# Some reviews: Versatranz, F&M, FCI, Transfer Express



## patrioticflags

I just got my first heat press Friday. I've done screen printing before, but never any kind of heat transfers. A hotronix 20'x16'.

I had one transfer I had already ordered from Versatranz and a bunch of free samples.

There were three companies at the Atlanta SSI Show. Versatranze, F&M, and Stalh's Transfer Express[EF]. TE had by far the best booth. They were even giving out free shirts to make a print on. TE is the most expensive and F&M is the cheapest. TE offers up to 13"x15" and the other two 13"x19." I'm pretty sure one of the two guys at the F&M booth told me there was an even bigger size. Because I was asking what the maximum size was at each booth and I thought the guy said something much higher. They don't list any larger size on their website.

The Versatranz booth looked like a guy standing in an almost empty booth. They also didn't give out free samples. The guy was just pressing a CMYK process transfers onto test sheets. However, since I've done screen printing before test shirt never impress me, because I know you can make anything look great on a test sheet. However, a few days later I got a $100 off coupon from Versatranz for my first order, so I went with them. 

*Versatranz EPT*










I had a three color Versatranz EPT made. They work perfect. I've done a bunch of them so far and every one worked flawlessly. It looks like nearly 100% of the plastisol comes off the sheet. They only leave a very faint ghost image on the paper. I went with EPT instead of their hot split, because I was concerned about the white looking good. I know it would be a thicker layer of ink, but I was surprised at how soft the print felt. It exceeded my expectations.

There are a few things about the EPT. One of your colors has to be a "backing layer." They explained this to me as "an extra 1 point border around everything." It is actually a solid layer over the entire image. My transfer is two chest images and two sleeve images. I had room left, so I added an extra sleeve image with a distress pattern. The backing color basically defeats the distress pattern. So only the green and white are distressed and you see black behind the distress cracks instead of the color of the shirt.

There may be a minor issue with using EPT transfers on dark colors. You get tiny spots along the edge at are clear. On the Kelly Green you have to look super hard to see any. However on really dark colors it shows up. You get kinda of a faint border around the image. I don't know if is from an adhesive or what.

I wish I had a sample of their Versatranz Hot Split to compare it too.

*FCI*

These were some samples that were mailed to me. These always worked flawlessly. The edges in the print are also very crisp. They are very soft hand. They also transferred flawlessly.

These are there "Quickprints." They also have a "Quickprints Light." The downside of FCI is the sheet size is only 11"x13".










*Transfer Express Goof Proof*

These also print flawlessly and don't leave much of anything behind. They work very well on black. I can see a few shiney specks along the edges on black shirts, but not nearly as much as the Versatranz EPT. There is no backing color, so these would be more versatile compared to Versatranz EPT. However Versatranz is a lot cheaper. Also I would say that the Versatranz EPT is has crisper edges. The Transfer Express Goof Proof appears to be done on a fairly low mesh count.










*F&M*

I had a few F&M transfers from the SSI show.

The only one I've had that turned out really bad was the F&M hot split. The guidelines had pressure in PSI. I've read on here that F&M needs a lot of pressure. I turned my hotronix up until it read 9. It transferred poorly. About a third of the plastisol did not transfer. I only had one of these, so I couldn't try again.

The F&M freedom transfer did fine.


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## wormil

I always appreciate large pictures but I have a 24" monitor and yours are double the width of my screen making the post troublesome to read.


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## patrioticflags

wormil said:


> I always appreciate large pictures but I have a 24" monitor and yours are double the width of my screen making the post troublesome to read.


I actually shrank them when I was making the post, but after I hit submit they went back to their original size.


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## hswartout

Thanks for the feedback on our product patrioticflags. We will be adding a larger size very soon!


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## printingray

Done a nice job professionally.


