# Plastisol Heat Xfers: What's worked for me



## devnpac (Dec 12, 2017)

Hi everyone, I work with Plastisol Xfers for my business because that's all I can handle with only a 3 man team. I've had many sleepless nights from working with these things. I've also had a lot of frustration and success with them. I just wanted to share my settings or what works for me to get my stuff to stick on, hopefully its a troubleshooting method a few of you may try out if you ever get stumped or stuck in a panic trying every temperature and press time, i've been through that, but I found a way that works for me, it may help you, maybe it wont, but heck it may be worth a shot. 

My manufacturers recommend 160c heat and 7 secs press time. I did this in the beginning and nothing was surviving the first wash. I tried longer and shorter press times, 5 secs, 12, 15, 30 secs up to a minute just to see if it made any difference. Turns out for me the longer I pressed it at 160c the more the xfers tended to melt. 

After a week of losing my mind, I tried pressing at a lower temperature for a longer period imagining that if i pressed at a lower temp longer the adhesive powder would adhere better, thinkin this I was even tellin myself that i was feeding myself bullsh*t and eatin it all up. Turns out this method worked out really well for me and I continue to use it till this day. 

However, I do occassionally have some difficulties with larger solid prints, like rectangles or other geometrical shapes at 10 inches or longer. 

Anyways here's what works for me
- Settings anywhere b/w 135c to 145c (I use 135c most of the time)
- Press out moisture from shirt
- First press, 20secs I use a medium pressure
- Hot peel the film
- Do a second press 12 secs (note* my upper platen has teflon sheet i cover it with already, i do not put an additional teflon sheet over the design before the second press.)

I know my temps are not what most of you use, as i see that most people are using 360. However, this is what works for me and this is what survives the wash cycle for me, so I stick with it. 

Time to time I also use an extra 7mm thick silicone pad for some larger prints, it really does help to get that powder to adhere as it adds to the pressure, but on second press I only go about 5 secs. 

All Xfers are different so please check your manufacturer for the proper settings. 

I get all my xfers from Asia since I live in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and there arent any affordable screen printers where I live. 

I print on the following tees at the moment
- Bella Canvas 90/10 cotton poly and 100%cotton 
> I have had almost no problems with this brand and my xfers tend to stick rather well on these. 

- Alsyle Ultimate 100% Cotton
> This is a pretty good material for my presses, but not as good as the BC

- Alstyle Classic 100% Cotton
This is actually the best garment my xfers stick on, maybe because the open ended fabric. I havent had any problems with these at all. However, its a shame that it does not retain its color very well. Starts to fade badly after wash number 5 or so. 

I apologize for the lenghthy post, but i wanted to see if i could cover other questions people have on their minds about plastisol xfers. 

I hope to learn more and grow by sharing my experiences and learning from others.


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