# F&M Expressions, FASHION or ATHLETIC?



## shirtspewpew (Jul 21, 2015)

I am in a rush and cannot wait for sample pack -- These will be a 2 color graphic on 100% cotton. I've read here and there that people preferred the athletic formula compared to the fashion.... any one here with experience with both or either of the two?


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## darklight99 (Aug 12, 2013)

Check with their website, they send out samples to try.


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## artlife (Jan 15, 2010)

shirtspewpew said:


> I am in a rush and cannot wait for sample pack -- These will be a 2 color graphic on 100% cotton. I've read here and there that people preferred the athletic formula compared to the fashion.... any one here with experience with both or either of the two?


They have a guideline on their website if you can't decide which to choose. But they state that the fashion is a softer hand. The athletic then will be heavier ink deposit.
On the website-
Not sure which Spot Color print formula is right for your project? Start Here


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## ProArtShirts (May 3, 2010)

shirtspewpew said:


> I am in a rush and cannot wait for sample pack -- These will be a 2 color graphic on 100% cotton. I've read here and there that people preferred the athletic formula compared to the fashion.... any one here with experience with both or either of the two?


The athletic will be more opaque which is a plus if you are looking for more vibrant colors. Should work fine if your color areas aren't too large or it may start to feel heavy.

The fashion formula is fine if you are ok with the lower opacity. I always do a double press when using these prints. That's the only way they work for me, but I can spare the extra 8 seconds.

I use both formulas and they work great for me. Never had a return due to a print issue from any FM prints.

The fashion print I use is a two color red and white that I print on black 100% cotton tees and 50/50 blend hoodies. One of my best sellers and the prints look pretty good with a light feel and soft hand.


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## Tony_SS (Aug 25, 2006)

I just did a job with athletic and was pleased.


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## TWELVEANDTWO (Mar 22, 2014)

ProArtShirts said:


> The fashion formula is fine if you are ok with the lower opacity. I always do a double press when using these prints. That's the only way they work for me, but I can spare the extra 8 seconds.


 ...So you use two transfers on one shirt?


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## ProArtShirts (May 3, 2010)

TWELVEANDTWO said:


> ...So you use two transfers on one shirt?


Press the transfer and peel.
Lay silicone paper over it and press again.
All total that takes about 16 seconds.


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## Beckmansbeach (Jun 30, 2014)

What is the purpose of repressing? Do you feel the transfers need it to be pressed again for proper adheasion or is it just to give the design a more shiny, vibrant finish?


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## ProArtShirts (May 3, 2010)

Beckmansbeach said:


> What is the purpose of repressing? Do you feel the transfers need it to be pressed again for proper adheasion or is it just to give the design a more shiny, vibrant finish?


Sometimes you just don't get a perfect adhesion of the transfer to the shirt. I have one two color transfer that is the fashion formula that is never perfect. Little loose edges that need to be repressed. I tried all different pressures, temps and times. It's quick and easy to just do a quick repress. Sold hundreds of hoodies and shirts with that transfer and b=never got a return. The athletic formula rarely needs a double press I just do it as insurance and never got a return on any of those either.


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## TWELVEANDTWO (Mar 22, 2014)

ProArtShirts said:


> Press the transfer and peel.
> Lay silicone paper over it and press again.
> All total that takes about 16 seconds.


 Thank you...I understand now


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## Beckmansbeach (Jun 30, 2014)

Printed my first order of fashion formula from F&M today. Exactly what I expected them to be after printing 1000's of their $.15 transfers the last few years.
Thinner ink, Very high quality, crisp lines, 3 color job. I ganged four 4"x12" images and four 3/4"x6" front mid chest text on the 12 3/4 x 19 sheet, got 26 sheets to do 100 shirt order. Never got mult-color from f&m before but another company sent me crap transfers so i had to pay the $$ for f&m because it was a rush job.
Printed on gildan ultra cotton long sleeves, following manufacturer settings 350 for 7 seconds on my Hix s650p.
Had a little bit of the edges lifting as others have experienced, repress with teflon sheet cleaned it up though. 
I am not a fan of this though, because ive done so many $.15 and to much extra press time makes them crack after 5-10 washes rather than the usual cracking after 25 washes. (You get what you pay for with them). 
F&m transfers do not like to be over cooked.

