As Colin points out, conveyor dryers are much more consistent...while they can be an investment they are often a worthy one that pay off quickly. We've got equipment deals running right now and Riley Cure is on sale: scrnprntl.ink/RileyCureConveyor We've got great payment options too!
I totally understand drying the paper in the dryer is BEST but what is a good alternative? Hoover the heat press over it? Small heater and a box to make a dryer? Heat gun, just close (6-10in away) enough to feel the heat? Just a girl that likes art & crafts
If you can keep the stack of transfer paper in a super dry environment you will be ahead of the curve for sure. Once you pull them out - they will start to soak up moisture from the air around them - usually this is not much, but it depends on your work space. In the south this could happen quickly, in Arizona it would take a while. Putting them under the heat press, flash unit or carefully hitting them with a heat gun will help remove any moisture pick up if they have been sitting out for a while. Now, is all of this necessary for single color transfers? Sort of - when going through the gel stage we don't want the paper to warp, clearly. So use your best judgement.
What is the main difference between this plastisol transfer compared to printing the design straight on the garment? I mean You pre heated the paper then screenprinted on it. then powder.. then again heated it and then heat pressed it.. What makes this better compared to just printing on the tshirt straightaway?
I've printed transfers before and the main reason for printing them is to store them for future use. It comes in handy for on-demand printing. No long setup on press and no cleanup as with plastisol. As far as the quality difference goes, I would compare the transfers on the tshirts to that of heat pressing your tshirts after you directly print to them from the manual screen printing press. Although not as soft. My observation has been that its a bit rougher texture feel on the garment with the transfers. That may be due to the inks used and pressing times and also the transfer powder since they are different grades of powder such as fine and coarse. It's really trial and error. Hope this helps.
Mr. T and Devon said it really well. I primarily used transfers for Neck Labels at the last shop I worked at. I know a lot of printers are using them for on site decorations - also for difficult to decorate substrates like double ply shorts (rarely decorated item so they had no platen hold down.)
Hi Colin! Great video! You said it doesnt want the same wash longevity as direct screen printing. I understand the process of plastisol transfers but why is that?
It's best to press them right away as it's tough to stack them for later and not lose any adhesive powder. For storing for up to a few days, coat your printed paper with powder then gel cure and layer wax paper on top of your coated print. Store in the driest space available! Keep it cool and dry and it should be good for a few days or even longer, just do some testing!
So when you talked about the amount of pressure to use. So that i understand how much pressure that is exactly. Can you rate the pressure out of 5, 1 being surface pressure and 5 being max pressure. Appreciate it in advance
You want enough pressure to gently push the adhesive and ink into contact with the fabric. There will be a minimum amount of pressure needed to get full contact so everything melts (powder) and cures (ink) together onto the fabric. We go with a 5 on average on a scale of 1-10 that the press uses.
Hi @J P ! there may be clear plastisol transfer sheets out there in the market. I've never seen or used them though. I would venture to say anything that would make a clear sheet, may have some shift and flex in the heat of curing.... Sorry, i don't have abetter answer on this.
Hi Jason. Yes, you will want your image to be printed in reverse on your film. That way when you expose your screen, you get no light undercutting and fuzzy edges on your stencil. I will usually mirror the design in illustrator so there is zero confusion - what you see is what you get - when you print your films.
@@colinhuggins6164 Awesome. Thank you. I figured that is the right way. Just wanted to make sure. Thinking about going this route for some sleeve flags since I don't have a sleeve platten and only a 1 station press. Seems like it would be the best/easiest way...That or just order a bunch from a company, but what is the fun of that! Lol
@@jasonpetrillo216 Doing transfers for odd placements is a great idea. Especially if you can use them later on another job, which it sounds like you could with these flags!
Great question! Ideally you'll be able to pick up a conveyor dryer at some point for the most efficient way to cure your prints but you can also use a heat press or a heat gun for now. It takes a long time and I would highly recommend using a low-cure ink or low-cure additive. What inks are you using?
I have a question. I was looking into using transfers for hats which would allow me to put multiple images on different locations on one hat. My question is would I still need to use the powder and gel the plastisol if I am doing a run and soon as i press my partner is cutting it out and pressing it? Thanks and advance.
That is a very good question. If you were to take a wet transfer and heat press it (no powder), the ink will have a good chance to push into the hat or get mushy. Either way, your transfer will not take on the look you want. If you have the opportunity, give it a shot so you know what it looks like! The powder is there specifically to act like a glue to hold the ink to the fabric. I will recommend using the adhesive powder and at the VERY least, giving the ink a quick flash dry before your partner presses it. As always, test test test to make sure you are doing what works best for you in your shop and creates a durable product.
very similar to how you do posters with both paper line up and gel - You end up printing the paper multiple times and running it through the dryer to gel each color. If you flash in between colors - then you have issues with your paper (mis-registration) and inconsistent gel.
plastisol transfer will be very soft and smooth to the touch (the type of ink you use will change how soft this is) . It does not have the same wash longevity as direct screenprinting.
Hey Jeff, yes for the most part you would leave it close to the same. However, sweats and blends with poly will heat up quicker that majority cotton garments. So you may change slightly for that. For the most part the time, temp and pressure will hinge off he ink being used and what's needed to get full cure and good adhesion. Hope that helps. Happy printing!
Hi Colin! Great video! You said it doesnt want the same wash longevity as direct screen printing. I understand the process of plastisol transfers but why is that?
The plastisol ink does not bond directly to the fabric. We are using the powdered glue to do the heavy lifting of long term adhesion of the ink to the fabric. As a result, the washability will be reduced long term.
It definitely applies. You still need the screen to snap back off the paper, just like on a t shirt. The actual distance may be different for paper though. Test to ensure your set up is optimal.
If you know you are printing more shirts with like neck labels over time then you can print a lot of labels at once, store them and when you need them you just get them out and use a heat press to press them on. The same with normale designs. If you have a customer that is regular and you know they will come back in the future, this will take a lot of time of your heads for printing. Ring ring; jo dude i need some more shirts… right got ya bro… zip zap heatpress and you got some new shirts in 1/3 of the time
Hello there! Great question. I see that Tristano also had a good comment about this.. There are a lot of printers out there who go to shows or events and dont want to bring their entire screen printing set up. They will print a bunch of transfers and then all they need to bring to the event is the transfers and a heat press! Hope this helps and answers your question. Thanks Ryonet Team
I dont have a specific dryer speed to suggest, but the goal of putting it through a dryer or under a flash is to just gel the ink, not fully cure it. Hope this helps and answers your question. Thanks Ryonet Team
Hi @CrackShot Screenprinting. i'm kind of assuming that you are referring to the powder used in DTF. I actually have been asked this before. Yes, is broadstroke answer, but there are a few different adhesion powders out there. Fine, coarse, etc... So you would need to test and confirm what works best for the application. hope that helps.
Hey, happy Friday Sandra! We offer a product called "Transal Premium Hot Peel Transfer paper" it's perfect for doing plastisol transfers. www.screenprinting.com/products/transal-premium-hot-peel-transfer-paper?variant=5214254268457 Hope this helps!