# Heat Pressing onto Koozies



## txkustomgrafix (Jun 1, 2007)

I have been asked by a customer to do some Koozies (approx. 100.) I no longer do screen printing so they would have to be done on the heat press. Is it cost effective doing them with the heat press or should I just contract it out? What kind of heat transfer material should I use if I do them in house?


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

Some posters have done koozies with vinyl and others with Jet Pro Soft Stretch transfer paper. A lot will depend on the colors you are pressing.

Do a search on "heat press koozies" for more info.


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## txkustomgrafix (Jun 1, 2007)

Thanks for the reply. I will keep looking through the threads to see if I can find more info.


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## deChez (Nov 10, 2007)

I would test one out with a plastisol transfer. See if your vendor will let you buy one sample koozie. If you don't have any sample or extra plastisol transfers to test with, and you want to try that, pm me and I'll send you one.


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## gerry (Oct 4, 2006)

This took about a half hour to layout with the diamond plate-cut and another 15-20 to weed. Thermoflex gold and worth every minute The inside tag sez...90% polyester-10% Neoprene and took heat well.


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## queerrep (Jul 18, 2006)

I have used plastisol transfers on koozies.


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## Palm Nuts (Feb 4, 2009)

Hi Rohnda,
New to this and was wondering do you heat press koozies with mug or flat press? I need to do some and was thinking to buy a mug press that does 11oz size but then heard everyone uses a flat press. I think you mention you put a chip board inside?
Thanks! Oliver


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## gerry (Oct 4, 2006)

I use a mouse pad..cut to shape and slip it inside to raise the print surface.


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## Artsplace-CBR (Feb 22, 2007)

I have never done koozies, is there reall a call for them? 

Art


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## Palm Nuts (Feb 4, 2009)

Here in Florida driks get cold quickly, there's demand here for sure... 

Gerry, thanks for the tip! Do you leave the round base outside of the platen? Ever used a mug press to do them?


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## sjidohair (Apr 9, 2008)

I heat press can holders, bottle holders and seat belt pads all made of this material, i use vinyl, and transfers,, just fine,, 
go for it,,,
This is a great item for schools 
MMM


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## Palm Nuts (Feb 4, 2009)

Thanks Sandy Jo! Do you use a flat press or a mug press? Appreciated!


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## Artsplace-CBR (Feb 22, 2007)

Palm Nuts said:


> Here in Florida driks get cold quickly, there's demand here for sure...
> 
> Gerry, thanks for the tip! Do you leave the round base outside of the platen? Ever used a mug press to do them?


Thank you.

Art


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## sjidohair (Apr 9, 2008)

If i am using a collapsable koozie,, or seat belt pad i use a flat press, if i am using a shaped koozie i use a hat press..
MMM


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## gerry (Oct 4, 2006)

I use my flat 15x15. If the koozie isnt collapsible i leave the bottom hanging out of the press, but have done it with the whole thing in..and it worked too. Try a few ways till you find your groove.


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## sjidohair (Apr 9, 2008)

gerry, great idea
MMM


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## gerry (Oct 4, 2006)

I really like using the opaque heat trans. for darks on hats and coozies instead of t shirts..really want to try the imageclips someday..but then again I want to do alot of things..someday.


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## ennwhywhy (Sep 18, 2009)

whats koozie??? someone...


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## gerry (Oct 4, 2006)

ennwhywhy said:


> whats koozie??? someone...


 a foam wrap for pop cans,beer bottles...keeps em' cold in the heat.


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## Colorfast (Sep 2, 2006)

ennwhywhy said:


> whats koozie??? someone...


 
Koozie = 

Custom Koozies and Personalized Wedding Favors from Discount Favors

If you want to heat press the collapsable work very well. I have tested with ECO vinyl from Imprintables Warehouse, Hot Mark vinyl from Speciality Graphics and EPT plastisol transfer from Versatranz. EPT and ECO worked best. The Hot Mark is a cold peel product and seemed to wrinkle slightly. The best looking was the EPT plastisol transfer. EPT is applied with low heat (300) for 6 to 8 seconds. That keeps the koozie from burning. However...I always use a teflon sheet for extra protection. 

I'm getting ready to print 100 koozies, 2 sided 1 color prints. Vinyl would work but plastisol is quicker. Cost is about (slightly less)the same in this qty with plastisol and no WEEDING!

Usual print size for koozies are up to 3 x 3 so you can gang a lot of images.

Good luck


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## sjidohair (Apr 9, 2008)

Thanks for the link chip
MMM


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## Palm Nuts (Feb 4, 2009)

Thanks for your feedback and sharing of knowlede Gerry, Chip and Sandy Jo! Really appreciate it... being new to this the pointers really help! I still need to get the koozies so also thanks for the link chip!

