# Heat pressing plastisol on polyester



## debrachamp (May 1, 2007)

Help,
How do I heat press plastisol transfers on to polyester garments without melting the fabric?
I am using transfers from TRANSFER EXPRESS and going onto "sport tech" shirts from San Mar and "top shield wicking" shirts fro Charles River


I am pressing at 350 for 5 seconds and the garments are left with a sheen in the shape of the heat press. 
What should I do


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## COEDS (Oct 4, 2006)

I use transfers from WWW.ACETRANSCO.COM. Thye put a special additive in the ink to make it hold to the poly garment. ...... JB


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## debrachamp (May 1, 2007)

Thanks for the reply. My problem is not with the transfer sticking but with the polyester garments "melting". I cant seem to be able to press plastisol transfers onto any of the performance type garments made of polyester. The transfers will adhere allright but the fabric is left with a mark wherever it was in contact with the press. Teflon sheets dont sem to make any difference. How low of temperature can I use and still get the transfer to stick and the ink to cure?


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## mrdavid (Sep 14, 2007)

I have cut out cardboard the same size as the transfer then put in shirt then press it will lift it up.


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## transferguru (Apr 24, 2007)

Press at 340 for 10 seconds. A lower temperature should help. 350 might be a little too high.


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## gmille39 (Oct 18, 2006)

COEDS said:


> I use transfers from WWW.ACETRANSCO.COM. Thye put a special additive in the ink to make it hold to the poly garment. ...... JB


Ace also has the stretchy ink for the shirts that are more stretchy. Not to get too technical.


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## gmille39 (Oct 18, 2006)

debrachamp said:


> Thanks for the reply. My problem is not with the transfer sticking but with the polyester garments "melting". I cant seem to be able to press plastisol transfers onto any of the performance type garments made of polyester. The transfers will adhere allright but the fabric is left with a mark wherever it was in contact with the press. Teflon sheets dont sem to make any difference. How low of temperature can I use and still get the transfer to stick and the ink to cure?


That's scary because I'm working on a job using the sport-Tek shirts from Port Authority. Front and back. Maybe you should use less pressure.


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## debrachamp (May 1, 2007)

Please let me know how it goes with the sport tech stuff. I have tried and tried with those garments but I cant seem to find a combination that works. The reps from San Mar say that it is best to just direct print them (screen printing). That is just hard for a small business to do when it comes to individual names and numbers on small runs. The perfromance fabrics from Charles River give me the same problem.
I am not giving up, I know there must be a way.


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## gmille39 (Oct 18, 2006)

debrachamp said:


> Please let me know how it goes with the sport tech stuff. I have tried and tried with those garments but I cant seem to find a combination that works. The reps from San Mar say that it is best to just direct print them (screen printing). That is just hard for a small business to do when it comes to individual names and numbers on small runs. The perfromance fabrics from Charles River give me the same problem.
> I am not giving up, I know there must be a way.


Maybe contact someone at Port Authority. I don't know. I haven't ordered the transfers yet but the artwork is done. I may have to check with a screen printer to see what kind of price I can get. I already quoted the job so hopefully I would still make money.


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## gmille39 (Oct 18, 2006)

debrachamp said:


> Please let me know how it goes with the sport tech stuff. I have tried and tried with those garments but I cant seem to find a combination that works. The reps from San Mar say that it is best to just direct print them (screen printing). That is just hard for a small business to do when it comes to individual names and numbers on small runs. The perfromance fabrics from Charles River give me the same problem.
> I am not giving up, I know there must be a way.


Did you have any better luck with this. I'm going to be starting an order using sport-tek shirts but I'm leary of using transfers and may opt to have them direct screen printed. Problem has been finding a screen printer that will do contract work.


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## debrachamp (May 1, 2007)

I have had no luck with getting any useable information about heat pressing on to any of the many performance fabrics. The transfers that I use are a plastisol ink from Transfer Express. They assure me that they can be pressed onto any polyester fabric ie. Under armour, Nike, Charles river, Sprt Tech etc. The garment manufactures tell me that we cant use plastisol ink on performance/ polyester fabrics. They say to use a polyester based ink. I dont knowwhere to get that and besides it isnt the ink that is giving me problems but it is the press and the tempersture. When ever we try to apply a heat transfer to polyester we are left with "scorch marks in the shape of the press. Using a teflon sheet doesnt help. 
The tagless garments have small heat applied tags. How are they doing it. I know that there is an answer somewhere. 
Please Help Me.


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## gmille39 (Oct 18, 2006)

I just went on to polyesterink.com and read about polyester inks. Now if I decide to have the shirts screenprinted, I need to find someone that has polyester inks. What happened to good ole' fashioned cotton. I do have to say, my wife bought me a golf shirt that is 100% poly and it is really nice. It's comfortable and you can wear it for days and it still looks fresh, no rinkles.

Well, I'm not sure what to tell you. I guess I could find a bunch of 100% items real cheap and try different settings with the press. That wouldn't solve the ink issue. Ace transfer co. said they use a stretchy ink that is used a lot on bathing suits but I don't know if it's polyester ink.


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## Moo Spot Prints (Jul 16, 2006)

Bradley, I've posted a lot of information about this issue. Do some digging for the gruesome details.

The bottom line is that the fabric you're using is not able to withstand the heat and pressure you're applying.

There are several solutions:

1. Use a different material.
2. Ease up on the pressure.
3. Use different transfers.

I've settled on a combination of 2 & 3. I use a teflon pillow to minimize the edge of the press area. The transfers others have mentioned are called Elastoflex from ACE. It's a heavy cold peel. What makes it work is that they add an adhesive layer to the back of the ink which is capable of setting at a much lower temperature than plain plastisol. The ink is cured so you don't have to worry about hitting 325. 

