[BigDon]

I am just now beginning to delve into DS and have run into a problem I am trusting someone with more experience than I can help resolve.

I have just pressed my first two performance polos (for myself, fortunately!) and they both are ruined!

I set my press for 400-F and time for 45 seconds, just as the manufacturer of the paper suggested. I placed a 3/8 in. piece of silicone (?) foam pad beneath the transfer, making sure it was smaller than the piece of paper and the edges were beveled. Put the shirt into the press and used moderate pressure for 45 seconds.

When I took the shirt out, the area beneath the transfer had just begun to melt in the outline of the foam pad, leaving a "shiny, bald" spot where the transfer was located.

The transfer itself looks wonderful, bright and clear! But, I cannot wear these shirts out in public as an advertisement of my work - wouldn't get much paying work that way.

Any suggestions? Maybe the pressure was too much??? Shorten the dwell time???

I believe the temperature was pretty much spot on, because the fabric did not scorch, just started to melt ever so slightly, but enough to be very noticeable!

Thanks for your suggestions,

 

[jpkevin]

If the material started to melt, then you temperature is too high.

 

[BigDon]

If the material started to melt, then you temperature is too high.

Kevin,

I don't know if I would say "melting" in the truest sense of the word...it is leaving a shiny spot where my foam pad is under the logo. So, I guess you could say it IS melting, although I can still see the pattern in the material.

Could it be the foam pad I am using is TOO dense/hard??

 

[jpkevin]

If it has the sheen, then it is getting very close to the melt point. Lower your temp on the heat press until it sublimates without the sheen.

 

[BigDon]

If it has the sheen, then it is getting very close to the melt point. Lower your temp on the heat press until it sublimates without the sheen.

OK, I'll give it a try... Anything else: Pressure?, Time?

 

[DKgrafix]

A picture tells a thousand words!!!!
Post a pic of what you are talking about

 

[jpkevin]

You are right in the ball park on time. You should use light pressure.

 

[BigDon]

OK. I have tried everything I can think of... I have lowered the temp on my press to 325-F with light pressure, and still the marks. Here are some pics:

I am PULLING my hair out! I started with the paper manuf. recommendations and it was too hot, so I lowered the temp by 50 degrees and it was still too hot. I changed the pressure, I changed the dwell time. I even shut the press off and let it cool to room temp and started back at 300-F degrees and there are still marks on the shirt! I tried to sublimate at 325-F and the image transferred was faint (about 50% I'd say...) so I bumped the temp and the transfer was better, but the shirt still marked.

 

[skdave]

Where does your shirt say 100 Polyester?

 

[uncletee]

lose the pad, then the whole shirt will take the heat., lower temp alittle. You might want to cut up the bad shirts into squares and play with time a temps. performance shirts are tough to get right. good luck uncletee.

 

[BigDon]

Where does your shirt say 100 Polyester?

On the product description tag...

 

[BigDon]

lose the pad, then the whole shirt will take the heat., lower temp alittle.

I added the pad because the first press I did (photo above at 400-F) left the paper outline as well as some melting around the seams and button flaps where they were in contact with the press platen. Raising the shirt with the pad alleviated those problems, but did nothing for any of the rest!

You might want to cut up the bad shirts into squares and play with time a temps. performance shirts are tough to get right. good luck uncletee.

I haven't "cut" the shirt, but I DO have about 25 different spots ALL OVER the shirt where I have pressed with various times, temps, pressure, right handed, left handed, tongue sticking out, scratching various parts of my anatomy, etc... so I don't plan to waste the shirt without getting a LOT of use from it first!!!

 

[DKgrafix]

I do not think that you can do anything about it.
The shirt has a certain thickness before it is pressed, after you apply the heat and pressure, you flatten the fibers and "push" the material in a bit.

Try washing the shirt, some of that will get better.

BTW, lose the stroke around the initials. It is too thin, it just look like a mistake, like you forgot to delete it. Or make it thicker

 

[BigDon]

I do not think that you can do anything about it.
The shirt has a certain thickness before it is pressed, after you apply the heat and pressure, you flatten the fibers and "push" the material in a bit.

Try washing the shirt, some of that will get better.

BTW, lose the stroke around the initials. It is too thin, it just look like a mistake, like you forgot to delete it. Or make it thicker

Thanks Dennis. I have washed and dried the shirt since then and it did not improve, if it did it was only marginally...

Thanks for the tip as well, I wanted to hi-lite the larger letters, but it looked better on screen than it did on the shirt! At the time, I was more concerned with how I could get this pressed than how the letters looked, but I see your point after looking at the letters instead of the mistakes!!