15x15) platen for these bags, since the material wants to bunch up and wrinkle at the bottom of the bag. Best solution is to use a design which will center on the pocket, or between the pocket and the seam (this makes for an off-center placement, which may or may not be important to you). An additional platen (homemade) about an inch thick, placed inside the bag, should allow decent printing. At 375 and 15 seconds I had a good transfer wherever the bag didn't wrinkle on me. But I hadn't put a special platen inside the bag, there were several wrinkles and the two sides tried to become one. I peeled them apart, with no damage, but the material was noticeably smoother where it had been pressed. Cutting back the heat to 365 will be my next experiment, but also with the additional platen.

 

[Reyes]

hi, what temp did you use to heat press a inkjet transfer on to 100% poly???