# which type of transfer material lasts the longest on 100% cotton material?



## lostasylum (Aug 20, 2007)

hi folks... i'm quite new to the heat transfer game and so, i'm quite the noob... i know that there are many types of transfers eg plastisol, polyflock, vinyl, etc.....

but i would like to know... what kind of transfer will last the longest on a normal 100% cotton t-shirt?

would appreciate the help... thanks!


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## mpya (Jun 27, 2008)

yo whats up.
im new here and am from south africa.

im new to this tshirt printing thing and practically need me some education.
i would like to print tshirts like nike phat farm adidas and a lot of other hip hop label.
i want to make proffesional t shirts stuff you can buy.because id like to sell stuff like that.

i however will not be printing the stuff cos i will be getting some1 to do it for me.
i ask cos i wanna know what i should be looking for ,and mostly so that i dont get ripped off .
because there are a lot of printers here but i dont know if they process,ink and etc is the real deal or just some fly by night product promo stlye.which is not what im looking for.
im looking for retailable stuff.

thank you all in advance.


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## rfbf (May 1, 2008)

I'd day plastisol with vinyl coming in second.. but maybe I am partial, we print them!! haha


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## hiGH (Jan 25, 2007)

Flock has proven to be the best in my experience.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

rfbf said:


> I'd day plastisol with vinyl coming in second.. but maybe I am partial, we print them!! haha


I'd agree with this. Plastisol transfers and vinyl transfers (including flock) would probably be the longest lasting.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

mpya said:


> yo whats up.
> im new here and am from south africa.
> 
> im new to this tshirt printing thing and practically need me some education.
> ...


Those t-shirt brands you mentioned have their t-shirts screen printed.


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## COEDS (Oct 4, 2006)

I have found that plastisol is best when using several colors. I have a 1 color vinyl shirt that has been worn for 3 yrs and the vinyl still looks new. I have a plastisol shirt the same age and the plastisol has lost some of the vivid color. i wear these shirts to work in and they take a beating. ...... JB


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## rmay635703 (Jun 26, 2008)

I have many customers that have T-shirts made with wax thermal transfers that are over 12 years old worn often washed weekly that are still in moderate to good condition.

Sadly they really don't make wax thermal like they used to and personally most inkjet transfer papers aren't great compared to wax for longevity, though they look nicer.

Cheers


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## Chani (Jun 18, 2007)

I need to throw my vote in for vinyl. We have shirts that were printed over 10 years ago...the shirts are coming apart, but the vinyl still looks brand-new.


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## lostasylum (Aug 20, 2007)

hiGH said:


> Flock has proven to be the best in my experience.


hi alex, thanks for the comment... but i'd just like to confirm... when you use flock, you can't do things like texturing and multiple colours right? only plastisol can do that? please correct me if i'm wrong...


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## lostasylum (Aug 20, 2007)

Rodney said:


> I'd agree with this. Plastisol transfers and vinyl transfers (including flock) would probably be the longest lasting.


hi rodney, i remember reading in your thread about your heat transfer experiences that you said that good plastisol could last as long as silk screen t-shirts (i hope i didn't quote you wrongly cause i'm too lazy to search... heheh) 

how many washes can a typical heat transfer last then?


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## lostasylum (Aug 20, 2007)

Rodney said:


> Those t-shirt brands you mentioned have their t-shirts screen printed.


that's the general observation, but not always the case right? i have some which look suspiciously like heat transfers and also they tend to crack, which i think only occurs heat transferred material right? or do cracks happen for silk screen plastisol as well?


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## lostasylum (Aug 20, 2007)

COEDS said:


> I have found that plastisol is best when using several colors. I have a 1 color vinyl shirt that has been worn for 3 yrs and the vinyl still looks new. I have a plastisol shirt the same age and the plastisol has lost some of the vivid color. i wear these shirts to work in and they take a beating. ...... JB


hi JB, as usual, it's always great to see you post cause it's usually all pearls of wisdom! =)
but anyway, with regards to your post (gonna sidetrack a little here), you said that your plastisol shirt has lost the vivid colour.. is that a general characteristic of plastisol transfers or are there types that don't lose their vibrant colour? also, do your plastisol transfers crack after a certain age? if they don't, care to share your secret? thanks!


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## COEDS (Oct 4, 2006)

I have one from my old vendor that cracke and the ones that are not holding up as well are from my old vendor too. I switched to ACE TRANSFER and have had great luck. I try others on small orders or for my own stuff just to check them out. I won't say anything bad about any company. I just like to experiment and check all my options. ..... JB


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## hiGH (Jan 25, 2007)

lostasylum said:


> hi alex, thanks for the comment... but i'd just like to confirm... when you use flock, you can't do things like texturing and multiple colours right? only plastisol can do that? please correct me if i'm wrong...


Flock is just a solid piece of material. What do you mean by texturing?

You can do mutiple colors, yes. I've done it many times.


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## lostasylum (Aug 20, 2007)

COEDS said:


> I have one from my old vendor that cracke and the ones that are not holding up as well are from my old vendor too. I switched to ACE TRANSFER and have had great luck. I try others on small orders or for my own stuff just to check them out. I won't say anything bad about any company. I just like to experiment and check all my options. ..... JB


totally understood, and thanks for the insight.


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## lostasylum (Aug 20, 2007)

hiGH said:


> Flock is just a solid piece of material. What do you mean by texturing?
> 
> You can do mutiple colors, yes. I've done it many times.


i guess you already answered it there "flock is just a solid piece of material", which means that one flock piece can only be 1 colour. you can't do it like plastisol transfers where the one design already has the different colours all on it already. to do the same with flock, i'm assuming that i'd have to mix and match the different flock colours. is that so?


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## COEDS (Oct 4, 2006)

lostasylum said:


> i guess you already answered it there "flock is just a solid piece of material", which means that one flock piece can only be 1 colour. you can't do it like plastisol transfers where the one design already has the different colours all on it already. to do the same with flock, i'm assuming that i'd have to mix and match the different flock colours. is that so?


To give you a short answer to your question is YES. . Flock is used for lettering or for larger placements. I seen a soccer ball made with a piece of white fock cut into a circle and pressed on a shirt. Then black vinyl was used to make the lines on the ball and to seal the edges. it really looked cool when it was done. A year later after atleast 1 most of the time 2 complete laundry cycles a week it still looks great. .... JB


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