thinking about doing some tshirts but need some up to date info. any good books on the subject. gene
Posted by Checkers (Member # 63) on :
Hiya Gene, I don't know of any books but most printer companies like HP or Cannon offer some sort of heat transfer paper that is compatible with their printers. A trip to the office suply store & you should find what you need. Also check out http://www.hanes2u.com/ Havin' fun, Checkers
Posted by Larry Presnell (Member # 265) on :
All I can say is to stay away from, nothing but trouble. Sublimation for light colors. Larry
Posted by John Thompson (Member # 2750) on :
You can't get a really good transfer from any local store. They are all cold peel and as sorry as it gets. For professional results, you will have to get a HOT PEEL ink jet transfer paper. Epson printers (not the $99 ones) have the best ink other than a laser jet. They use Archival, pigment based inks with a strong resitance to water. They will fade if cared for poorly as will laser jets also. I don't do sublimation because of the price of the tees(hanes as far as I know are the only ones who a synthetic shirt(sublimation must be done on a 100* poly shirt) with a cotton back, that feels like a real tee. They are way too expensive to make money off of. Also, when getting a printer, stick with an 11X17 and you will be a lot happier. Here are a couple of links to comapnies we use for transfer stuff http://www.transferworld.com/ and http://www.proworld.net/ both are reliable and cheap on prices. Pro world also has opaque paper so you can print on colors. The next best option is if you have a thermalk wax printer (Gerber Edge, Roland PC 600) you can do long lasting trasfers with them.
Posted by Glenn Taylor (Member # 162) on :
Gene,
Inkjet heat transfers are definately for short promotional stuff. If you do them for a client, they need to be made aware that they will begin to crack and fail after a few washes. Putting them in the dryer will speed up the failure.
Another option is to use sublimation. These will last much longer and feel softer. But, there's a catch. You have to use a specific type of fabric. For T-shirts, Hanes Soft'Link works great for this. The fabric feels a bit wierd. The polyester is on the outside of the shirt and the cotton is on the inside.
Also, once you use the special sublimation ink, you cannot switch your printer back to the regular ink. You risk screwing up the printhead if you do.
On the plus side, you'll be able to use the prints on other specialty advertising stuff like clipboards, plates, and sign panels.
