# Test Photos: Jetwear Dark vs Jetwear IYA Dark (ironall)



## MediumPace (Jul 30, 2008)

Hello folks. I've been reading this forum for a while now, and have gotten lots of knowledge from it, so I though I would take a little time to give something back.

Here are some photos of my tests shirts using Jetwear Dark vs Jetweark IYA Dark or as most people around here know it "Ironall for Dark".

I used the same process (for the most part) to create each test piece. The final size of the image was around 5" tall, so you can get some idea of how detailed some of the cuts are. 

I printed these on my epson 1400, using Inkjetfly "heat press" inks, on "photo" setting. Then I used my graphtec to contour cut the paper. Also all paper was purchased from tshirtsupplies.com, very recently. 

As you can see the Jetwear Dark cut perfectly. Pretty much handles like vinyl when you're cutting it. You can get very detailed, without any problems. The only problem is trying to get it off it's backing paper once its cut. If anyone knows a trick on how to separate it from its backing paper easily please let me know. Anyway, I used some transfer tape to get it off, and pressed on each shirt for 15 sec. at 375, then did a cold peel. The final product looks excellent. Very bright and vivid colors. The only drawback if any, is that it is kind of stiff... or at least stiffer then IYA Dark, which is very soft.

The Jetwear IYA Dark on the other hand gave me problems. For one it did not cut as easy as the other paper. You can see that the tips of the "J"s in the design where mangled, along with one of Harley's fingers in the process. These elements are pretty small in real life, so any fine line cutting seems out of the question with this paper for now. Larger more basic cuts will be fine, since most of Harley's other features came out nice. 

Also the IYA Dark paper did not retain the color as vividly as Jetwear Dark. The print just looked a little more faded then the other paper, and continued to do so after pressing. I pressed at 375 for 30 sec, and did a hot peel.

The sample I used transfer tape on came out horrible. Half of the ink/paper came off with the peel after I pressed the image. The image I pressed without the transfer tape looked much better. Not as good as Jetwear Dark, but good enough to give to a customer without cringing. Also as promised the transfer was very soft, it folds and conforms to the shape of the shirt.

Conclusions: I will be using Jetwear Dark for more complete designs which require complex contour cutting. I will using IYA Dark for customers who want large prints with no cutting, and also some non-complex cutting is okay. If I had to rank them Jetwear Dark is #1, and IYA Dark is in 2nd (or last) place.

Hope this has all been helpful to someone.


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## Girlzndollz (Oct 3, 2007)

Thanks for the test and taking the time to post that up! 

I looked at the pics... for the transfer tape, 3 of them said you used the transfer tape, and only one, not. Did you try the Jetwear Dark without the transfer tape at all? 

A way to get the transfer off of the backer paper is to make a tiny tear, the backer paper should rip and the transfer itself not. Try it on a sample that you don't need to Use Right Now, lol, to see if it works for you. That's how I do it, and it works great.

Have you tried shortening your dwell time? I think for me, 375*F at 15 -30 would kill my transfers with dark/opaque paper. It tends to get translucent the longer it is cooked. At 350-360*F, I could go abou 10-13 seconds... at 375*F - it's more like 6 seconds or so. Just a thought if that might help bring some more vividness to the images.

Yes, your results are inline with what I've always read about JetWear Dark and JetWear IYA Dark (Ironall Dark <-- also the paper I use) .. and that is:

* The JetWear Dk has a heavier hand (not as soft) than JetWear IYA Dark.
* The trade off is people feel JWD has a better color retention then JWIYAD.
* The JWD is easier to use with a cutter than JWIYAD, and that is because it is less stretchy.

Thank you again for your test results. Have you washed the shirts yet? Washing adds a whole new dimension to a test. Some shirts come out ruined after the first wash... 

If you try some of these other settings and such, please let me know what the results are if you get a chance to get back here. Thanks and best regards, good luck... Kelly


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## Lnfortun (Feb 18, 2006)

You are pressing IYA too long and too hot. I know what the recommend press setting is. I press for 6 seconds at 350F. Otherwise it loses some of its opacity which makes the image look muted. I use magic mask instead of transfer tape. The mask does not lift the ink off the transfer as long as it is peeled off when it has completely cold down.


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## ritchie (Dec 11, 2009)

I know this is an old forum....should I stretch the t shirt after I've ironed the IYA onto the t shirt, and once stretched, should I iron it again?


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