# Platisol Ink Compared With Screen Printing is.....



## beastieman900 (Jan 5, 2010)

Hello T-shirt Forum,
I would like an honest answer as to the quality of plastisol ink heat transfers compared with screen printing. 

Will the common person be able to tell a difference? A screen printer in my area told me that there is almost no difference and that the print will outlast the shirt. Is that true?

I have read a lot of the debate on various threads and it seems to me that people who have been screen printing for 25 years are reluctant to embrace the technology that has improved heat transfers. While screen printing is still more effective for bulk orders, heat transfers are a better solution for short runs. Does anyone else share that opinion?

If I understand the process correctly (which I might not), Plastisol Ink transfer simply combines the process of screen printing into one compact step.

Thanks in advance for your responses!


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## Flagrant-T (Nov 11, 2009)

Plastisol transfers are screen printed onto paper, instead of a shirt. If the are made correctly and applied correctly, they should last a long time and look very close to a screen print. You can tell the difference if you look closely and know what you are looking at because a plastisol transfer will be very smooth and a screen print will have a little texture. A lot of plastisol transfers are a little heavier IMO, but some companies have come out with soft hand transfers, which are a lot closer to a screened print.

Good luck!
Nick


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## thutch15 (Sep 8, 2008)

Flagrant-T said:


> Plastisol transfers are screen printed onto paper, instead of a shirt. If the are made correctly and applied correctly, they should last a long time and look very close to a screen print. You can tell the difference if you look closely and know what you are looking at because a plastisol transfer will be very smooth and a screen print will have a little texture. A lot of plastisol transfers are a little heavier IMO, but some companies have come out with soft hand transfers, which are a lot closer to a screened print.
> 
> Good luck!
> Nick


Agree 100%...you can tell a difference, but it is not a bad difference. I love the feel of a transfer...sometimes I will even press my regular screen print jobs to make them feel like a plastisol transfer.


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