So verdict is flat press V mug press.

Will dive in and get my feet wet!...


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## BML Builder (Jul 8, 2008)

Here is another place to find the koozies. Their prices are a little cheaper and they will let you mix and match colors for the discount prices.

Blank Collapsible Can Koozie


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## Lnfortun (Feb 18, 2006)

gerry said:


> I really like using the opaque heat trans. for darks on hats and coozies instead of t shirts..really want to try the imageclips someday..but then again I want to do alot of things..someday.


I bought 40 pieces from here: blank koozies,cosies,wholesale koozies,beer huggies,can huggers

Good price per piece and in large quantity.

I used Imageclip on both sides as shown in the photos below :


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## Palm Nuts (Feb 4, 2009)

Thanks Martilyn and Luis for the links! Any recomendations for qulity long neck zipper bottle Kooxies?

Also ayone have an idea who manufactured that fantastic high end full bottle Koozie for the Veuve Cliqot last year?


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## Colorfast (Sep 2, 2006)

Palm Nuts said:


> Thanks for your feedback and sharing of knowlede Gerry, Chip and Sandy Jo! Really appreciate it... being new to this the pointers really help! I still need to get the koozies so also thanks for the link chip!
> 
> So verdict is flat press V mug press.
> 
> Will dive in and get my feet wet!...


I don't buy from the company I used the link for. Just an example for somebody who asked what a koozie was. I use the same as the Marylin below. I thought their shipping was a little higher than it should be but the koozies are good quality.
Sorry for misleading.

www.blankkoozies.com


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## Colorfast (Sep 2, 2006)

Lnfortun said:


> I bought 40 pieces from here: blank koozies,cosies,wholesale koozies,beer huggies,can huggers
> 
> Good price per piece and in large quantity.
> 
> I used Imageclip on both sides as shown in the photos below :


 
That's better quality image than I would have expected from laser or inkjet transfer. I considered JPSS. I may experiment with blank only for some colors. Thank for the pix.


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## Lnfortun (Feb 18, 2006)

Colorfast said:


> That's better quality image than I would have expected from laser or inkjet transfer. I considered JPSS. I may experiment with blank only for some colors. Thank for the pix.


Actually laser print is more vibrant compared to muted color of inkjet print. 

Jpss polymer in the unprinted area will stand out on light color fabric. So if you are going to use it on koozies do not trim the image just make the size of the transfer paper larger than the koozie. That way the whole thing will be covered and the polymer will not stand out if some area is not covered with polymer. You can get four pieces per 8X11 that is big enough to cover four one side print or two two sided prints. The bottom part does not matter of not covered with polymer.


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## gerry (Oct 4, 2006)

Lnfortun said:


> Actually laser print is more vibrant compared to muted color of inkjet print.
> 
> Jpss polymer in the unprinted area will stand out on light color fabric. So if you are going to use it on koozies do not trim the image just make the size of the transfer paper larger than the koozie. That way the whole thing will be covered and the polymer will not stand out if some area is not covered with polymer. You can get four pieces per 8X11 that is big enough to cover four one side print or two two sided prints. The bottom part does not matter of not covered with polymer.


 I was under the impression imageclip left no polymer..thought it was selfweeding?


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## Colorfast (Sep 2, 2006)

gerry said:


> I was under the impression imageclip left no polymer..thought it was selfweeding?


Image Clip does not leave a poly window if you can get it right. I tried some Image Clip laser and could not get consistent quality. It is also a 2 step process which is OK for smaller runs such as the 40 pieces mentioned above.

I would love to get it to work but it is (in my mind anyway) tricky.

Luis is the Image Clip expert so he can shed more light on this.


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## Lnfortun (Feb 18, 2006)

gerry said:


> I was under the impression imageclip left no polymer..thought it was selfweeding?


I was talking about JPSS acronym for Jetpro Sofstretch. I am making coment about it because Colorfast said something about using it instead of Imageclip. 

Imageclip is self weeding.


