# Best glow in the dark vinyl



## jasonsmith (Mar 30, 2011)

I was looking at getting some glow in the dark vinyl for t-shirts. Since that stuff is expensive, which place has the best glow in the dark vinyl that holds up on the shirt and is able to retain the glow in the dark feature wash after wash? Also something that has a good white opacity when in the light since I'll be putting it on black shirts.

I know Stahls has some and also Imprintables, along with a few other places. Stahls says theirs is certified for 10 washes, whatever that means. But doesn't sound like it would hold up for long as their other films are certified for 50 washes.

And it looks like the glow in the dark from Imprintables has a better opacity compared to Stahls from what I get from reading the figures on their site.


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## AaronM (Mar 28, 2007)

jasonsmith said:


> I was looking at getting some glow in the dark vinyl for t-shirts. Since that stuff is expensive, which place has the best glow in the dark vinyl that holds up on the shirt and is able to retain the glow in the dark feature wash after wash? Also something that has a good white opacity when in the light since I'll be putting it on black shirts.
> 
> I know Stahls has some and also Imprintables, along with a few other places. Stahls says theirs is certified for 10 washes, whatever that means. But doesn't sound like it would hold up for long as their other films are certified for 50 washes.
> 
> And it looks like the glow in the dark from Imprintables has a better opacity compared to Stahls from what I get from reading the figures on their site.


I know the Siser product is being used by many of the large personalization companies in the Midwest.

A Heat Transfer Vinyl that glows in the dark.. EasyWeed Glow | Siser North America


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## fedoraoriginali (Aug 30, 2010)

I have used the Siser also and I am extremely happy with it. Great durability both in glow and adhesion. Very easy to weed also especially with very fine detail..


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## jasonsmith (Mar 30, 2011)

I got a sheet of Siser Glow in the Dark film. And it looks like it is difficult to get it charged, and it doesn't look like it will hold a charge long. I left the sheet laying in a room with bright ceiling lights. And after several hours, it only had a dull glow while in the dark.

I then took a flashlight and held it up against it for a few minutes and got that area to charge up a bright green. But after 30 seconds, it starts fading. But I turned the lights back on for a few hours and came back and turned the lights off. And the spot I shined the flashlight had disappeared to a dull glow like the rest of the sheet.

Anyone know if one of the other Glow in the Dark films like from Stahls charges better and holds a charge longer?


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## Nick Horvath (Feb 26, 2010)

jasonsmith said:


> I got a sheet of Siser Glow in the Dark film. And it looks like it is difficult to get it charged, and it doesn't look like it will hold a charge long. I left the sheet laying in a room with bright ceiling lights. And after several hours, it only had a dull glow while in the dark.
> 
> I then took a flashlight and held it up against it for a few minutes and got that area to charge up a bright green. But after 30 seconds, it starts fading. But I turned the lights back on for a few hours and came back and turned the lights off. And the spot I shined the flashlight had disappeared to a dull glow like the rest of the sheet.
> 
> Anyone know if one of the other Glow in the Dark films like from Stahls charges better and holds a charge longer?


I am not certain on the specifics of the charge, however I myself left a roll of vinyl on our testing table one day and forgot about it.

Later on when I shut the lights off to go home, I notice a strange glowing object in the room and it was puzzling to me until I realized it was the roll I had left on the table. It glowed very bright and seemed to last a little while too!

Other then that it is easy to cut and weed.


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## jasonsmith (Mar 30, 2011)

Nick Horvath said:


> I am not certain on the specifics of the charge, however I myself left a roll of vinyl on our testing table one day and forgot about it.
> 
> Later on when I shut the lights off to go home, I notice a strange glowing object in the room and it was puzzling to me until I realized it was the roll I had left on the table. It glowed very bright and seemed to last a little while too!
> 
> Other then that it is easy to cut and weed.


I ordered a sample of it to check it out. I'm used to those glow in the dark stickers that fully charge up just from the ceiling lights or the sun and stay charged up for a while. i.e. like those glow in the dark star stickers people put on their ceiling.

In order to fully charge up the Siser stuff, I had to hold a bright flashlight right on it for a bit. Then it pretty much faded away after several minutes. So, I don't think there would be much glow from the shirt in the dark from being charged up from the sun or ceiling lights.


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## KathleenS (Sep 29, 2009)

If you have the Mylar covering the Siser EasyWeed Glow in the Dark material this will have an effect on the luminosity. You need to remove this to fully saturate the material. Of course the strength of the light will also determine how long & bright the material will glow. Four hours is a good average.

Happy Printing!!


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## jasonsmith (Mar 30, 2011)

KathleenS said:


> If you have the Mylar covering the Siser EasyWeed Glow in the Dark material this will have an effect on the luminosity. You need to remove this to fully saturate the material. Of course the strength of the light will also determine how long & bright the material will glow. Four hours is a good average.
> 
> Happy Printing!!


It looks the same whether the Mylar covering is on or not. It's just hard to charge up as you have to shine a flashlight right up on it to really get it to charge up properly. But who's going to do that? And then what charge it has doesn't last long in the dark.

I remember when I was little and kids had those glow in the dark stickers on the wall. Those didn't take much light to fully charge up, and the charge lasted a long time.

I plan on also checking out some Gecko Glow in the Dark film. It looks pretty bright as long as they didn't touch up the photo:


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## slf33020 (Nov 16, 2011)

For the best charge I would try using the sun or a stronger light then a flashlight. And flourescent lights will provide a weaker charge.


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## jasonsmith (Mar 30, 2011)

slf33020 said:


> For the best charge I would try using the sun or a stronger light then a flashlight. And flourescent lights will provide a weaker charge.


I don't have flourescent lights. I've got bright lights in the ceiling of my room. But they don't do much to charge the film up. Shining a flashlight right on it was the only way I could charge it up. But even then it didn't last long. It's been rainy all week. So I haven't tried the sun. But I'm going to try and find a film that doesn't need special lighting to charge it up.

I've had glow in the dark stickers that got fully charged up just from a ceiling light, and held the charge for a long time.


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