# New to sublimation. What's up with colored threads showing after pressing?



## icman (Apr 27, 2008)

Using Vapor Apparel white tees. Lint rolled the tee, then prepressed the tee, applied the transfer at 400º, at 40 seconds, hot peeled the transfer and noticed right away a significant amount of tiny blue and some other colored fibers throughout the area, and not just where the transfer paper was.

What is this? Because it's so hot they show up? Do they disappear once it's laundered? I tend to think it's the heat as my Stahl's Cad Cut material - applied at 330º, does not have this show up. Although done on 50/50 tees then.

Any help appreciated.

biz


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## sister1 (Jun 16, 2008)

I haven't had too much problem with Vapor Apparel, but it was a misery with Hanes SoftLink. Before starting, I clean my laminate work surface with Windex and a lint-free towel, then lint roll the front of the shirt, flip it over and lint roll the back, then flip it back and lint roll one more time. I use parchment paper to line the bottom of my heat press, then put another piece of parchment paper over the top of the shirt and transfer before setting the teflon sheet down and pressing. It's a pain the first few times, but you get into a rhythm, and can usually get the next shirt lint-rolled while the first one's cooking. I use the bottom parchment paper for 3 shirts, the the top for only one or two (and save them for use as bottom sheets for hard goods). The parchment paper is available from restaurant suppliers (I use the silicone coated, but plain is available as well). If you know a local restaurant owner, see if you can get him or her to order it for you -- it's really not very expensive. 

Cleaning the work surface before you start is really key, especially if you also process cotton shirts nearby. 

And they will NOT disappear when you launder -- it is dyed in. Since going through the process I described above, I almost never have a problem.


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## sublimeimprints (Jan 4, 2008)

These threads are on the shirts to begin with. Somehow they are contaminated during manufacturing. Soft Llinks were bad, I tried rolling and it helps a little but not 100%. I don't know that I had a problem with Vapors, but I'm not surprised. I try to avoid white shirts and look fro gray, tan, light blue etc.


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## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

Hi. I use the European equivalent of soft link tees and have very occasionally had this problem. It's not something I get when using 100 perecent polyester items such as pillow covers.

From my own experience I have found that even with using a lint roller and thoroughly cleaning the platens it can still occur. Unlike other substrates, it is much harder to get a good seal around the transfer paper. When the ink is in a gaseous state, it seems to be able to 'spit out' from under the transfer paper.


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## milabix (Apr 18, 2008)

Hi, I would firts of all try pressing a shirt without a transfer in order to determine if the problem comes from the shirt itself. If it does return them, the shirts are made for dyesub and if they don't work you should not pay for them. If the problem does not appear wen pressing the shirt alone then you can add each of your components and press one at the time: eg. if you use parchment paper, add the paper and press then check for the same problem. All of this will help you isolate the source of the problem.
If at the end the problem is caused by the paper, you have to find out how the color gets from the image to the areas that are affected, here are some suggestions:



If you stack your paper as it comes out of the printer make sure that it is completely dry before you do.


Try not to rub the paper on other sheets of paper or surfaces, the dry ink and coating might "powder off" and float down on the shirt while you are positioning the paper on the shirt.
Make sure that all the surfaces touching the shirt during the transfer are clean
Make sure you are applying a good ammount of pressure and make sure that the pressure is even. If the issue appears in areas that are close to the edge of the press, you might have a problem with uneven pressure.
Try posting a photo of a shirt so we can take a look at it and see if there is something else that we might have missed or that you might not consider important and failed to mention.

I hope this helps...

Milabix


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## selzler (Apr 4, 2007)

I had that problem untill I roll the shirt with a lint roller and then took that sheet of the roller and did it again and the problem went away any lint on the shirt will make the problem and also took out all carpet were the shirts are kept and the problem is now around 1 in 100 shirt that have that problem.


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

Pat is right on... the problem should go away if you lint remover...or even wrap the cellophone wrapping tape around your hand and use to remove the lint etc..


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