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## patrioticflags

I can add another review. My 16"x20" Stalh's teflon slip cover came in in. I now have the stand and the slip cover. The whole reason I went with Hotronix is because of their stand. I wanted to be able to slide the shirts on and off like a shirt platen on a screen printing press.

Before the slip cover, it was taking a long time to get a shirt on and line it up. Now, with the slip cover on I can throw a shirt on and then pull the top edges of the corners back to line in it just like a screen press. I can rip the finished shirt off without it snagging. It really make a huge difference and the heat press is now set up and functioning how I envisioned it.

One thing that concerns me is that the cover comes all wrinkly. When you put it on the press it maintains these wrinkles. Maybe over time it flattens back out, but right now you can feel all kinds of wrinkles and it seems like they could affect the prints.

On another side note, when I first started using it, I was no longer getting the perfect results I got before. Plastisol was remaining on the wax paper. I actually had to decrease my heat time to compensate for the teflon slip cover. The Versatranz EPT tells you to press for 4-6 second. I thought that was a pretty wide range. However I guess they have to do that because of things like this slip cover. I now use 4 instead of 5 to get all the plastisol off the paper.


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## royster13

I tested out my samples from FCI today......They worked really well and i will try to use them on some projects.....I am looking forward to larger sheets.....


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## patrioticflags

I can add to my reviews. I got another order from Versatranz. This time I got their hot split. I also got a huge box of samples from Transfer Express after I bought my hotronix.

Both the Versatranz and Transfer Express hot splits are very soft hand, but do not work that good on dark colors.

My Versatranz hot splits are 50 single color sheets. 25 black to use on white shirts. 25 red to use on black shirts. These are designs I used to screen print myself. For the red on black I did a print flash print with high-opacity union ink.

The red isn't looking that great on any dark color. I may end using both the black and the red transfers for white shirts and get new ones made for black shirts.

The FCI quickprints seem to be a good middle ground so far. FCI has three grades instead of 2. The quickprint samples they sent me were a lot thicker than Versatranz or TF hot splits, but thinner than Goof Proof or EPT. The opacity was excellent, even on black.

The downside, as I said before is the FCI paper size is only 11"x13". With Versatranz 13"x19" size, I'm putting two sets (total of four images) on each.

I requested a pack of samples from SemoImprints. I'm eager to see how opaque they are.


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## jleampark

You might also want to try Seay Graphics (Seay Graphics Custom Screen Printing Heat Transfers and Embroidery | Screen Printed Transfers).

I just e-mailed them asking for samples. I only asked for 10 samples and using some of the same graphics so I could see how the opacity is on light and dark tees.

I just got them this weekend; I haven't had a chance to test them yet.

First impressions:
1. They are big -- 11" x 14".
2. They sent me over 40!
3. They only charged me for shipping and said that they would refund that charge on my first order. Nice!
4. The graphics look very nice and sharp.
5. Turnaround is generally 1-day, with some orders going out the next day. Fast!
6. Customer service seems very good. Quick responses to my e-mails and answered all my questions.
7. Pricing seems very reasonable.

Joe


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## jleampark

patrioticflags said:


> Both the Versatranz and Transfer Express hot splits are very soft hand, but do not work that good on dark colors.


Transfer Express's Hot Splits are quite soft but their Goof Proofs are a bit more opaque for dark tees. They are a little heavier but not bad. I go with the Goof Proof whenever I am using darks.

Before I order from them on-line, I ALWAYS call. Their customer service is exceptional and they will let you know what the best ink is, etc. 

Joe


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## jleampark

patrioticflags said:


> I wanted to be able to slide the shirts on and off like a shirt platen on a screen printing press.


I wish I had looked at that before I bought my press. My SunIE is good but my next press will be better.

I want to be able to slide the tees on and off, I want digital pressure, a bigger platen and with either a swing-away or slider. Maybe the Fusion... 

Joe


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## xfuture

I am getting a order of white for black 100% cotton from VersaTranz. I did not get the EPT, I hope it comes out OK.


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