# Warm peel vs. Hot peel



## Stefano (Aug 5, 2013)

Hello,
I've been pressing stock transfers for a few years now and would like to know how my experiences compare to yours.

About 90% of the hot peel transfers work great. All the ink transfers, they are soft, and have lasted 2-3 years with no cracking or peeling.

Warm peel is another story. At least half give me problems. Often, ink stays on the paper. Other times, the transfer peels after a few days. Other times, the transfer feels like a thin sheet of rubber that peels after the first wash. On some designs, I try to press again for a few seconds with kraft paper or a teflon sheet. Sometimes this works, other times a lot of the ink comes up. I call the manufacturers and of course, they never admit to old stock or over/under cured designs.

I have quality equipment (Hotronix, Geo Knight), have verified temps and consistency across the heat platen, and methodically step through temp, press time, and peel time combinations.

If others have had similar experiences, why do companies make warm peel transfers? Are they cheaper, superior, or what?

I've considered custom transfers but have read numerous comments how no one company can get it right with any consistency. At least vinyl hasn't let me down.

Rant over ....


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## Kenneth59 (Sep 28, 2013)

hot peel transfers will feel more like a direct print vs a cold peel.

hot peels usually take quite a bit more pressure to work good.

some ink will normally stay on the transfer paper with a hot peel vs a cold peel where the ink comes off clean.


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## cleggy (Apr 29, 2012)

I prefer warm peel as its a quicker process. I have found that a low tack carrier works best as it releases from the print easily. You may need to experiment with different cobinations of carrier and media until you get consistent results.


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## Stefano (Aug 5, 2013)

Thanks, guys!


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## franktheprinter (Oct 5, 2008)

Hi. As a manufacturer of plastisol transfers...we get this question a lot. When printed and pressed properly both types have desirable outcomes depending on what your going for...

A warm peel transferred design will give your print more opacity as your allowing the ink
to more fully release from the paper and is also usually preferred when your design has
little or no lines less than 4pts in thickness as it will retain its look longer.

A hot split transferred design will give you a direct print look and is preferred
when opacity usually isn't a primary concern... a good example would be printing dark ink
for sponsor names or a class roster on a white or other light color.

The reason your probably having more issues with warm peel is because there are more variables
involved. When you hotsplit a transfer you are simply peeling it right away... its more forgiving as you can have a wider range non optimal setups and still get a good result (for example excess pressure or time wont really effect the outcome if it isn't extreme)

When you warm peel a transfer "we" as manufacturers will give you a general set of instructions that will usually work, but in reality its up to you to experiment to get the optimum result...the real issue is that you may have it "dialed in" for that particular warm peel design but then you may have to change it again when you have another different warm peel design if its properties are significantly different (like for example if the design has halftones, or is metallic... or is simply a thicker design)


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## Stefano (Aug 5, 2013)

@ Frank
Thank you - what a wealth of information!


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