# Siser EasyWeed plastic feel



## herbertm7 (Oct 1, 2018)

I'm fairly new to the heat transfer world. I've been using Siser EasyWeed HTV with my custom artwork and have a heat press. I have found the vinyl to have a very plastic hand and is quite stiff and wrinkles after washing. The problem is very pronounced on 50/50 cotton/poly blends but also visible on 100% cotton. Is this a heat or pressure issue or sounding more like a product choice? TIA for your insight.


----------



## TABOB (Feb 13, 2018)

Eh...But it is plastic. It cannot possibly be absorbed in the fabric. 

The wrinkling issue is a fabric issue. The only way to avoid this for sure, is to pre-shrink the garment by washing and tumble-drying before applying the vinyl. Inconvenient, I know... but that's the only way to be sure.


----------



## mfatty500 (Jan 18, 2010)

Are your designs big and very solidly filled, or a few layers? That will make them feel heavy, and more like plastic-like also.


----------



## into the T (Aug 22, 2015)

read this
then this


----------



## into the T (Aug 22, 2015)

technically even kevlar is a plastic, 
but i would not call it that as the general public associates plastics with a material like those cheap hard little toys

that being said most of the major htv's are not vinyls anymore (pvc - hard/brittle/cold intolerant), 
but are a polyurethane (pu)
these pu's seek to combine the softness and stretch-ability of rubber,
with the extrudability/shape-abilty/inexpensiveness of a plastic
i've used a few pu's that had a far superior hand than 80% of the silkscreens i've felt,
and i've used lots that were not that great

that is where trials come in
do a test tee, do many wash/dry cycles, do the same designs in different vinyls on the same new tee, keep detailed notes
if you ever reach the point where you are washing/drying tee's before application stop and rethink it
oddly enough wrinkling is sometimes caused by excessive stretching of the garment on the platen (jpss is the opposite),
too much dwell time/heat/pressure (more is not always better)
for your test tee press suggested time/temp/pressure, peel, recover with parchment paper 
and repress for 5-7 secs (unless using one of the turbo pu's, then repress for 4 secs)
then pick another spot on the tee and do the same but ensure you do not re-hit the other design with the heat when pressing, etc.


----------



## 1090gal (Aug 2, 2016)

I have used thermoflex, but usually use Siser easyweed when using HTV. Thermoflex worked very well for the applications I used it on. But it is thicker than Easyweed (100 microns vs 90 microns) and I found the difference to be noticeable. I still thought it had a definite “HTV hand” compared to screen printing, or screen print transfers. Just my opinion. 
The best solution I have found to this is to not use HTV on applications where there are large solid areas of color(s), as mentioned previously in this thread. For designs such as those, I use screen print transfers.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## into the T (Aug 22, 2015)

the secret is the chalk-board brush and then the repress with parchment paper

the micron thickness is only a pre-press number, other factors are involved post-press
like does the adhesive layer semi-liquefy and slightly embed in the fibers

there are a few pu's that are super-thin, some korean brands and chemica hotmark is 50-60 microns
the difference between the hand of thermoflex plus and easyweed is night and day,
i started with easyweed so i have lots of hands-on experience

one of the main 'selling' features of using the heat transfer film we do is they are inert and non-toxic,
both for the people cutting and applying, and the customer purchasing it (okeotek 100 and cpsia compliant)
we have had customers tell us we should be advertising that aspect even more 
(next year we will have more signage highlighting this)
whereas screen-printing is toxic for all involved (even 'water-based' is still harsh and involves solvents)

so for some of us, screen-printing is never an option due to its personal, end-user and environmental impact


----------



## 1090gal (Aug 2, 2016)

Ok. Good to know. I’m always learning!
The thermofoex I used definitely felt thicker on the garments I did with it. I’ll have to try again with that technique. Could you elaborate on what, exactly, the chalkboard brush and parchment are doing to the HTV?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## TABOB (Feb 13, 2018)

*Are vinyl films really environmentally friendly?*
I could apply a layer of non-phthalate plastisol over a release liner, add some polyurethane adhesive, cook it, and the result will be real vinyl (PVC) film.
You don't like plastisol? I can also use non-PVC plastisol (Polyurethane-Acrylate). 

Having this process done in a factory thousands of miles away, where you don't see it, does not make the product more environmentally friendly. 

It's obviously a misconception and people are easily deceived. Applying the "ink" directly to the fabric generates less waste, as there is no backing paper, no weeding waste, or application tape.


----------



## into the T (Aug 22, 2015)

1090gal said:


> Could you elaborate on what, exactly, the chalkboard brush and parchment are doing to the HTV?


check this for the chalkboard brush technique
i like parchment paper more than teflon for the repress 
(as teflon monkeys with the temp and leaves a 'pattern' in the vinyl)
parchment is cheap at costco
cut with scissors for extended life instead of the integral cutter on the box
then when it begins to wrinkle re-use for layering/keeping weeded designs pre-pressing

get a decent chalkboard brush as the cheaper ones tend to leave threads everywhere


----------



## 1ArmBandit (Jan 24, 2018)

into the T said:


> check this for the chalkboard brush technique
> i like parchment paper more than teflon for the repress
> (as teflon monkeys with the temp and leaves a 'pattern' in the vinyl)
> parchment is cheap at costco
> ...


i see where they said to rub with chalkboard eraser but i didnt see the reason..what is the eraser supposedly doing??


----------



## into the T (Aug 22, 2015)

the 'adhesive layer' of the vinyl semi-liquefies from the press
so the eraser immediately after simply embeds it a little deeper into the fabric


----------



## aldonhara (Sep 20, 2015)

Where did you buy your Siser EasyWeed from? Make sure that you are buying from a certified Siser reseller as some places try to brand their material as "Siser" when it really is not. Maybe you got something labelled as Siser but wasn't. Most cases are from obscure sellers off of ebay or amazon. Siser EasyWeed Stretch will give you a softer hand especially when doing large solid designs but will be a bit more matte then regular EasyWeed (some people actually prefer the matte look).


----------



## michaelbrandonw (Jan 7, 2016)

Hi there. If I was intentionally looking for a very heavy plastic/rubber feel (see attached examples) would this be achieved by layering an EasyWeed product, or would you recommend a different HTV product?


----------