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## lindaschallenge (Aug 6, 2008)

Hi Karen,
I have done some on collasible koozies. But I don't advertise them because if they look on the computor, they can buy them a lot cheaper than I would have to charge to even break even.
I use a cad cutter with thermofilm. They turn out great, but for the time for the weeding small lettering, I can't make anything off of them, and it is very time consuming. They are great for my advertising and for special occasions for close friends and family. So I do keep some on hand.
I always thought the screen printing is probably the cheapest. I want to learn it some day, but have not been lucky enough to find someone to help me get started in it yet.
Good luck in whatever you decide. If anyone has a secret to making a little off of them with vinyl I would be interested in learning it too.
lindaschallenge




I


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## Colorfast (Sep 2, 2006)

lindaschallenge said:


> Hi Karen,
> I have done some on collasible koozies. But I don't advertise them because if they look on the computor, they can buy them a lot cheaper than I would have to charge to even break even.
> I use a cad cutter with thermofilm. They turn out great, but for the time for the weeding small lettering, I can't make anything off of them, and it is very time consuming. They are great for my advertising and for special occasions for close friends and family. So I do keep some on hand.
> I always thought the screen printing is probably the cheapest. I want to learn it some day, but have not been lucky enough to find someone to help me get started in it yet.
> ...


On-line pricing IS very very competitive which is true of shirts as well. Its hard to make money with vinyl in large qty. However most if not all on-line providers have a minimum qty order. That number is usually 100. Plus, I noticed most if not all charge a set-up fee ($30 to $40) and some charge an art fee. If they don't charge the per piece pricing is higher. Freight is extra on about 1/2 the sites. And some are 1 sided prints only. The second side (same exact image and color) is extra.

Your advantage is you actually get to meet the people and build some trust. You can provide smaller qty's and since many people do not need 100. Vinyl will work well for smaller qtys. I am considering stocking 5 to 6 colors. I have not decided how many per color. At discountkoozie.com you can mix and match colors and still get the discount based on qty.

All printers offer t-shirts and sweats. This may help set you apart. Don't be concerned about charging enough to make some money. I have a co-worker at my "real" job who did not buy from a website because the minimum was 20 pieces and they did not want thay many! I could do 20 pieces and charge enough to make some money. See this link as an example. Lower qtys but a lot of extra charges.

Pricing Can coolers | beer huggers huggies, cheap

I'm going to rearch more and see if there is an opportunity.


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## lindaschallenge (Aug 6, 2008)

Hey, Thanks, when you look at it that way, maybe I will try to advertise more for short orders. I hadn't really advertised much because didn't think anyone would be interested if they could get cheaper over the internet, but like you said, they do have the extra charges that are included.

Can you tell me if a smaller blade is needed to weeding out the smaller lettering easier.
Thanks for your time.
Linda


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## Colorfast (Sep 2, 2006)

I had and (still have to some degree) a BAD habit of looking at what I can't do instead of what I can do. I was making decisions for potential customers as far as whether they would buy a product or not.

As far as cutting and weeding vinyl for koozies I use the same blade and weeding tools I use with t-shirts. Designs for koozies are fairly clean and simple. Screen printing does not carry a lot of detail when printing on a koozie. Keep your art simple and text sans serif.


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## Colorfast (Sep 2, 2006)

Colorfast said:


> Koozie =
> 
> Custom Koozies and Personalized Wedding Favors from Discount Favors
> 
> ...


Finished product:

Used Versatrans EPT ink formula. These were pressed on a 15 x 15 flat press. I pressed at 325 for 8 seconds. The instructions said not to use a teflon sheet but I was concerned about the heat on the koozie so I did use one. The koozie is forest green with Vegas gold ink.

Finshed product came out great...

Side note - I also tested F&M SPOT formula at 6 seconds at 325 using a teflon sheet and it looked good as well. I may try F&M next time depending on the image and qty.


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## sjidohair (Apr 9, 2008)

chip so you had transfers made and you presssed them right?
MMM


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## Colorfast (Sep 2, 2006)

sjidohair said:


> chip so you had transfers made and you presssed them right?
> MMM


Right

I used Versatrans because I have used them before for shirts and they were at Printwear Show in Charlotte. I took the koozies to the show looking for a suggestion and they pressed some of their samples right there.

I tried some samples from F&M as well. I ask F&M to send yhem but no until I had ordered from Versatrans. They worked good too. Both the Freedom and SPOT ink formulas pressed easy with no damage to the koozies.

Since I did 100 koozies (2 sided print) plastisol was much easier to use than vinyl which I had considered. I ganged 15 images (same image) on an 11 x 17 sheet. The only bad part was cutting the images out of the gang sheet. Not hard but time consuming. Not as bad as vinyl would have been.


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## sjidohair (Apr 9, 2008)

thanks chip, 
I just recieved some samples from them also, and was very happy with the detail of how they sample to us, letting us know exactly which process is which. ect.. 
Thanks for the input , I for one found it very informative.
MMM


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## dbutirich (Mar 1, 2011)

I recently purchased some koozies from the coozy lady to add some bling to...I know that all heat press machines settings are different...can anyone please share there settings with me (temp and time) I need a place to start, because I have no idea where to begin. 

Thanks,
Donna


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