[EngBulldog]

Re: one-liners

I bought a 15x15 National heat press on ebay a while back. Took forever to arrive and the seller didn't communicate until I threatened with bad feedback. I cooled down once the seller finally emailed and notified me of the shipping problems. The press came a few days later and was in great condition.........I think my total with shipping was around $300, a good deal but I know how you feel with frustrating ebay transactions.

Sorry to get off track and a quick question while I 'm posting. Can somebody break down vinyl transfers for me, I currently am doing mostly plastisol right now. I know about vinyl cutters, etc. but where does the ink come from and how is it applied. Probably a dumb question but I haven't heard much about the process. Take care

 

[Scrap-Boy]

Re: one-liners

Can somebody break down vinyl transfers for me, I currently am doing mostly plastisol right now. I know about vinyl cutters, etc. but where does the ink come from and how is it applied. Probably a dumb question but I haven't heard much about the process. Take care

...Tbay Eh ! ....... yep, turtle express is back in the freight business. LOL

Vinyl transfers our days is what it is...Vinyl type material, not ink.

 

[adcoffey]

Hi,
Vinyl heat transfers are gaining popularity for t-shirts and come in Therma-flex with 25 colors, flock which has a velvet feel, neon, reflective and there is printable too but requires the right ink and printer not ink jet. I have been hunting info on a vinyl cutter to do Jetwear for dark t-shirts and all I get feedback on is vinyl heat transfers. You can handcut or buy a vinyl cutter, peel the back and use a teflon sheet to heat press. There's lots of info on here, just do a search but I can't advise on a cutter as I am still up in the air on which to buy. Hope this helps a little.

 

[MotoskinGraphix]

Thermoflex plus (cad-cut heatpress vinyl) comes in a roll just like regular sign vinyl. Create your design in vector format...send it to the plotter. The vinyl is two ply and the plotter will cut all the lines in your vector art in only the top layer (the actual vinyl). You then just trim the cut design off the roll. Now you have to weed away all the areas of vinyl that dont belong in the design. If its lettering you have to manually remove the center of an O or an A and everything outside those letters as well. The second ply of the material is a mylar carrier paper that is very sticky basically to hold the design together. You really can rip the excess vinyl off literally and the backing will hold all your wanted design elements in place. Once the design is weeded you flip it so the vinyl is on the blank and the carrier is up. There is no peeling of a backing etc. Shirt on the press, flip the design and put it on the shirt. Remember the carrier is sticky so just lay it gently down until you get it where ya want it. Press the shirt at about 375-380 for 25-30 seconds medium to heavy pressure. Pull the shirt off the press and rub the mylar backing with a cloth and peel warm to cool. If you want to do a second press for 8-10 seconds to make sure everything is down tight, just put the shirt on the press design up, cover with a teflon sheet or craft paper, sign vinyl backing paper etc and repress. Sometimes I repress and sometimes I dont...makes the vinyl semi glossy and I like it flat. So what is heatpress design wise good for? Anything text based going on any colored shirt. Text comes out perfect and you can use very cool and intricate, delicate fonts. If your plotter can cut it you can press it. Any single or two color design that doesnt need blends or halftone effects (clip-art etc). Problems? Very time consuming weeding if doing large complicated design runs (remember weeding).

 

[StitchShoppe]

With a little practice you can even do multiple colors in the same design.

 

[hammered]

Re: one-liners

I bought a 15x15 National heat press on ebay a while back. Took forever to arrive and the seller didn't communicate until I threatened with bad feedback. I cooled down once the seller finally emailed and notified me of the shipping problems. The press came a few days later and was in great condition.........I think my total with shipping was around $300, a good deal but I know how you feel with frustrating ebay transactions.

E-bayer wouldnt have been Caselots Sportswear was it? Bad memories dealing with this bunch.
If youre looking for a Plotter/cutter, remember to not limit yourself in a machine smaller than what you can press. Roland, Graphictec and what I have, Designtech all make really good machines in all price ranges. Id suggest getting nothing smaller than a 15" cutter and if possible, find one with eyes.