# My presses are not sticking after washing or working out



## MattFree (Jun 14, 2013)

Ok...I posted this a few days ago, but I don't know what happened to it and it seems gone. So...I am VERY new to this. I did about 60 shirts with a couple of designs for my martial arts school on them. Some came out good...some bubbled or peeled right away after the first wash or working out in them. 

I am using Gildan 50/50 in heather gray and in plain white. 
My heat press is set to 385 for about 15 seconds.
I have the pressure turned up pretty high (it is a manual opening and it is hard to open when the timer goes off)
The small design on the left chest is fine...it always seems to be the 11"x11" on the back that peels.

I don't know what I am doing wrong, but I am loosing money like crazy trying to replace these things.


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## impact (Aug 2, 2007)

Hello 
Most companies press at 320f/160c between 15 and 30 sec.
Make sure all the moisture is out of the fabric close your heat press on the t-shirt or hoodie for 5 seconds and see how much steam comes out, maybe do it again till next to no moisture/steam comes out. 
Apply your transfer as per supplier specs, when pressed on remove carrier film and place Teflon or baking paper over the transfer and repress for half the initial pressing time.
Ralph


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## MattFree (Jun 14, 2013)

Ralph,
Thanks! I will give it a shot this afternoon when I get home from work.


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## proworlded (Oct 3, 2006)

Are these transfers that you are printing on an inkjet or laser printer? If so, what paper are you using. Also, sounds like you might be using too much pressure.


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

Did you check my thread on transfer problems?

Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using T-Shirt Forums


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## MattFree (Jun 14, 2013)

I'm not printing them myself. I ordered them from a company.


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## MattFree (Jun 14, 2013)

Rick...forgive me, I am new. Which one on your page are you referring to? I scrolled down but wasn't sure which one to look at.


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## proworlded (Oct 3, 2006)

Matt. Have you contacted the manufacturer of the transfers for assistance?


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

MattFree said:


> Rick...forgive me, I am new. Which one on your page are you referring to? I scrolled down but wasn't sure which one to look at.


Sorry, was on vacation and couldn't link to the thread on my phone. It is stickied at the top of this sub-forum.

http://www.t-shirtforums.com/plastisol-transfers/t176601.html


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

It is a good idea to test press a shirt and launder it 3 or 4 times before you d your production run.....That way worst case is you ruin a transfer and shirt....

Make sure you have enough heat and pressure.......Also make sure all the moisture is out of your garment before pressing......Make sure the rubber platen is hot......Peel immediately if they are hot peel transfers...

As far as repressing, I never do that as IMO it causes the transfers to breakdown sooner....Transfers are made from PVC and can only take so much heat before they are "over cured"....


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## mmoguls (Mar 9, 2009)

You're pre-pressing all your garments for 5-10 sec. prior to putting on the transfer, right? Until I did that, they all fell off!


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## MattFree (Jun 14, 2013)

Sorry, I was gone for a few days. I am pre-pressing every shirt to make sure. I have ordered a few samples from other companies...and they seem to stick just fine after washing etc. These custom one's I had made for me are the only one's I have had issues with. 
Royce...I see what you mean. The re-pressing doesn't look good at all.


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## jamerican352005 (Nov 1, 2008)

This sounds like a press issue to me. I produce plastisol heat transfers. In my personal experience if you have bad ink, bad paper, or an overcuring issue none of your prints will stay on. They will all come off. Chances are if you have a small run the same ink, paper, and curing time is used on all prints. There are exceptions to this if you have a large run 1000+ (might use a different gallon of ink or paper) but if you have a smaller order, I would say to pay attention to your press settings. A heat gun is a great investment....so is an air press but we all can't afford those  I have seen it time and time again from customers. "Some of my shirts still look great. Other shirts the prints came off" Keep a close eye on the press settings. Manual machines are notorious for losing heat and pressure as you are printing the full job. My company bought two manual presses last year just so we could help out so many companies trouble shoot issues due to manual presses. Also do contact the vendor that sold you the transfers. Many times the company can help you trouble shoot the problem. No company is perfect, but I have found from this forum, there are a lot of honest business owners in the plastisol heat transfer industry. All of us want our customers to make money and help as much as we can.


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