# What kind of Vinyl do you recommend?



## mv10 (Nov 16, 2008)

I know that there is many kinds of Vinyl, some thicker than others.. but I'm looking for one that gives it the most natural feel...

I used some vinyl I had that was a bit thicker and meant for Signs.. 

I recently read about Spectra Cut II. 

Is that the thinnest kind of Vinyl available? I am looking for something thin and soft, so it doesnt look "pasted on" if you will.. If so, where do you recommend I purchase some of these? Does Stahl's offer this? or any reputable vendor?


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## tfalk (Apr 3, 2008)

Are you looking for sign vinyl or heat press vinyl for clothing? They are completely different...

I generally use Eco Film or Eco Film Plus from Imprintables Warehouse depending on what I am putting it on.


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## scuba_steve2699 (Nov 15, 2006)

eco film gets my vote!


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## mv10 (Nov 16, 2008)

tfalk said:


> Are you looking for sign vinyl or heat press vinyl for clothing? They are completely different...
> 
> I generally use Eco Film or Eco Film Plus from Imprintables Warehouse depending on what I am putting it on.


Sorry should hve been more clear..

The Vinyl I was using was for Signs, but I am looking for the best thinnest softest vinyl for clothing... Would you're recommendation still apply?


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## Natitown (Apr 17, 2006)

My vote is for Siser Easy Weed. Easy to weed and very soft to the touch.


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## tfalk (Apr 3, 2008)

Easy Weed and Eco Film are practically the same product. Either would work well for what you are trying to do.


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## sunnydayz (Jun 22, 2007)

I too love the eco film from imprintables. Its very very soft, kind feels like a soft screen print.


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## mv10 (Nov 16, 2008)

sunnydayz said:


> I too love the eco film from imprintables. Its very very soft, kind feels like a soft screen print.


Awesome! Sounds like something I may be using. Do you know if Imprintables offers free samples?


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## sunnydayz (Jun 22, 2007)

I would contact Josh and ask. He may be able to help you there  I am not sure though whether they provide them free, but he might be able to.


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## mv10 (Nov 16, 2008)

sunnydayz said:


> I would contact Josh and ask. He may be able to help you there  I am not sure though whether they provide them free, but he might be able to.


I would really appreciate that. Like I mentioned before, the Vinyl I had used before had a very "pasted" on feeling. This isn't true for this type of material is it?

Do you think the heavy feeling was because of the material? I can't tell you off the type of my head what it was, but it was meant for signs. Vinyl would make my life so much easier. Im looking to make a lot of shirts but every design is different. It wouldnt be very cost efficient to do Silk Screening. Hopefully this could work out!


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## sunnydayz (Jun 22, 2007)

Vinyl is a great alternative to screening with you have only one or two colors. I am not sure what vinly you are talking about as sign vinyl would not work on cloth, but the eco film is very thin, it actually feels like a soft screen print. Just send Josh and email thru imprintables webstie and see what he can do for you


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## leadergrafx (Sep 29, 2008)

sunnydayz said:


> Vinyl is a great alternative to screening with you have only one or two colors. I am not sure what vinly you are talking about as sign vinyl would not work on cloth, but the eco film is very thin, it actually feels like a soft screen print. Just send Josh and email thru imprintables webstie and see what he can do for you


Is this a product for darks and if not, what recomondations might you have. If it is for lights is it less expensive or more than jpss and which has a better feel thank You Rick


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## sunnydayz (Jun 22, 2007)

Its not a transfer paper, its vinyl. So it can go on lights or darks and they have a ton of colors.


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## mv10 (Nov 16, 2008)

I sent Josh an e-mail, still waiting for a response. Thanks again!

Out of Curiosity,

What are the differences in feel, durability, etc between Eco-Film and Spectra Cut II ?


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## sg613 (Jul 19, 2007)

JOTO all the way. They just released tons of new styles available to. From glow in the dark to flock. Great service and amazing product.


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## scuba_steve2699 (Nov 15, 2006)

IMO eco and spectra have about the same durability. Eco is slightly softer and has a lighter feel but I prefer Spectra for heavier garments like sweatshirts. I guess it really boils down to getting samples and trying them out to see what works best for you.


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## JoshEllsworth (Dec 14, 2005)

There are actually three base products that are available: Spectracut, Spectracut II and Spectra Eco-Film.

