Your Guide to Heat Transfer Printing

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Your Guide to Heat Transfer Printing

• PRINTING

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• What is heat transfer printing, and how is it
  done? Read to find out!

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What Is Heat Transfer Printing?

• Heat-transfer printing, also known as thermal-wax
  transfer, thermal printing, or thermal-transfer
  printing, utilises heat to transmit an image on
  an object from wax. Heat press printing
  techniques work with images that are preprinted
  on a single wax sheet or create
  printed-on-the-fly images produced by layering
  wax dye on the object. Heat transfer printing on
  fabric can substitute or supplement alternative
  methods of printing.

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What Equipment Supplies Do You Need?

• Heres what you need to pull off a successful
  digital heat transfer to apply a logo on your
  desired product via heat transfer printing
• A Computer
• You need a computer with graphic design software
  to make your custom design to print it for heat
  transfer.
• A Heat Transfer Printer
• The printer you will need for heat press
  applications will be larger than the printer you
  use normally, by a fair margin, to print larger
  designs. Besides, heat transfer printer work just
  like normal inkjet printers, they just need a
  different ink and special transfer paper.
• Heat Transfer Ink
• Heat transfer printing uses different types of
  inks to achieve different types of finishes.
  Inkjet, however, is the most commonly used ink
  because it is the most easily accessible and the
  most affordable. You can also use pigment ink for
  fade resistance or opt for sublimation ink when
  indulging in dye sublimation printing.

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• Heat Transfer Paper
• What is heat transfer paper? Well, it is a
  special paper designed for heat transfer. It is
  normally coated in pigment polymer film and wax
  that develops a permanent bond with the fibres of
  the fabric when it is heated. Heat transfer paper
  usually comes in 13 by 19 sheets to provide
  more freedom of design.
• Cutter
• You will also need a vinyl cutter to cut out your
  design from the heat transfer paper to apply it
  to the substrate.
• Heat Press
• This one is available in several sizes and shapes
  based on the heat transfer application. Clamshell
  presses and swing-away flatbed machines are
  utilised for custom t-shirts and other types of
  flat apparel or accessories including headwear.
  Then there are the cylinder-shaped heat presses
  used for transferring on rounded objects, such as
  custom water bottles and coffee mugs.

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• Heat Pads
• Heat pads are positioned on the bottom platen of
  the heat press. They act as the surface for the
  product during the heat transfer process or when
  you are learning how to make heat transfers. They
  are normally made of heat resistant foam or
  silicone rubber.
• Heat Tape
• It is heat resistant and is used to keep the heat
  transfer paper in its place on the product.
• Heat Resistant Sheeting
• They are typically made using Teflon and are
  positioned in between the heating platen and heat
  transfer paper to keep the heat press tidy and
  save the transfer paper from scorching due to the
  heat transfer temperature.
• Substrates
• The substrate is the product that you want to
  decorate. It can be anything, including
  drinkware, bags, sweatshirt, polo shirt or a
  custom t-shirt. In other words, the substrate is
  your canvas to make a heat transferred
  masterpiece!

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How Does Heat Transfer Printing Work?

• Heat transfer can be done in several ways, such
  as digital appliqué transfers, inkjet transfers,
  vinyl transfers, and dye-sublimation transfers,
  etc. But we will focus on the commercial heat
  transfer for now
• Gather Your Supplies You need to have everything
  you are going to need at hand to begin the
  process.
• Make Your Design You can use graphic design
  software to mockup your design on your computer.
  Remember to take the heat transfer ink colour and
  size into consideration.
• Print the Design Print your custom design or
  your brands logo onto special heat transfer
  paper with the help of sublimation ink, inkjet
  ink, or pigment ink based on your product and
  application.

