# Plastisol Transfer Retail Quality?



## Busterkid (Jun 4, 2010)

Hello All. I've spent numerous weeks reading and researching these forums about all the different types and methods of printing. After weighing and considering all my options, I feel that I am leaning towards going the plastisol heat transfer way for my own clothing line. 

However, I do have a few questions and was hoping to gain more insight from the pros here or anyone that has a lot of experience using plastisol heat transfers. I've read many of the threads regarding how the quality of heat transfers has increased over the years but wanted to specifically touch on the use of transfers for retail or personal clothing lines. 

1)Is there a significant difference or drop off in quality between traditional plastisol ink screen printing vs plastisol ink heat transfers?

2)Can you achieve retail store quality with custom plastisol heat transfers? 

3)Are any of you currently using plastisol heat transfers for shirts that you are producing specifically for retail or your own clothing line? If so, what has the response been? pros or cons?


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## freshlysqueezed (Jun 6, 2010)

Yes you can Produce retail quality product with transfers! its the same thing as screen printing a normal person would never know the diffrence!


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

As Kyle says, done right and you or I wouldn't be able to tell a transfer from direct screen printing.


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## miktoxic (Feb 21, 2008)

freshlysqueezed said:


> Yes you can Produce retail quality product with transfers! its the same thing as screen printing a normal person would never know the diffrence!


don't want to disagree from the start but the key to this response is 'normal person'. i can definitely tell the difference but like said i know the processes and the look and feel of each.

that being said plastisols are the way to go if you want to do a certain number of shirts and not deal with cases of inventory. BUT if you are selling to retail shops and big name stores you would need big quantities and in that case farming out to a screenprinter is alot more cost effective.


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## youtalk (Apr 15, 2010)

The problem I noticed is that screen printers don't respond, or 50 shirts is to little for them, etc etc.. 

So I have to ask as well, is the plastisol good enough for small retail shops?


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## miktoxic (Feb 21, 2008)

youtalk said:


> The problem I noticed is that screen printers don't respond, or 50 shirts is to little for them, etc etc..
> 
> So I have to ask as well, is the plastisol good enough for small retail shops?


understand where you are coming from. tried to get a local screenprinter to do some work for me and they acted as though i was trying to pry a quote out of him/her. i found a co. on the internet that could get the specific brand shirt the customer wanted, receive .ai files and do it within the 7 business day turnaround i needed it in.

i don't sell a line to retail shops (looking to do so in the near future) but i've used plastisol transfers consistently in doing stuff for most of my major clients, but THAT BEING SAID (i hate that saying lol) most of the work i do for these clients is one - two spot color work. i find it cheaper to use plastisol transfers than doing it in vinyl AND the feel of the design when applied to the garment is much closer to screen print. see, i don't agree that the feel of a transfer is the same as screen printing. i know it's the same process just printed on paper and applied by heat, but there is something about the additive(s) used to print and seal the ink to the transfer paper that makes it feel (after applied) different than just straight screen print.

i think it all depends on your designs, if you're doing multi-color work with gradients etc. you're probably better off outsourcing to a screen printer.


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## franktheprinter (Oct 5, 2008)

1)Is there a significant difference or drop off in quality between traditional plastisol ink screen printing vs plastisol ink heat transfers? for the most part the quality and durability are very similar if both are
produced correctly.

2)Can you achieve retail store quality with custom plastisol heat transfers? Absolutely, there are
already quite afew retail stores that sell heat transfered clothing and other transfered products

3)Are any of you currently using plastisol heat transfers for shirts that you are producing specifically for retail or your own clothing line? If so, what has the response been? pros or cons?[/
My company produces transfers for various retail clothing lines...although i am not at liberty to disclose 
clothing line images we produce transfers for... i can tell you the response from our standpoint has been
tremendous as we have doubled and redoubled the percentage of business we do with retail store outlets
in the past few years especially. The pros some of which are guarenteed orders, repeatability,and increased revenue potential outweigh the cons which mainly are deadline related....Frank


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## youtalk (Apr 15, 2010)

How can you tell the difference between screen print and plastisol printing? 

And it's amazing how screen printers act like they want business, but yet they won't return calls, they don't respond to emails, etc...


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## franktheprinter (Oct 5, 2008)

youtalk said:


> How can you tell the difference between screen print and plastisol printing?
> 
> And it's amazing how screen printers act like they want business, but yet they won't return calls, they don't respond to emails, etc...


Well if done corectly you shouldnt be able to tell
they both use plastisol inks.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> And it's amazing how screen printers act like they want business, but yet they won't return calls, they don't respond to emails, etc...


