# Anyone Sell Old 70s & 80s Plastisol Transfers



## DukeofCrydee (Sep 3, 2012)

Apologies if this is the wrong section to ask this, but after looking over this board it seems there are a lot of people here familiar with this.

As a kid in the 80s I had a Pac-Man t-shirt I got from a local t-shirt/arcade shop. I actually found someone on eBay who had a bunch of old transfers for cheap. I bought some and did a lot of research to figure out how to apply these.

I found out they are old "cold peel" plastisol transfers. The 2 I did came out really really good considering the age of the transfer and the fact that I was using a household iron.

What I'm curious to know is if eBay is my only option of buying old stock transfers from the 80s. Are there any wholesale sites or t-shirt vendor sites that sell these old transfers?

Thanks!


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

If they really were made in the 80's, it's doubtful they would still work. Plastisol transfers have a shelf life of no more than 5 years


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## DukeofCrydee (Sep 3, 2012)

splathead said:


> If they really were made in the 80's, it's doubtful they would still work. Plastisol transfers have a shelf life of no more than 5 years


Interesting. These are most definitely from the 80s and they definitely still do work, so I assume I have the type of ink wrong?

What would've been used back then for cold peel transfers?


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

DukeofCrydee said:


> What would've been used back then for cold peel transfers?


Not really sure. But the fact you used an iron and they came out good would lead me to believe they weren't plastisol.

Are you looking for the old ones because you can't locate new transfers with the same designs? Have you checked around at the stock transfer companies like Pro World?


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## DukeofCrydee (Sep 3, 2012)

splathead said:


> Not really sure. But the fact you used an iron and they came out good would lead me to believe they weren't plastisol.
> 
> Are you looking for the old ones because you can't locate new transfers with the same designs? Have you checked around at the stock transfer companies like Pro World?


Ah, ok. The only reason why I mentioned plastisol is from the Help section of this website:

FAQ - Iron-on Transfers

Looking for old ones because of the vintage styling and the content. Like the old arcade, cartoon and movie stuff. Like that Pac-Man one I mentioned. I never saw that shirt design anywhere since the 80s.

I checked Pro World and they have a TV section with only 16 items. It seems there's not a lot of stuff for licensed properties.


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## proworlded (Oct 3, 2006)

They very well could be plastisol designs and still work. There is no definitive time limit. I have seen designs that are 20 years old that still print and others that were 3 years old and did not work.


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

From the 80's there is a chance they are lithos. Are the prints photographic in appearance (not photographs but like a picture) or have what feels like a like smooth clear coat; or does the surface feel like a layer of ink?


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## DukeofCrydee (Sep 3, 2012)

wormil said:


> From the 80's there is a chance they are lithos. Are the prints photographic in appearance (not photographs but like a picture) or have what feels like a like smooth clear coat; or does the surface feel like a layer of ink?


It feels like a layer of ink on top of the shirt. Very plastic feeling and very vibrant. It's old school, with the glittery silver border and all that.

Best if I just showed you probably. 

Here's a pic of the transfer and a t-shirt someone made with one that I found on Etsy.

Transfer:
Sale Vintage 80s Pac Man Iron On Heat Transfer 1980 by arkphotos

Shirt:
Vintage 1980 PACMAN Glitter Iron On TShirt Mens by greasywaitress


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## aspliz (Dec 4, 2010)

A friend of my boyfriend was at our house last nite and was telling me about a trailer and a bunch of old transfers he wants to sell to me. He used to set up at races, fairs, etc. and sell shirts. He gave me the old heatpress last year and boxes of 3" numbers in a variety of colors, definitely cold peel. They worked for us but I will probably never use them. I am leaving today for vacation but will be checking this stuff out when I get back. Send me a private message with phone number and I will let you know what I find.


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