# Dark shirts



## belfastfumanchu (Aug 19, 2005)

Hi guys
Can I ask do most of you all print onto light coloured t-shirts due to the extra cost/hassel of printing onto dark colours? 

If you do print onto dark colours then what method do you use?


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## AeonTees (Jul 9, 2005)

belfastfumanchu said:


> Hi guys
> Can I ask do most of you all print onto light coloured t-shirts due to the extra cost/hassel of printing onto dark colours?
> 
> If you do print onto dark colours then what method do you use?


Hi there.

I personally use plastisol transfers on dark shirts. It works great and I suggest everyone who is thinking of expanding from white/ash shirts give it some consideration. 

There are a number of places that will do it, but I've been sticking with Silver Mountain and so far, they have been just great.

Sincerely,
Chris.


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## blairrev2003 (Jul 8, 2005)

We screen print and use a process that uses. Some wierd pick, neon green, yellow, blue, two underbase whites, and black. I think.


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## eyegasm (Aug 9, 2005)

I use opaque transfer for dark shirts. It works fine and the quality is ok, but not as good as the quality of transfer for light fabrics. I usually wear my own tees all the time to see what will happen to them after a bunch of washes etc.


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## belfastfumanchu (Aug 19, 2005)

Opaque transfers..how come not many other people choose to use this method? Seems straight forward.


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## belfastfumanchu (Aug 19, 2005)

By the way - something else I wanted to share with you all.
I emailed a company who sells t-shirts asking them how they print onto dark shirts and they came back with this answer;

"We have two options for printing full colour dark garments, either with toner
transfers through a full colour laser printer or a wide format ink jet printer
using out magicut dark transfer film."

Whats magicut dark transfer film and whats Toner Transfers, anyone?


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## jdr8271 (Jun 16, 2005)

Toner transfers are heat transfers printed with a laser printer. You dont want that. It is poor quality, and will have a white box around it.

The inkjet printer option is ok, but not great either. 

Go to a company that screen prints.


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## belfastfumanchu (Aug 19, 2005)

Thanks JDR


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## Twinge (Apr 26, 2005)

I wasn't impressed with the quality of opaque paper myself. Its only good for big block images that you can cut right up to, and it feels really plasticy and I've heard it usually doesn't last very long.


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## Twinge (Apr 26, 2005)

Aeon: What settings are you using for transfering the plastisol you're getting from Silver Mountain? We just got in our first order from them today, and they aren't quite working perfectly. So far I've determined that 400 degrees seems to work a lot better than 375, but other than that I'm not certain (especially reguarding the cold peel for extra opacity).


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## AeonTees (Jul 9, 2005)

Twinge said:


> Aeon: What settings are you using for transfering the plastisol you're getting from Silver Mountain? We just got in our first order from them today, and they aren't quite working perfectly. So far I've determined that 400 degrees seems to work a lot better than 375, but other than that I'm not certain (especially reguarding the cold peel for extra opacity).


Hey twinge, I press the plastisol transfers at just a hair under 400 degrees (my press isn't digital, so I would say approx 395 degrees) for 8 seconds. Afterwards, I run a rolling pin over the design for approx 10 seconds and then peel. It works like a charm, especially in areas with very thin lettering. I was having a terrible time getting the skinnier portions (small lettering and fine print, so to speak) of my designs to adhere properly before trying that.

Of course, you don't have to use a rolling pin. Simply rub the design down with a clean dry cloth and you will be fine. The rolling pin thing is something I thought of and it actually works very well. Perhaps because of the even distribution of weight. 

There are a couple things I would like to point out though. As you know, if you peel immediately, the design tends to look a little "transparent". That is, all the ink doesn't adhere completely to the fabric. But, if you wait too long to peel (over 20 seconds) the transfer will not peel properly. I was running into that a lot when I first started doing plastisol transfers. If you try the settings I suggested, you should have no problem. 

Please follow up once you have had a chance to test the settings. I'm curious to know how it worked out for you.

Peace,
Chris


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## Twinge (Apr 26, 2005)

Sure, I'll try that tommorow. The one I didn't peel hot I rubbed down for about 20 seconds and then peeled and several of the small links pulled up with the transfer.


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## AeonTees (Jul 9, 2005)

Twinge said:


> Sure, I'll try that tommorow. The one I didn't peel hot I rubbed down for about 20 seconds and then peeled and several of the small links pulled up with the transfer.


