# First test with my own plastisol transfers



## lewel (Dec 1, 2015)

Hi guys,

last week I tried to do my first plastisol transfers. I can't say it was a failure, but still I was hoping for little better results. 

First thing is that I am not sure, how is the melted adhesive powder supposed to look like. I'm afraid I wasn't able to achieve the same look on the whole area after flash.
Not sure if the cheap flash dryer is the reason. Does anybody have some HD (zoomed) pictures of the surface of the properly melted powder on the plastisol ink? I haven’t 
bought any professional transfer so I don’t even know how is it supposed to look like :/

Second thing is that there was always a problem with (more or less) lifted print from the garment – in the direction I was ripping the transfer paper off (see the attachment,
red arrows shows the paper ripping off direction). I have tried different setting of the print (print-powder-flash; print-flash-print-powder-flash; even without the powder 
– disaster ; 2 types of adhesive powder) and heat press (temperature still the same around 175°C (350°F); pressing time 6-15s, immediate ripping off or after a while) but 
it was still there. Mostly the rest of the print was in much better condition than the part where the ripping started. 

Plastisol ink used was white Opaque Series from Amex (Plast PF). 

Any advices where the cause could be or what setting change should I try according to the description above??

Thank you


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

It has been so long now since I printed transfers but I'll help if I can. From the pics, your transfers look good. 

Drying a transfer without curing it is tricky. Even when we were doing transfers all the time, we still tested everyday before doing a whole run. We used a big gas powered conveyor dryer and the settings for one day might need tweaked the next; come back from lunch and we often had to tweak the settings again. I can't imagine doing it with just a flash. It's very easy to move past drying and into curing; and a partially cured transfer is not going to stick well.


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## artlife (Jan 15, 2010)

when making your own transfers, it's important that everything be even. this means even coat of ink, even powder adhesive, and even drying (heat set) and then proper heat press settings for time, temp and pressure.
Also realize not all plastisol inks are well suited for transfers. Some brands make inks specially for transfers. Some peel hot and some peel cold. By peel we mean peel the paper off after heat press.
Firstly you will have some issues flashing instead of conveyor dryer because of uneven heat. when drying transfers you really only want just enough to set the ink. It will not be cured.
The powder also should be a light but complete coat. I had a tray with powder and would sort of scoop the powder onto the printed paper, let the powder run over all the ink and the extra fall off, then (while holding a corner) face the inked side away from you over the tray and flick the paper with your fingers from the back side to knock off all the extra powder. then run through the dryer with belt running fast (normal temp for a very short time).
The powder will be just barely melted, it has a shiny but crystalline appearance and is dry to the touch but a bit like a very fine emery board (slightly coarse feel).
If you are printing multicolor design you have to powder and dry between each color. To do this and keep registration you print the reg marks on your pallet (cover with clear tape) and on your transfers, so you can place your paper in the same position on the pallet for each successive color (when they are done you trim the reg marks off your transfers). I printed hundreds of plastisol transfers, up to 4 and 5 colors for hats and other items we did not want to direct print. It takes some practice but is not difficult. Once you have the knack you can produce a lot very quickly. Drying under the flash just keep a close eye and do not over heat. That's probably the main issue with it not sticking to your garment, the adhesive needs to fuse with the garment. If it isn't an even coat or it's overheated it won't have enough adhesive properties left.


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## lewel (Dec 1, 2015)

Hello,

thank you guys for you replies. I don’t have the conveyor drier. I have to figure this out with the flash.
I let you know after the next test..


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