# Good and bad transfers from same company?



## BikerBill (Feb 18, 2014)

I know I'm a newbie to the whole plastisol transfer biz, but common sense is telling me you can find good and very bad transfers from the same company. Is that normal? I bought 6 different stock designs from one place. I followed all directions carefully. First two came out great.

Next two were warm peels. I followed the companies instructions. Half the design never came off the transfer paper. The bottom flourish ribbon on the design never moved. After trying several different temps, pressure and time I decided to do an extreme test.

I cranked the temp up to 400F, put very high pressure on, pre-heated for 10 seconds, then locked down for a full 20 seconds. The damn bottom ribbon flourish acted like I had done nothing!! Not one single spot came off the transfer paper. Surely that can't be right!

Would you agree there must be something wrong with that transfer? I love the designs this place makes and they seem like one of the biggest transfer companies, but damn I'm getting discouraged fast dealing with non-working transfers. Again I'm new so it all could be me, but from what I did to try to get that transfer to come off I don't think so. Right??


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

You say these came from the same supplier but did they come from the same manufacturer? Most stock companies sell transfers from many manufacturers....


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## BikerBill (Feb 18, 2014)

> You say these came from the same supplier but did they come from the same manufacturer? Most stock companies sell transfers from many manufacturers....


Oh really? I did not know that. I assumed most of the big transfer companies all made their own, since most also offer custom transfers. Well I have no idea then, can't really tell with these. Do you think maybe I got some old transfers that have been sitting around so long they are no longer good? I mean damn, 400 F for 20 seconds with a two hand hard press and nothing at all seems very strange. Someone is suppose to call me to help from the place, but I fail to see how these will work no matter what he tells me.


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

most stock transfers will have name of the manufacturer on them....


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## skdave (Apr 11, 2008)

Only dye sublimation works at 400 F Try a lower temp per the directions for plastisol.
If you want to try dye sub, pm me.


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## proworlded (Oct 3, 2006)

We sell thousands of transfers to thousands of customers and very, very, occasionally a transfer that works ok for us, and others, just does not apply properly for that person. I think it best to move on to other designs that print satisfactorily. 385-400 is ok and when there is a 'fix' it's usually a pressure issue...either more or less.


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## BikerBill (Feb 18, 2014)

Thanks for the replies. Just to be clear I did not buy these from Proworld. I think I will get some from there very soon however and try out some designs. Yeah I guess I just need to forget about the particular ones that don't work and try other designs. I had to buy a dozen per design however so I feel ripped off. From now on I will try to get only a few of each design until I see how well they work. I notice many different places sell the same designs.


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## jleampark (Sep 6, 2007)

It seems like you don't want to name the company and publicly out them on this forum -- which is nice of you. 

I suggest that you contact the company itself and ask them for tips.

Could your press not be giving accurate temperature all over? Have you tested it? Without having temperature strips or a heat gun, try rotating the shirt or paper so that you are using different parts of the platen to heat the image. Is the same area not getting coverage?

Joe

P.S. I've never really had good and bad transfers from the same company (I use Transfer Express, Semo Imprints and Seay Graphics). I've had presses not turn out right but it's typically user-error for me.


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## BikerBill (Feb 18, 2014)

> Could your press not be giving accurate temperature all over? Have you tested it? Without having temperature strips or a heat gun, try rotating the shirt or paper so that you are using different parts of the platen to heat the image. Is the same area not getting coverage?


Hi there. I have a brand new Maxx 16x20 clam-shell press. It works great and seems to have even heat all over. I have used lots of transfers from Joe Cool designs in Daytona beach, Fl. They are big and I've not had any problems with those. So the press works fine. Like I said, the first two transfer designs I got from this other company worked fine. It was these other two that don't seem to work right. I have cut the designs and tried them all over the press; middle, left, right, each corner. All come out the same, the ink never leaves the transfer. Live and learn I guess.