Yeah, I'd say 20 seconds is maybe just a little too long. Then again, like they say, everyone's equipment is different so experimenting with various temps and times is the only way you will know for sure what works best for your setup.

Cheers,
Chris


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## Twinge (Apr 26, 2005)

Well, its getting better. Still not perfect. Seems like the plastisol ink doesn't press in all the way, but if you re-press them afterwards (with teflon in between, of course) part of the ink transfers to the teflon and it loses some opacity (thought it does stick in better at least). Also, The ink on the side where I first start removing the carrier (right side in my case) doesn't transfer fully either, so that part of it leaves some ink on the carrier and isn't fully opaque.

Tried using a rolling pin... I didn't have any good way to keep the shirt from flailing wildly all over the place, but it still seemed to do an okay job in spite of that. I think I'll stick with a cloth or somehting for now.

And one other note, when I pull off the carrier paper it kind of jerks a bit whenever it gets to an ink portion, and this leaves some of the edges of letters, for examples, a little jagged. This one probably isn't a huge deal, but smoother would be better.


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## eyegasm (Aug 9, 2005)

belfastfumanchu said:


> Opaque transfers..how come not many other people choose to use this method? Seems straight forward.


Most people think they don't last as long as transfer for light fabrics, wich is true, but I still think the quality is ok. And as someone else said, Opaque transfer works best if the deign is square or circle shaped etc.


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## twistedlight (Aug 1, 2005)

I like Opaque transfers for my personal use, and I understand the frustration of only being able to use light colored shirts for inkjet heat transfers, but from what I've heard, and experienced through washing them, I wouldn't sell shirts using them to anyone. They definitely fade and crack much faster than regular transfers. Previously I didnt use a heat press to apply opaque transfers, so Im experimenting with them now. I hope the more evenly applied pressure and consistant heat improves the durability of the transfer. Im gonna continue to use dark transfers for personal use and shirts for buddies. Im sure there will eventually be a dark inkjet transfer that is close to as durable as the light color ones.


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## AeonTees (Jul 9, 2005)

Twinge said:


> Well, its getting better. Still not perfect. Seems like the plastisol ink doesn't press in all the way, but if you re-press them afterwards (with teflon in between, of course) part of the ink transfers to the teflon and it loses some opacity (thought it does stick in better at least). Also, The ink on the side where I first start removing the carrier (right side in my case) doesn't transfer fully either, so that part of it leaves some ink on the carrier and isn't fully opaque.
> 
> Tried using a rolling pin... I didn't have any good way to keep the shirt from flailing wildly all over the place, but it still seemed to do an okay job in spite of that. I think I'll stick with a cloth or somehting for now.
> 
> And one other note, when I pull off the carrier paper it kind of jerks a bit whenever it gets to an ink portion, and this leaves some of the edges of letters, for examples, a little jagged. This one probably isn't a huge deal, but smoother would be better.


Hmmmmm. I'm not exactly sure what can be wrong there. Have you tried increasing the pressure on your press? Also, do you have any pictures of the shirts once you have tried pressing them? I'd be interested to see what the results look like.

In regards to the rolling pin, I apply slow, equal pressure to the spots on the transfer where the ink is contained. (ie) if I have a graphic with a word underneath, I will push down on the text portion going back and forth without simply rolling across the entire design and then do one or two slow rolls across the graphic portion of the design.

Perhaps the rolling pin idea isn't for everyone, but it really works well for me. The ink seems to press in perfectly and withstands multiple washings without any peeling whatsoever.

Try increasing the pressure on your press and maybe try pushing down just a little bit on the handle of your press once it is locked in place. Don't push hard, I don't want you to break your press, but it seems as though you may not be getting enough pressure onto your designs.

This is all just a guess but I'm sure with enough trial and error, everything will start working fine for you.

Cheers,
Chris.


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## kilerb (Jul 26, 2005)

I sell Tshirts on Ebay. Black tees using opaque transfer paper. I have over 600 feebacks with a 100% feedback rating, so there not as bad as some people say. At least the ones I'm using seem to work well. I get them from www.tshirtpaper.com 

They aren't as good as the light colored fabric paper, this is true, but I wouldn't say they're terrible either.


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## Twinge (Apr 26, 2005)

Might as well put an update to my situation here...

