Joined
·
190 Posts
Hi All,
I just got my first heat press, and supposedly heat press is meant to make this whole process easier, more consistent, etc.
I'm obviously doing something wrong as just about every shirt I do screws up, but then sometimes it works and I haven't changed a setting.
What seems to happen is that half of the ink gets left behind on the transfer, and what is transferred is "tacky", with little pieces on there (I am not sure if that makes sense - it's not "smooth", there's lumpy bits).
I've tried pressing longer, shorter, more pressure, less pressure. What is worrying me is that if you look at the temp guage on the heat press, it can fluctuate as much as 4 degrees C in the middle of a press as it maintains temp. Is that what's causing it? What is even more frustrating is it seems to be only on one particular type of garment.
I'm doing long sleeve women's T's fine, but when I try to press a s/s lap infant onesie is when I have problems. The onesies are a slightly thicker garment, and I'm wondering if all the fabric layers and folds are contributing to not getting even pressure, or something? Because when I then cut up a onesie and do tests on the fabric, I'm able to get better results? Which is also extremely frustrating because if you can only test reliably on a whole garment, you'll go through a whole lot before you find the right settings!
I've just wasted 5 of the things trying to fill an order and frankly I think I'm about to fill the order using a hand iron since I've just thrown $25AUD down the drain with the heat press, but long term, I do need to figure out what's wrong.
Any suggestions would be appreciated!!
Cheers,
Kath
I just got my first heat press, and supposedly heat press is meant to make this whole process easier, more consistent, etc.
I'm obviously doing something wrong as just about every shirt I do screws up, but then sometimes it works and I haven't changed a setting.
What seems to happen is that half of the ink gets left behind on the transfer, and what is transferred is "tacky", with little pieces on there (I am not sure if that makes sense - it's not "smooth", there's lumpy bits).
I've tried pressing longer, shorter, more pressure, less pressure. What is worrying me is that if you look at the temp guage on the heat press, it can fluctuate as much as 4 degrees C in the middle of a press as it maintains temp. Is that what's causing it? What is even more frustrating is it seems to be only on one particular type of garment.
I'm doing long sleeve women's T's fine, but when I try to press a s/s lap infant onesie is when I have problems. The onesies are a slightly thicker garment, and I'm wondering if all the fabric layers and folds are contributing to not getting even pressure, or something? Because when I then cut up a onesie and do tests on the fabric, I'm able to get better results? Which is also extremely frustrating because if you can only test reliably on a whole garment, you'll go through a whole lot before you find the right settings!
I've just wasted 5 of the things trying to fill an order and frankly I think I'm about to fill the order using a hand iron since I've just thrown $25AUD down the drain with the heat press, but long term, I do need to figure out what's wrong.
Any suggestions would be appreciated!!
Cheers,
Kath