The Spectracut is a PVC based film that is the least expensive and has a slightly thicker feel. It is 15" wide and does not have a sticky mylar. It is not recommended for fine detail, but is a good economy option. There is a limited color selection, mostly athletic colors: 15 in total.

The Spectracut II is a 19" wide polyurethane based film that is the mid grade as far as price and offers a matte finish - it is soft on the garment. This mylar backing is not sticky either, though it does hold detail pretty well. If you accidentally pull up a piece of a design it cannot be positioned back down. The Cut II is also a cold peel material during application which some do not prefer due to production times. It is the fastest weeding material on large to mid size designs. It has a decent color selection: 24 colors.

The Spectra Eco-Film is 15" wide and is a polyurethane based film. It offers a satin finish and is soft as well on the garment - nearly identical to Spectracut II. It has a sticky backing which makes for ease when weeding detail and the option to position cut pieces back down if you make a mistake. It is the easiest to heat apply and goes down in one step with a hot, warm or cold peel. It is the most expensive of these three per square inch, but your actual cost per square inch may be less depending on whether or not a 15" wide material is your optimal size. This also offers the largest color selection by far: 59 colors.

Hopefully this helps a bit...


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## sunnydayz (Jun 22, 2007)

Thanks for explaining the differences in the vinyl Josh, that actually helps alot


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## tfalk (Apr 3, 2008)

mv10 said:


> What are the differences in feel, durability, etc between Eco-Film and Spectra Cut II ?


Cut is a much heavier and thicker material than Eco Film is. It has much more of a rubbery feeling to it.


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## dodank (May 4, 2007)

eco film or thermoflex. i love eco film for most everything, but the thermoflex plus i like it for more on heavier garments. eco film looks and feel like screen printing. i did some football shorts for a team that already had their jerseys screen somewhere else.
when i did the shorts it looked identical to their screen jersey. they did not know the difference. it was amazing. and i was proud as can be. and i love imprintables. they take good care of u and know thier products in and out. 
kayla, melissa and adam are the best.


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## lydkid (Oct 5, 2007)

Recently I purchased a sample of Vinyls transfer film and have been struggling with them since. I work with regular heat transfers on a daily basis but I have been trying to replicate our Logo (in one single color) on t-Shirts and sweatshirts with vinyl. We have very fine detail in some of our products. Maybe I'm just not getting it but I cant seem to get this working

1. Cant figure out which side you feed face up through the cutter the shiny side or the matte side. 2. Why my cutter will not cut through enough for me to peel/weed the backing.
3. Not even sure if I have the right Vinyl suitable for my needs.

I have a Stika 15 cutter and since I've been listening to the post am gearing towards the Eco Film paper even though the Spectra Cut II was the one that cut my images the best. The spectra wsa very difficult to peel back but it may have been because I cut on the shiny side

Help!! Can anyone give me feedback??

Thanks
Lydia


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## earl (Nov 1, 2007)

eco is easier to weed i think. it goes in shiny side down.can't you do a test cut to see if you have right pressure etc;

regards duke


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## lydkid (Oct 5, 2007)

earl said:


> eco is easier to weed i think. it goes in shiny side down.can't you do a test cut to see if you have right pressure etc;
> 
> regards duke


Yes, I've done many test. About 6 8" x 10" ones to be exact but because I've never used this type of product before I couldn't figure out what was wrong or right. I also had the hardest time trying to pull the back from the front without pulling up all of the lettering. I guess it justtakes practice.

There are many how to web instructions on heat pressing vinyl, temp and pressure etc but nothing on the actually cutting and weeding portion. I can look in the manual of the Stika cutter to see if I can adjust the pressure but now that you have told me which side is the right side it makes troubleshooting a little easier.
I'll save the rest of my Eco sample for last until I figure this out.

Thanks


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## True82 (Jun 14, 2008)

We vote for Jotopaper aswell!


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## murani (Sep 13, 2006)

I had been having trouble with the eco film. Customers were returning garments because the eco film had been peeling off. I still haven't figured out what's wrong so i've been using my spectra cut II while I do.

I'm really trying to figure this out today because my alma mater is in the state football championship game this weekend so the custom fan tees would be huge business for me and our school color is cardinal red but only eco film carries that color.


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## ggraphics (Nov 20, 2008)

lydkid said:


> I also had the hardest time trying to pull the back from the front without pulling up all of the lettering. I guess it justtakes practice.