Doing pretty good. We're using a rolling pin and going up and down it for about 10 seconds after pressing it for 10 seconds. Also, I quickly peel up one corner/side just a little bit, and then peel across from the other side -- doing this nearly eliminates the problem I was having with the last little bit staying on the carrier paper partially instead of transfering. This sets the ink fairly well, but the edges of the letters still are a little flaky/not stuck down fully from the peeling motion. Also, very thin lines on a medium-sized design we tried don't do too well... I don't know if that's because they are just too thin or because our heat press is a little on the fritz (not enough pressure; right now we're using a big sweatshirt to thicken it and give more pressure, but now the shirts get a visible mark/crease on the edge where the press was) or what.

So... we've got some in good sellable condition now, but we still don't have it quite down to a science. Another question for you, Aeon: do you have any way of holding down the shirt so that it doesn't crease/wrinkle up (and occasionally shift the whole shirt) when you're rolling your pin over it? It seems to do okay regardless for the most part, but it did mess up at least one shirt and made others a bit harder to handle.


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## pocketjacks (Jul 26, 2005)

i just got some plastisol transfers in. The first shirt the ink was sort of thick in parts and not in others. I cranked it up to 400 degrees for 8 sec and now they are perfect. The peal off quick and the ink is even.


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## AeonTees (Jul 9, 2005)

Twinge said:


> Might as well put an update to my situation here...
> 
> Doing pretty good. We're using a rolling pin and going up and down it for about 10 seconds after pressing it for 10 seconds. Also, I quickly peel up one corner/side just a little bit, and then peel across from the other side -- doing this nearly eliminates the problem I was having with the last little bit staying on the carrier paper partially instead of transfering. This sets the ink fairly well, but the edges of the letters still are a little flaky/not stuck down fully from the peeling motion. Also, very thin lines on a medium-sized design we tried don't do too well... I don't know if that's because they are just too thin or because our heat press is a little on the fritz (not enough pressure; right now we're using a big sweatshirt to thicken it and give more pressure, but now the shirts get a visible mark/crease on the edge where the press was) or what.
> 
> So... we've got some in good sellable condition now, but we still don't have it quite down to a science. Another question for you, Aeon: do you have any way of holding down the shirt so that it doesn't crease/wrinkle up (and occasionally shift the whole shirt) when you're rolling your pin over it? It seems to do okay regardless for the most part, but it did mess up at least one shirt and made others a bit harder to handle.


Hi Twinge,

Glad to hear that things are coming along. I still think you may be waiting just a little too long to peel the transfer. The same thing happens to me if I don't peel quick enough (10-15 seconds) As far as the lettering and thin sections go, there is one design in particular that I was concerned about when we started with plastisol transfers. By rolling it evenly for 10 seconds and then doing a quick peel, it comes off perfectly. Here is the example, and this is a pic of the shirt after it was pressed.

http://i15.ebayimg.com/02/i/04/98/6f/74_1_b.JPG

In regards to holding the shirt steady when rolling it after pressing, we roll very small sections at a time, only going like an inch or two in each direction. I honestly think it helps and logic would seem to agree with the even pressure that the rolling pin provides. If it is a large design, like my poke shirt, I can "anchor" the bottom of the shirt with my knee and give it added stability. Our 15x15" press is in a very sterile environment, so I have no problem doing that, but it really isn't even necessary. If your press it at the right height and you have the ability to do so, try doing the same with a shirt and see if that helps.

We're redesigning the site with a template we purchased and will be showcasing many more of our dark designs. Once it's complete everyone will be able to see many more of our plastisol transfers in action. 

As an aside, we also started buying dark color plastisol transfers for our white shirts. The hand is so much softer and you don't have to wait but a few seconds to peel. 

The evolution continues...


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## sliique (Sep 10, 2005)

From back in the 80's in the days of Roach transfers, right up to today, I use a chalkboard eraser.


Press the transfer with the mfg's spec's, immediately remove shirt (or whatever) from press to tabletop, or whatever your press is on, use even medium/heavy hand pressure and rub the eraser all over that transfer until it is pretty much cool to the touch, maybe a smidgen of warmth left, but verrrryyyy little, peel from one corner in smooth, fairly quick motion.


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## neghcho (Sep 16, 2005)

I tried all of your suggestions, and although I get a little bit better results, and once in awhile get a great shirt, it's nowhere near consistent. When I use a rolling pin the shirt moves a little bit, the paper creases. When I peel, the first letter always has the sides peel up. The graphic images with more ink transfer pretty well but they leave alot of ink on the paper. I can't figure this out.


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