# First experience with plastisol and Semo Imprints



## ninja4life (Jul 8, 2009)

I wanted to share my first experience with plastisol transfers and Semo Imprints. I am newer to the business and got my first big order for 301 gold shirts with black writing for a swim team. 

I ordered the shirts but many were back ordered so I had to order the remaining shirts from a more expensive website. That cut into my profits so I definitely had to stay as low cost as possible on the transfers. 

I had previously read about Semo Imprints on the forum and saw that they had the lowest pricing. I tried calling them on a friday and got no answer all day long. I was disappointed because I really wanted to use them for my transfers. I found Bre (works at Semo) on the forums and sent her a PM that weekend. She wrote back very quickly and explained that the company is moving locations and is currently not open on fridays. That explained why there was no answer. I was relieved because I had read such good things about them.

Bre called me first thing monday and took my order and answered all my newbie questions. The transfers were even less expensive than I had previously calculated. That was a nice surprise. My transfers even shipped the next day, although Bre said that is not typical. 

When they arrived, I tried the first one and it went on perfectly at 375 for 12 seconds and peeled hot. I pressed it after preheating the shirt for about 5 seconds. 300 shirts and a few days later I was done. I was pretty sore from all the repetitive motions with my arms and back. However, I was happy and so was my customer. The press marks even went away after the shirts got their moisture back. Really, you can't tell they were pressed vs screen printed. 

Hope my experience is encouraging to others who are looking to try plastisol. I'm sure not all transfers are equal but I had no problem with them at all. I attached some pictures of the transfers before and after.


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## FarmerLarry (Sep 11, 2009)

They look really nice. Going to be ordering my first plastisol transfer in the near future. I have to look at Semo.

Larry


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## midwaste (Apr 8, 2008)

Damn, their pricing is great! Thanks for the post, I will be checking them out.


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## zbchildsheart (Jan 29, 2014)

All my plastisols are coming off soooo stupid wrong. All the white prints are perfect but pressed red colored fonts on black shirts...I tried all pressure, time, settings you could think of but they all the reds come out cooked or not sticking on my shirt while the whites are flawless. I've wasted so much money and time already...


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## cornerkid (Jun 23, 2011)

semo and their team are pretty easy to work with. i wish Id taken pictures of my first project. nothing but smiles on my customer's faces as well


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

zbchildsheart said:


> All my plastisols are coming off soooo stupid wrong. All the white prints are perfect but pressed red colored fonts on black shirts...I tried all pressure, time, settings you could think of but they all the reds come out cooked or not sticking on my shirt while the whites are flawless. I've wasted so much money and time already...


Call them, their technical help is spot on. They know their transfers. I was having trouble with white, called, he told me to ignore the instructions and turn my press down by 20 degrees -- nailed it, no more problems.


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## Dad (Nov 18, 2006)

I believe they might tell you that red on black is alot hooter when pressing and you will have to turn down your temp and maybe adjust your press time. Also try letting them cool for 3 to 5 seconds before peeling. this may help. I had issues with read ink for awhile for some reason and finally figured out I was getting it to hot and the ink was lifting.

Hope this helps. For sure call your vendor they will help you. If you make money they make money!!!!!


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## joey1320 (Feb 21, 2012)

midwaste said:


> Damn, their pricing is great! Thanks for the post, I will be checking them out.


Out of all the transfers I have gotten from SEMO I only had one design give me issues and I knew from the getgo that something was different.

The design which gave me the problems had a very rubberized texture to it on the paper and it also had what I called "grid marks" on it. This, Bre said, was there because of their conveyor oven but it would go away after pressed. 

Unfortunately this marks didn't go away and I also had some spots where it was "bubbling". After trying many different recommended settings of time, temp, pressure, cold/hot peels, I couldn't get this particular one to work. 

I contacted them, Bre emailed me the next morning and they redid the design on a different color, which I asked for, at no expense and shipped free.

SEMO and specifically Bre, are amazing. The only issue I had was the shipping charges which are a bit on the high side. Other than that, they are the absolute best :beer::beer::beer:

Sent from my HTC One X using T-Shirt Forums


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## jleampark (Sep 6, 2007)

My only issue with Semo is the shipping time -- especially on multi-colored designs. If I am on the ball (as in, not procrastinating), it's not a huge problem. But, if I am pressed for time, I'll go elsewhere.

Other than that, I am quite happy with Bre and Semo.


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## jamerican352005 (Nov 1, 2008)

The first step is to always contact the company. T-Shirt forums are great but you will find the individual companies will know their transfers better than an online forum. So Joe how many days on the multicolor jobs would be better for your business. Right now it is 5 days. How many days would be more benificial for your company? This is a serious question with no sarcasm involved.


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## jamerican352005 (Nov 1, 2008)

Joey the red ink was bad. Next time we can do that logo in red


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## jleampark (Sep 6, 2007)

jamerican352005 said:


> So Joe how many days on the multicolor jobs would be better for your business. Right now it is 5 days. How many days would be more beneficial for your company? This is a serious question with no sarcasm involved.


Thanks, Bre. Not knowing your setup, process, backlog or number of employees, I don't know if these numbers are possible for you. However, I would think that one color jobs should go out same day or within a day (if the job is received by x time of day). Multicolor jobs should go out within 2-3 days (if the job is received by x time of day).

And as helpful as you have been, I didn't suspect any sarcasm.


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## jamerican352005 (Nov 1, 2008)

jleampark said:


> Thanks, Bre. Not knowing your setup, process, backlog or number of employees, I don't know if these numbers are possible for you. However, I would think that one color jobs should go out same day or within a day (if the job is received by x time of day). Multicolor jobs should go out within 2-3 days (if the job is received by x time of day).
> 
> And as helpful as you have been, I didn't suspect any sarcasm.


I can't do same day turnaround time, just no way. I wish. I tell you what though....I am going to bring this up to my business partner Keith. We may just offer faster turnaround times in the upcoming month.


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## jleampark (Sep 6, 2007)

jamerican352005 said:


> I can't do same day turnaround time, just no way. I wish. I tell you what though....I am going to bring this up to my business partner Keith. We may just offer faster turnaround times in the upcoming month.


I don't know what it takes to make even one plastisol transfer and I don't know how many orders you get per day so I was pulling those numbers out of thin air. I would guess that the only companies that can do same day (if received by 11) is the Transfer Express-type companies.

I recall something from a business class that was a triangle with Cost - Quality - Speed on each side and the customer could only pick 2.

I see plastisol, vinyl, and Image Clip different tools in the same tool box. Sometimes, one will work better at some times; other times, it won't.

To continue this analogy, you, Seay and Transfer Express are like screwdrivers -- one is a flathead, one a Phillips and the other the torx. 

All valuable for its own purpose.


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## jamerican352005 (Nov 1, 2008)

One color jobs will ship out the next business day if placed by 2:00cst
Multicolor jobs will ship out in three business days
The turnround time is reflected on our home page as of today

Everyone can make transfers that say "Thanks Joe" if you like.


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## jleampark (Sep 6, 2007)

Wow, Bre -- nice responsive customer service! As, it happens, I will have a job for you later today 

You might also want to make a teeny tiny correction on SEMO Imprints - Pricing as it is 2014.


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## jleampark (Sep 6, 2007)

jleampark said:


> You might also want to make a teeny tiny correction on SEMO Imprints - Pricing as it is 2014.


They fixed it.

Why am I talking to myself??? 

Oh, but they need to update SEMO Imprints - Information as well.

There I go again!


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