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• Cut Out the Design Here you will need a vinyl
  cutter to trim your image. This is only needed
  for supplier, store-bought and printed transfers.
• Warm Up Your Heat Press To warm the heat-press,
  open it up and separate the heat platen from the
  heat pad and let it be while the heat platen
  warms up. For the majority of heat transfer
  applications, the temperature is set somewhere
  between 350 and 375 F.
• Adjust the Pressure The pressure is decided
  depending on the fabrics thickness as the
  thicker fabric needs less pressure. In most
  cases, medium or high pressure is required.

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• Set the Time Pay extra attention to this step
  because the time changes with different types of
  heat transfer. Set the time according to the
  method
• Digital Appliqué Transfer 20 to 30 seconds
• Inkjet Transfer Paper 14 to 18 seconds
• Vinyl Transfer 45 to 60 seconds
• Dye Sublimation Transfer 25 to 30 seconds
• Set the Substrate and Transfer in Place Place
  your product on the plate and the transfer paper
  face up wherever you want on your product in the
  pressing area. However, you will have to cover
  the heat transfer paper using a thin cloth, to
  protect it, for applique transfer and vinyl
  transfer.

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• Press Your Product Once you have your product in
  place, close the press by pushing the handle
  downwards to shut the press. At this point, your
  pressure, time, and temperature should be set, so
  it should be just as easy as pressing the start
  button.
• Remove the Film As soon as the timer goes off
  simply, open up the press and take off the film
  while the heat transfer paper is still hot. You
  will see your design printed on your product. And
  just like that, your heat pressed custom garment
  will be done.

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When Is Heat Transfer Printing an Ideal Choice?

• Heat-transfer printing when used correctly
  delivers high-quality, colourful prints of
  photo-realistic images, which renders it perfect
  for digital photography prints. It also works
  perfectly for customising or adding prints on
  fabrics like the athletic uniform number in
  sports wear. Heat-transfer printing is a better
  long-term option instead of direct-thermal
  printing, which can wear out.

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Novelty Fabrics and Materials for Heat Transfer

• Thermal transfer printing works ideally on paper.
  It also excels in printing images on other
  material, including garments and textiles.
  Heat-transfer printed images are water-resistant,
  durable, and adhesive resistant. You can also use
  heat transfer printing to print your favourite
  images onto physically hard objects and even
  acrylics such as coffee mugs.

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Classification of Heat Press

• Heat transfer printing can be divided into three
  categories
• Vinyl Printing
• Vinyl printing is effective when working with
  vinyl transfer films like glitter, hologram,
  flock, reflective material, PU, and glow in the
  dark. However, this method of printing is only
  limited to just one colour printing. The mini
  heat-press, on the other hand, is most users
  choice in this regard.
• The artwork is designed using the software, and
  the line is sent to the plotter or the vinyl
  cutter to cut. After you cut it, you have to get
  rid of any unwanted vinyl from the original vinyl
  transfer film. At last, it is ready for heating
  for the fabric.

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• Sublimation Printing
• Sublimation printing is ideal for quick-drying
  T-Shirt, microfiber, dry fit, jersey, polyester,
  and material-coated surfaces like coated plates,
  and coated mugs, etc. This method involves using
  sublimation ink, a heat press printing machine,
  and the use of paper.
• This transfers the sublimation ink onto your
  fabric by using high pressure and temperature
  within a minute. Sublimation T-shirts usually
  leave permanent, vivid images alongside shades of
  soft-to-the-hand.

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• Transfer Printing
• Transfer printing is perfect for any type of
  t-shirt fabric, in every colour, including
  cotton, polyester tees, caps, etc. It uses
  pigment ink and transfer paper during the
  printing process.
• There are two types of light transfer paper. One
  is based according to a white T-shirt and a dark
  one is based according to the T-shirt colour. It
  is better to use original transfer paper if you
  want to ensure better print quality when dealing
  with a digital heat press.

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Conclusion

• Heat transfer printing has many applications from
  custom clothes to labels and receipts. You can
  use it to create the best, most vivid, and most
  visually stunning designs. So, follow our guide
  and step into the field of heat transfer printing
  armed with everything you need to know about it.