# Is there any Printer to make a Heat Transfer that prints white Ink on Dark shirts



## sjidohair (Apr 9, 2008)

*Anyone, Know of any Printer, Ink Jet or Laser that can Print a White color on black.*
*We would like to make our own whiteTransfers for Sayings on Dark Tshirts, and Hoodies, but need, white, I also Airbrush, and If I need, I can do that, but is not as Crisp and my Transfers.*
*Thanks *


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## jberte (Mar 25, 2007)

not really...the only option at this point seems to be DTG printers - big $$ - and the jury's still out on the white with many of them.

if you're only doing text the most cost effective way (tho still not cheap by any means!) to do what you're trying to accomplish is with a cutter and heat press vinyl.


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## mrdavid (Sep 14, 2007)

I have to go with Jan and say t-shirt vinyl there is lot of poeple talking about white with the DTG and it dont look good but this is what we here


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## sjidohair (Apr 9, 2008)

yeah that is what i was thinking also.
Being new to this, You guys are helping out a ton, Mr David, i do appreciate your posts a ton, and thank you for the email, with direction to cutting, when I was talking about, using the cutter for making a stencil for, airbrushing the white on a black, I played this weekend with some different paints, with a handmade stencil, these are the Paints I used, now remember I think Like Mr David, and think outside the Box, so I am going to figure out how to do what I need and do it well, but I will have some rejects, ok this weekend, I got my airbrush out, and handmade flame stencil.
yellow, red and white, paints,.
1.Interior, exterior, can of spray paint.
I sprayed white, a nice light application on a black hanes 50/50 T. on that area, it dried to a nice muted gray,, ok, not bad, then i took one flame and spayed it 3 times, drying between, more vibrant but still not a clean white,, the yellow and red over the top were better, as I used the on a third area, so i used the white as a primer.
washed it and the the first one that was grayish faded in wash, the one i sprayed numorous times, was better and hung into the t, better, and the one that hung the best was the lyered white, with red and yellow, flames,, but still muted. not crisp.
2. Garment paint for a airbrush from Dixie Art & Airbrush Supplies Home Page: Airbrush and art supplies. the paint is createx.
this was brighter but still on black could hold a gray cast,, . I also know this paint stays in the garment,, but with airbrushing you dont get the crisp look.
Might be ok, but not really what i am looking for.. so
I was not really happy with either,,
which leaves me with my 2 options,
have custom heat transfers made, with white for black again , i am only doing sayings on this black garment , , Anybody on this forum, do gang sheets for this?
and or, have vinyl cut, which i will proble get in the future, because i can see a hundred and one uses for a cutter.I dont want a vinyl look tho to the letters, these t-s are for guys. If this is the case,, I have had a wonderful response and know where to go to have this done, till I get my own machine.
I have a boutique, which I can already sell my creations in, but I have had a few custom saying that i have not been able to find, that are a bit more adult, or novelty, type.
My new sunie arrives on Tues, and I cannot wait, I also just recieved my new womens bella, femine cut, long Tees, which I love , love love, from Shirt supplier.com.
I searched for these for a while, very light weight to Ed Hardy type, design,
I still need mens slim fit, tees, any suggestions?


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## MotoskinGraphix (Apr 28, 2006)

You need to heat set your airbrush paints before washing. Vinyl cutters are perfect for what you want to do. You can buy a screen and use ulano knife cut films and water based screen ink to get there as well.


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## sjidohair (Apr 9, 2008)

David,
The water based screen Ink, Are you saying to run that thru my Airbrush? Hummmmm
and if so, supplier please?


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## kpk703 (Mar 17, 2008)

We've never had success with any of the fabric paints thinned to spraying consistency. I would strongly suggest you consider either Plastisol or Vinyl. If it's just white on dark, Vinyl, like Siser Easy-Weed will last longer than the shirt it's applied to. Weeding is always an issue, so your design might be the determining factor on whether you go plastisol or Vinyl. Very fine lines can often have problems in both plastisol and Vinyl. If your finest line details are larger than .060" you'll not have a problem with either. If it's .030 or less, plastisol can have issues (some screeners won't even touch it,) and while you can transfer vinyl down to even .015" weeding can be a nightmare. If fine lines aren't an issue, then you'll have to decide it from an economic standpoint. Purchasing a cutter and weeding time are a consideration of Vinyl, and of course the plastisol transfer cost and maintaining an inventory ready to press would be a consideration of plastisol. A small run, or one-off would tend to point to Vinyl, an ongoing series of shirts with a detailed design might make plastisol a better choice. If you provide the shirts, you might want to consider a local screenprinter burning you a screen, pay the set-up costs and have them run as you need them or purchase a single station screen printer and print them yourself. Single color screenprinting isn't rocket science, but it's a commitment to learn and there are costs to weight. Much to consider...every job is different.