Not all screen printers are that way  There are a lot of screen printers online that have great customer service. If you need specific recommendations, just post in our Referrals Area here.


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## youtalk (Apr 15, 2010)

I'm debating on doing Heat Press myself, and elminating a screen printer. 

I just don't know if I want to go down that path...


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## freshlysqueezed (Jun 6, 2010)

Well there is always dtg? but thats a big investment


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## zeusprinting (Jun 21, 2009)

We print and do just-in-time fulfillment using plastisol transfers for several clothing lines, including some of our own. As others have mentioned, the quality is the same and directly printed garments.

Our clients love the flexibility of pairing the design with the garment size/color/style when their customer orders. They keep no printed garment inventory.

It's slightly more expensive in the end because of the extra steps involved, but the benefits outweigh the negatives.


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## youtalk (Apr 15, 2010)

zeusprinting said:


> We print and do just-in-time fulfillment using plastisol transfers for several clothing lines, including some of our own. As others have mentioned, the quality is the same and directly printed garments.
> 
> Our clients love the flexibility of pairing the design with the garment size/color/style when their customer orders. They keep no printed garment inventory.
> 
> It's slightly more expensive in the end because of the extra steps involved, but the benefits outweigh the negatives.


Nate what lines do you print for?


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## zeusprinting (Jun 21, 2009)

youtalk said:


> Nate what lines do you print for?


A couple. I don't want to turn this into an advertisement.

Von Roxy | Designer Wear for the Graphic Design Community
T-Shirt by Kafkacotton |


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## Texsource Ronnie (Aug 24, 2010)

Try the union ink (plus series) designed for transfers


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## youtalk (Apr 15, 2010)

zeusprinting said:


> A couple. I don't want to turn this into an advertisement.
> 
> Von Roxy | Designer Wear for the Graphic Design Community
> T-Shirt by Kafkacotton |


Nate, 

What is the best transfer paper and ink for dark color shirts? 

Thanks in advance.


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## zeusprinting (Jun 21, 2009)

We've tried several. I tend to get mine from Ryonet. The hot split is the only way to go for me. Doesn't leave a plastic feel (more like a direct garment print). I just use whatever ink I've got (CQM, International Coatings).

I'm sure there is a "best/better" solution out there. But we like the quality we are getting, and so do our customers. If it aint broke...


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## poker (May 27, 2009)

I'm very unhappy with the custom plastisol work that I've ordered. I won't name the business. I've ordered black in a fashion feel and it comes out like shiny plastic on the t-shirt plus it can shrivel....just like heated plastic wrap. I've ordered the sports feel and it applied well..... unfortunately I tell my customers not to iron over the graphic. I ordered a black print batch and after pressing it, a white (clear coat) shadow would appear. It was unsellable.

When I buy the stock predesigned plastisol transfers, they look good. Just remember to buy a few more than what you need for trial and error. Once you got a good transfer, write down the temp, time, and pressure for that image. 

I have little experience but this is my real experience. I've spent probably $500 in custom transfers....and it's just not exactly how imagined it. I'll have to consider other printers in the future.


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## woofcraze (Apr 21, 2010)

Same here, I have been disappointed with results of my plastisol transfer. It's either thick or my white color doesn't show nicely on my dark garments. I got samples from many companies but ofcourse the samples just look so much better. Can someone recommend me to a good company that provide plastisol transfer?


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## zeusprinting (Jun 21, 2009)

woofcraze said:


> Can someone recommend me to a good company that provide plastisol transfer?


Go with First-Edition or Versatranz.

The key to getting these to work right is finding the magic combination of heat, pressure, and time for your heat press. Results can very widely with even the smallest change in any of these factors.


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## Git-Bit (Oct 23, 2009)

Agree with nate...FE and Versatrans are excellent. I especially love the feel of First-Editions dark colors on garments. It is better than direct screen printing in my opinion. I was not a fan of there white, but have only tried it once. Versatrans' signature product has excellent feel as well, but for the dark shirts you will need to go EPT which looks and works great on black, but you get a much thicker feel. Love both of these companies and use them weekly. Another good one is Dowling Graphics with whom I am starting to use more and more because of there increased ganging options. AS for retail quality...without a doubt if done correctly you can produce retail quality work.

Good Luck


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## woofcraze (Apr 21, 2010)

What about FM? Any good reviews about them. I have their samples but the colors are so limited for spot transfers and their 4-color process feels really plastic to me. However, their prices are great! Would you recommend this over First Edition? Thanks a lot everyone. This forums had been very helpful.


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