 Sounds like you don't have enough pressure on your blade. It is a fine line though. You want to go through the film, but not the clear plastic stuff (technical term)


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## JoshEllsworth (Dec 14, 2005)

murani said:


> I had been having trouble with the eco film. Customers were returning garments because the eco film had been peeling off. I still haven't figured out what's wrong so i've been using my spectra cut II while I do.
> 
> I'm really trying to figure this out today because my alma mater is in the state football championship game this weekend so the custom fan tees would be huge business for me and our school color is cardinal red but only eco film carries that color.


What types of garments were you applying to when you experienced the peeling issue?

The only time that I have experienced peeling is when the pressure applied with the heat press was not firm enough. You may try more pressure.

Was this a repeat issue or limited to one roll, one color?

We'll get this fixed.


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## JoshEllsworth (Dec 14, 2005)

lydkid said:


> Yes, I've done many test. About 6 8" x 10" ones to be exact but because I've never used this type of product before I couldn't figure out what was wrong or right. I also had the hardest time trying to pull the back from the front without pulling up all of the lettering. I guess it justtakes practice.
> 
> There are many how to web instructions on heat pressing vinyl, temp and pressure etc but nothing on the actually cutting and weeding portion. I can look in the manual of the Stika cutter to see if I can adjust the pressure but now that you have told me which side is the right side it makes troubleshooting a little easier.
> I'll save the rest of my Eco sample for last until I figure this out.
> ...


If you have time you can call me and I can walk you through this over the phone - it may be easier for me to troubleshoot it that way.


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## murani (Sep 13, 2006)

I was applying the eco-film to 100% cotton gildan long sleeve tees. I also applied it to a couple of hoodies. The colors I used were white, black and navy blue. I called and was told it was either my temperature, my pressure or both. I tried tons of different combinations and nothing worked. I still have a 5yd roll of black eco-film that I haven't opened yet.

Maybe this experience is telling me I need a digital heat press with the digital pressure reader. :~D


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## JoshEllsworth (Dec 14, 2005)

murani said:


> I was applying the eco-film to 100% cotton gildan long sleeve tees. I also applied it to a couple of hoodies. The colors I used were white, black and navy blue. I called and was told it was either my temperature, my pressure or both. I tried tons of different combinations and nothing worked. I still have a 5yd roll of black eco-film that I haven't opened yet.
> 
> Maybe this experience is telling me I need a digital heat press with the digital pressure reader. :~D


Well, I'm sure the digital press would help, but if you are completing other applications the eco-film shouldn't be that different. 

You just need to make sure that you have a firm pressure on the actual film. If there are any seams, strings, collars etc. on the pressing area they will absorb the majority of your pressure and your actual graphic won;t be receiving what you think is a firm pressure. To battle this, you can drape these types of items off of the edge of the press or use a print perfect pad or tee pad to raise the print area above these items.

A teflon pillow will not work for firm pressure applications as it absorbs a lot of the pressure and creates a low density pressing surface. You need to have a pad for this use.

Do you think this may be the cause?

If not, I would say bump your temp up to 330 and run the full 15 second application.

I'm really confident in this material and get concerned when I hear problems with durability.


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## Reddawgs (Mar 26, 2008)

I like the Endura-tex hotmark 70 it is to weed and apply and has a real nice feel.


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## murani (Sep 13, 2006)

Well I did a sample tee for a basketball coach a couple days ago and adjusted my temp to 325 and had firm pressure and I literally just finished playing with the shirt to see if the design would peel and it is holding steady. I just want to make sure I get everything worked out because I plan on buying at least 500 yrds of material in the next month. Doing a huge multi-school fan tee sale so every tee will be custom worded. Vinyl is the only way to go and its my first really big exposure to these schools so would love to be able to lock in multi-year partnership contracts with schools. I'll double check the pressure and let you know Josh. Thanks alot for your help.


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## Masterkoin (Jul 23, 2008)

Jotopaper's Multicut


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## sjidohair (Apr 9, 2008)

ok, t-shirt vinyl,
some when peeled, has a sticky backing still, i think easy weed..
stays sticky.
my last stuff i got, not easy weed or siser.
Seems to have a more cloudy clear paper back and not sticky at all..
both feel good on shirts, but was wondering is the non sticky clear backing, on purpose so it is easier to weed and not restick to paper?
thanks


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