What i found helps is lots of pre heat helps, even with 50/50 shirts and way more with 100% cotton.
Lots.
And some more.
I use a really worn out, thin 16x20 pillow with every shirt and hoodie i press. When i first go to print shirts i heat the pillow up each side in the press (7sec) before i put it in the shirt, 
Then pre-press shirt for 7 seconds, 
Then the key -
Try to line up the transfer quickly. If you play around aligning it and the shirt cools, start over again. Keep the shirt and pillow warm at all times.
Not sure when i figured all this out, but noticed whenever i would get the raised edges it would be when i spent to much time playing with transfer alignment.

The $.15 shirts act the same, but much more noticeable with these fashion transfers. The front mid chest text on the run i just did was a pain to align, especially because they were cut from a gang sheet so i had to align looking at ink through the paper cause the papers edges were hand cut.

All in all, i am going to be using these a lot more in the future. Any transfer from any company has quarks, i have tried most of the lower priced companies in the past, and with how happy i am with these so far, well worth the extra $$$$.


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## Beckmansbeach (Jun 30, 2014)

Just wanted to do an update on this thread. I just did another job with the f&m fashion print, and this time i was not quite as satisfied.
The job was 1 color, but it was a somewhat large back print 9.25w X 12.75h. The customer wanted the softer print, and was impressed by a sample of the previous job mentioned above. I have done several different jobs / designs with f&m athletic transfers for this customer in the past.

So, this job was a white print on a black shirt, and the design was an aztek print so it had lots of thin lines. I was actually very impressed by the sharpness of the transfer with such an intricate design, i was nervous some of the space between line would fill, but the detail was incredible.
After my experience with the last job, i made sure i got lots of preheat going, and the transfers peeled fine, but was not fully adhering to the shirt. 
Wasted a bunch of transfers dialing them in but wound up pressing at 365 for 8 seconds with lots of preheat worked great.
I tested probably 10 transfers to dial it in. Any hotter and the white would start to cook. Any longer and the ink would start to "flow out" and fill in some of the space between lines and loose sharpness.
The dialed in prints look good with great hand and good adhesion. Past 5 washes with no problems.
I must also mention that these were on pocket t's so i had to use a large 16x20 pillow. This definitely affected the pressure towards the operator side (rear) of my clamshell press, and i think my adjustments were to help compensate for that. The designs held better towards the top of the top of the shirt. The previous job I did with these was a 4" tall back design on a pocket t so it was on the upper half of the platen.

Would also like to note that these shirts also got a print on the pocket itself. This was a solid version of the logo, no thin lines. This printed with no noticeable trouble at recommended 350 7 sec, and were really close to being over cooked at the 365 8 sec, but still printed fine. They were ganged together with the back design on 1 sheet, so it was truly the same design acting differently. 
All in all, it left me not quite as in love with these prints as i was after the last job, i just really need to see some after 30 washes.
Oh, this was 2 weeks ago, customer wound up doing same design black on white shirts. Not nearly as bad as the white ones at 350 for 7 sec, but not quite right so i stuck with the 365 for 8 seconds and the hand / feel of these were noticeably nicer, possibly the best feel i've ever seen for a transfer, and i have tried almost every company mentioned on this forum.
The combination of hand, detail and opacity (especially white on a black shirt) of the fashion print is still one of the best I have seen.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

ProArtShirts said:


> Press the transfer and peel.
> Lay silicone paper over it and press again.
> All total that takes about 16 seconds.


I did that too with my recent athletic print order...


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## martin43 (May 15, 2017)

ProArtShirts said:


> Press the transfer and peel.
> Lay silicone paper over it and press again.
> All total that takes about 16 seconds.


Did you press the first time according to their directions or did you modify the heat and or pressure? I'm getting my first order from them and have found that you have to play around on transfers when working with different companies.


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