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## djque (Feb 5, 2013)

BikerBill said:


> Hi there. I have a brand new Maxx 16x20 clam-shell press. It works great and seems to have even heat all over. I have used lots of transfers from Joe Cool designs in Daytona beach, Fl. They are big and I've not had any problems with those. So the press works fine. Like I said, the first two transfer designs I got from this other company worked fine. It was these other two that don't seem to work right. I have cut the designs and tried them all over the press; middle, left, right, each corner. All come out the same, the ink never leaves the transfer. Live and learn I guess.


See if you can peel a corner of the transfer up. You should be able to. If not then the transfer is over cured


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## larry (Mar 6, 2007)

Biker Bill, It may be the transfer are old. If the transfers are old they may not work. If some work and some don't it I believe it is the transfers. Contact whoever made them and ask that they test their inventory. This can happen to anyone who stocks transfers. Send samples back to the manufacturer and ask for a credit if they don't work.


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## BikerBill (Feb 18, 2014)

> Biker Bill, It may be the transfer are old. If the transfers are old they may not work. If some work and some don't it I believe it is the transfers. Contact whoever made them and ask that they test their inventory. This can happen to anyone who stocks transfers. Send samples back to the manufacturer and ask for a credit if they don't work.


Great Idea Larry, thanks!


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## Stefano (Aug 5, 2013)

BikerBill said:


> I know I'm a newbie to the whole plastisol transfer biz, but common sense is telling me you can find good and very bad transfers from the same company. Is that normal? I bought 6 different stock designs from one place. I followed all directions carefully. First two came out great.
> --- etc. ---


I've bought many transfers from 5 different companies - 3 manufacturers and 2 resellers. A few observations:
(1) I like hot peel transfers the best - 390 degrees, 8-10 seconds, and things almost always turn out like they're supposed to. 
(2) Warm peels can be maddening. Even transfers from the same manufacturer, calling for the same time, temp, etc., have required numerous test prints. So were the transfers produced and cured the same? Probably not.
(3) I tried 2 cold peel designs from a manufacturer and was impressed. Not sure of what the downsides to this type are, but will try more.
(4) After methodically stepping through all the variables, some designs still wouldn't release all their ink. One manufacturer admitted the design was "old stock" and issued a credit. Another manufacturer said it was me or my press. Cop out - if that was the case, none of my shirts would come out.

Sometimes, after doing half a dozen or so test strips and getting no where, just move on.


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## BikerBill (Feb 18, 2014)

> Sometimes, after doing half a dozen or so test strips and getting no where, just move on.


Hi Steve. Yeah I agree with the above, I'm not going to use two I can't seem to get right. I also agree that hot peels seem to work the best. Warm peels seem to work differently each time. I noticed it takes more pressure to peel back the transfer paper. Never tried cold peels yet but I'll have to get some sometime. Thanks.


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## calhtech (Feb 4, 2012)

BikerBill said:


> I know I'm a newbie to the whole plastisol transfer biz, but common sense is telling me you can find good and very bad transfers from the same company. Is that normal? I bought 6 different stock designs from one place. I followed all directions carefully. First two came out great.
> 
> Next two were warm peels. I followed the companies instructions. Half the design never came off the transfer paper. The bottom flourish ribbon on the design never moved. After trying several different temps, pressure and time I decided to do an extreme test.
> 
> ...


Proworld sells a lot of transfers, but most are form other mfg's. Sometimes this can be a problem where different transfers have different heat and pressures. Biggest one being the PUFF designs. They are a NIGHTMARE!

CalhTech>


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## BikerBill (Feb 18, 2014)

> Proworld sells a lot of transfers, but most are form other mfg's. Sometimes this can be a problem where different transfers have different heat and pressures. Biggest one being the PUFF designs. They are a NIGHTMARE!


Thanks for the info. These were not from Proworld, but the place does carry a lot of the same designs they do. So they must also get lots of transfers from different mfg's. Which explains why some seem to work fine and others don't. I guess all I can do is get a few designs I like as I go and see what ones work well and what does not. trial and error. All the ones I have gotten from Joe Cool in Daytona beach, Florida have worked great once I learned a bit.


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