I also re-press the entire shirt to completely get rid of any press lines. It takes approx 3 minutes total to do a two sided shirt (including lining up the transfer). One press per side ([email protected]) to attach the transfer, a second ([email protected]) to get it into the fabric and a third on the unpressed areas ([email protected]) to even out the heat damage. I've recently purchased a 20x25 press to cut my production time -- XL and XXL require multiple hits on my 16x16 to press out the entire shirt.

I mostly use Zorrel Z500 shirts as I've found the give the best performance for the price. The big wholesalers are all getting into the performance market big-time but I don't have a high opinion of the the fabrics & cuts they're using. It's too heavy and doesn't breathe very well.

As always, experimentation is crucial to getting good results. Don't be lazy, people *will *notice the press lines and won't come back.

Good luck!


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## gmille39 (Oct 18, 2006)

Ace quoted me a price using the Elastoflex ink, however, I'm not sure I want a real heavy, thick design on these shirts. I do contract work so the customer went onto my site and chose the shirt from my catolog. Maybe I'll get a few items and press test them for a while. I'd really like to just find a screenprinter to do them but finding one that does contract work in the area is tough.


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## Moo Spot Prints (Jul 16, 2006)

gmille39 said:


> Ace quoted me a price using the Elastoflex ink, however, I'm not sure I want a real heavy, thick design on these shirts. I do contract work so the customer went onto my site and chose the shirt from my catolog. Maybe I'll get a few items and press test them for a while. I'd really like to just find a screenprinter to do them but finding one that does contract work in the area is tough.


I would prefer to have a lighter coat of ink, but this has been the best solution I've found so far.

Insta Graphics has a good flex transfer you might want to try.

I've also been very happy with the Spectra Eco Film on perf. fabrics, although it's too stiff for the lightest weaves.

Don't limit yourself to the immediate area. Shipping isn't going to be *that* much and there are a lot of printers out there who are experienced with poly.


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## gmille39 (Oct 18, 2006)

Moo Spot Prints said:


> I would prefer to have a lighter coat of ink, but this has been the best solution I've found so far.
> 
> Insta Graphics has a good flex transfer you might want to try.
> 
> ...


I have a tip on a screenprinter in Chicago, which is only 40 miles from me. He does contract work so I will see what happens.

Thanks


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## gmille39 (Oct 18, 2006)

I received a quote from a contract printer in my area, which ends up being around $1.50 more than the quote I had for plastisol transfers. For $9.65 per shirt, I get three color left chest with a halftone and the same for the back, using polyester based ink. 
Bradley, do these shirts have holes where ink might drop through, or is it still somewhat of a tight knit? I'll let you know how the shirts turn out.


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## thornnspear (Jul 21, 2009)

Sorry to "necro" the thread, but I just used F&M's Atheletic formula Spot transfer, pressed at 300 F for 7 seconds on 100% polyester napkins for a game board, and they look beautiful, with no discoloration or peeling.


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## HA (Jan 9, 2010)

Having the same problem, Cad cut is way too expensive. I have to use F&M expressive design freedom print because it cures @ 300 degrees. and you can use as many colors as you want for same price.


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## kalepo14 (Jul 16, 2013)

debrachamp said:


> Thanks for the reply. My problem is not with the transfer sticking but with the polyester garments "melting". I cant seem to be able to press plastisol transfers onto any of the performance type garments made of polyester. The transfers will adhere allright but the fabric is left with a mark wherever it was in contact with the press. Teflon sheets dont sem to make any difference. How low of temperature can I use and still get the transfer to stick and the ink to cure?


Use fmexpressions they have transfers that can be applied at 327 F and it makes a big difference when transferring to poly because at high temps some brands and colors will leave a sheen. And these transfer go on any combination of poly and cotton.


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## brilliantconcept (Aug 5, 2014)

I do realize this thread began 5 years ago. However, for anyone still interested in a solution to this problem, here is my personal recommendation based on experience.

Set temp at 280 F
Pressure at max for manual press and around 8 for stahls auto clam
Press for 5 seconds
Done!

Good luck


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## EssenceGold (Mar 6, 2013)

^doing this would leave no sheen?


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## southpaw52 (Aug 16, 2012)

I used Transfer Express hot split on 100% poly Willow Point polo shirt @335 degrees 10 sec at M-F. Gone thru several washings and is looking good.


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## R03 (Apr 25, 2012)

thornnspear said:


> Sorry to "necro" the thread, but I just used F&M's Atheletic formula Spot transfer, pressed at 300 F for 7 seconds on 100% polyester napkins for a game board, and they look beautiful, with no discoloration or peeling.


You may just saved my life.... 40 polyester A4s to print TONIGHT and i just found out 350 is too high. haha. Hopefully 300 works!


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## pjteague (Oct 4, 2014)

yup, know this is an old post, however, transfer express(stahls) has an elasti-print great for poly -- it is 275 - cold peel, we have done a tone of high end nike polos this way -- use a cover sheet too - really helps!


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## lhodnet (Apr 10, 2013)

I think this may have saved me. I wasn't at 275.....trying a few shirts at 275.


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## bradyboyy88 (Nov 10, 2014)

pjteague said:


> yup, know this is an old post, however, transfer express(stahls) has an elasti-print great for poly -- it is 275 - cold peel, we have done a tone of high end nike polos this way -- use a cover sheet too - really helps!


I had a order of about 100 triblend shirts which I used the elasti print on and they all cracked after about 2 washes. It was a shame since that temp seemed so promising !

Has anyone tried acetransferco elastoflex?


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