# A noobs guide to creating Plastisol Transfers



## DcBearCrue (Jul 24, 2014)

I'm a graphic designer and I've been using a shop in the midwest to create plastisol transfer sheets for us. While the company has been absolutely great, I want to take on some of that business for myself. We are mobile vendors so I've never had the need to do any screen printing, but I figure if I start screen printing for myself I can reduce our overhead by creating our own plastisol heat transfers. 

I've never done any screen printing before, but I understand the concept (I watch a lot of youtube). Is there a big difference between doing it on a shirt vs doing it on a transfer sheet? And can someone point me in a direction where I can get some good *reliable* information on creating our own plastisol heat transfers?


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## Resu (Oct 16, 2011)

So you never silk screened, you watch a lot of You Tube vids and now you ready to jump in with the big dogs rather stay on porch? 

Follow this link and then decide: Heat Transfers |15 Cent Custom Heat Transfers

They do multicolor too. They made me the best silk screener on my block and I have yet to burn a screen!!

Don't take this a me discouraging you from going forward with learning the process. But you mentioned "taking some of that business..." I equal that to more profits. Well the easiest way is to do less and pay even less to get to the end results.


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## DcBearCrue (Jul 24, 2014)

That post doesn't answer any of my questions.


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## matt gilliland (Jul 24, 2014)

Hello,

I haven't done a lot of transfer printing, but I have done some. My experience has always been, it's a matter of what you're used to.

For me, printing transfers vs. direct garment printing seemed a bit more difficult. I believe it was because I was more accustomed to direct garment printing.

Transfer printing is more like graphic screen printing than garment printing. This is because you are now printing on paper. You at least need a vacuum attachment for you press, but even better would be a flat bed press. The large transfer printers use cylinder presses. These are designed specifically for flat sheet printing.

Another big difference is you don't want to fully cure your ink, only "gel" it. This is somewhat a matter of trial and error. Cure some until it will no longer transfer well, then back it off a little. Cure times will vary depending on humidity, and some other factors.

Another difference, everything needs printed in reverse now. Backward reading and reverse order, whites down last etc.

Also, you either need to allow for your transfer papers to cool completely between each color, or build some "hot boxes". This is because the sheet will distort some when it's heated. So, you can wither keep the sheet warm all of the time, or you can let it cool completely between each color.

There are several other things to be done differently, these are just some of the major items. 

I hope this answers some of your questions. If you have more just let me know.

Matt Gilliland


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## 2020 PrintWorks (Apr 22, 2011)

There isn't a huge difference between printing shirts and printing on paper. Ryonet has lots of good instructional videos. I'd probably start there. I think I would just confuse things more if I tried to explain it. Here's where I get my paper from http://acescreensupply.com/index.php?cPath=137. I use the MultiStrip 1800 CP with the 80-200 micron powder and it's great stuff. I don't know what kind of designs your looking to print but with transfers the difficulty increases quite a bit when you start doing multi-color.


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

I found transfers to be less work once you work out all the variables but consistency is so very important. There have been some guides on printing transfers but start with garments because they are more forgiving. Really my advice is that if you want to be a printer then go work for someone who knows what they are doing, the bigger the shop the better. Work there for a year or two and you will learn things you didn't know you needed to know, plus you make your mistakes on someone else's dime. If you don't want to be a career printer then just sub out to someone who specializes.


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