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## sjidohair (Apr 9, 2008)

thank you,
If i had a sil screener locally, make me a screen, or burn me a screen, then please tell me the is it complex to do a single color, saying bold print , print on a garment.?
If you know I need details. I do have a son, who did do this in high school.
We so know we will add this later,, but never considered someone burning me the screen, and then us just printing. any idea what a screen goes for?
thanks sandy


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## MotoskinGraphix (Apr 28, 2006)

sjidohair said:


> David,
> The water based screen Ink, Are you saying to run that thru my Airbrush? Hummmmm
> and if so, supplier please?


No...you are looking for a crisp tight edge. You can make a screen stencil and use airbrush paint, or plastisol inks or water based inks. You can also make stencil with sign vinyl and a cutter and use all of the above. I started with an airbruch and a stencil cutter and acitate. I think tulip makes an easy to use fabric paint. I used createx airbrush paints. I am playing with screens, film thats cut on my plotter and inks right now.

Here is a quick eagle I did on a helmet practicing for a Chopper job. Photo isnt very good.


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## sjidohair (Apr 9, 2008)

You can also make stencil with sign vinyl and a cutter and use all of the above. I started with an airbruch and a stencil cutter and acitate



Ok got it,, and the stencil that you cut with the cutter, how many times can you use it do you think? I know you are playing with it now, so I think we are thinking on the same terms. Is the vinyl stencil heavy enough to stay in place , when we airbrush? I look forward to your post.


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## MotoskinGraphix (Apr 28, 2006)

sjidohair said:


> You can also make stencil with sign vinyl and a cutter and use all of the above. I started with an airbruch and a stencil cutter and acitate
> 
> 
> 
> Ok got it,, and the stencil that you cut with the cutter, how many times can you use it do you think? I know you are playing with it now, so I think we are thinking on the same terms. Is the vinyl stencil heavy enough to stay in place , when we airbrush? I look forward to your post.


Sign vinyl will stick on the shirt well. The whole idea of the screen is to be able to reuse it over and over. The film from ulano as a stencil material is fantastic. Sign vinyl also sticks on a screen super. Many things you can try to get around the limitations of hand cut stencils.


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## sjidohair (Apr 9, 2008)

awesome, Please keep me posted,, and i love your website,, we are on the same page for t-design, thanks a ton
sandy


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## MotoskinGraphix (Apr 28, 2006)

If what you want is crisp lettering on black tees go check out Ace transfers. Look at large single color gang sheets with opaque plastisol inks. You will love the end results. If you want to do them yourself just move towards a simple screen set-up or vinyl cutter and heatpress vinyl. Plastisol transfers I use all the time.


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## kpk703 (Mar 17, 2008)

I'll defer to David on the spraying issue...our results were not nearly as good using stencils and fabric paint, which is why we chose to go with Plastisol transfers. There's probably a skill I lacked at the time (10 years ago.) So this could just be a personal bias.

We've had very good results with one-color vinyl, even though I sometimes would prefer a root canal to weeding. We've made our own screens using a product called StencilPro and for single color printing it's cheap and the results are good, but not as consistent as I'd like. A quality opaque ink is critical. I've also had a screen burned, which cost me set-up, screening and the cost of the screen itself. This cost me $65.00, but that screen is in the basement, has done over a thousand shirts and over time has cost me less than a nickle per print. Only worthwhile if you'll be doing the design for a long, long time or many shirts.

I really believe (not having seen your design, so that limits the validity of my opinion) that plastisol transfer is your answer. It's cost effective and the results can be pretty amazing. Not to mention that from a production standpoint it's very profitable. I can do well over 100 plastisol left chest prints in an hour, easy. And the results are very consistent.


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## sjidohair (Apr 9, 2008)

ok, I contacted Ace, My saying that I want to print is kinda offensive, so that is why I was considering doing it myself, not sure how the transfer poeple would react.
It is a saying of 8 words , 2 lines, very easy. 
now to send someone like ace a copy of what to print, I have never done that before, and I dont know how to do that.
It is just a saying, i do not have corel or photo illustartor. 
Any suggestions, I am not picky of the font. and I understand these will go on a gang sheet.
thanks


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## mrdavid (Sep 14, 2007)

Sandy I am getting some more white Vinyl next week let me know what it is I will cut and send you some for free so you can do your testing


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## kpk703 (Mar 17, 2008)

First you need to see what Ace requires. They may be able to take a Microsoft Word document in whatever fonts you want. I've been using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator for years, so don't know what to tell you. If you PM me with the dimensions you're looking for and the words you want, and you're not fussy about the font, I'll be happy to send you an Adobe Illustrator file that I'm sure Ace will be happy with. Also specify the color, etc. If you need a spot color, I'll need the Panatone information, otherwise I'll just provide generic RGB. If you're going to be doing this on a regular basis, the investment in Corel or the Adobe Suite is worthwhile. And as daunting as it seems at times, with a little patience they aren't that difficult to use and there's lots of assistance online.


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## MotoskinGraphix (Apr 28, 2006)

I think there are free trial versions of most vector software and I think Inkscape is a free vector prog. You can probably create what you want with the Inkscape prog.


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