# KissCut Self Weeding printing/ printer and ink problem



## jdmorrisn (Jun 27, 2010)

Hi all,

I am a newby to the business and starting on the bottom rung of the ladder so to speak. I have a heat press, and thought I would give the KissCut self weeding paper a try - and I have a hp inkjet CP1700 printer with standard inkjet ink. Now I tried this Kiss Cut paper and kiss Cut foil in different places on the same t-shirt (100% cotton) and it worked a dream after a few hours of trial and error presses to get the pressure and the time correct the sample designs worked well. 
So then I threw it in the washing machine set at 30 degree handwash and then lo and behold when it came out the ink had pretty much faded on all the test designs. Except where I had covered the design with the foil - these stayed beautifully. I followed the instructions of the paper and the curing process but it obviously didn't work out.

So my question is, is this merely an ink problem? Kiss Cut say you can use any ink although they recommend the Epson inks they supply. Before I go down the expensive route of buying a new printer and spending £200 on ink, does anyone have any ideas or recommendations on how I can continue to use my hp printer with success? With normal papers the printer has always worked and the design lasted a hell of a long time.

Tony.


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## Delilah Storm (Jun 24, 2010)

*Re: Self Weeding printing/ printer and ink problem*



jdmorrisn said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I have a heat press, and thought I would give the KissCut self weeding paper a try - and I have a hp inkjet CP1700 printer with standard inkjet ink.
> Tony.


I am very interested to know about the self weeding paper. do you have a paper that is used on lights and darks? like a JPSS just self-weeding? how is it working for you?
i would love to know as after reading up before on this type of paper, it was seeming to be a dream or a myth?
thanks,
natasha


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## jdmorrisn (Jun 27, 2010)

*Re: Self Weeding printing/ printer and ink problem*

Hi Delilah,

This is quite an old post so things have moved on a bit - but I will give you the heads up on my experience so far.

The self weeding paper I use is KissCut from the UK and using their ink system and an Epson printer. The self weeding works great it must be said. Most of all it is about getting the set up correct and then it is plain sailing. I would recommend a rotating heat press that moves the plate away from the garment so you can work hassle free. The quality is superb, Wash fastness is quite honestly terrific. 
But there are certain limits as to be expected. If some detail or text is too fine it may not transfer. You have to make sure that in your designs you get maximum CMYK or at least 100% colour otherwise it won't transfer. So lighter colours don't work well (Skin tone for example). Also if you have a lot of detail and lay down a lot of ink you have to get the balance right in smoothly peeling the backing at a good speed so that it doesn't cool too quick and then stick or too fast that you 'pull' the print - this is just practice, you will scrap quite a few ts in the beginning in practice and setting up of all the details and equipment. There is also setting up of the heat press which took me a full day of progressive testing of pressure and time to get a perfect image. Another thing is ink colour, but this isn't necessarily the paper but the printer - in the beginning trying to print true red and orange was a task since they both printed out as shades of brown. But some adjusting of CMYK and you can find what you need, but this means correcting also any designs you have to match. But like I said this is more a printer issue. Once you get it down then it's not a problem. They will print on all t-shirt colours light or dark but you cannot print white. They are working on this to create a white 'foil' and hopefully by next year this is ready. 
Their other foils work great also and add another dimension to the t-shirts. And pricewise overall it works out well. What you have to consider is that time wise per t-shirt is about 10 - 15mins production so you are not going to produce massive volumes.


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## Delilah Storm (Jun 24, 2010)

*Re: Self Weeding printing/ printer and ink problem*

great thanks for this info! i'm going to look right into the KissCut...excited!


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## jdmorrisn (Jun 27, 2010)

No problem, glad to help. Depending where you are located they may have a distributor in your area or otherwise they will ship it to you. One thing I forgot to mention is that you can also use this on 100% cotton t-shirts. 

If you need anything else feel free to drop me a line.


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## FRM (Oct 17, 2010)

Hi Guys, 
We're pretty new to this too. Could you tell us where you managed to purchase your kisskut paper?
Don;t seem to be able to find a supplier currently stocking the product...

Cheers


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## jdmorrisn (Jun 27, 2010)

I do not know what location you are in, in order to provide you with sufficient information.

But if you go to www.kisscutpaper.com you will find distributors on this website and also if you email them they should be able to help you out.


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## Delilah Storm (Jun 24, 2010)

i actually sent them an email but no one got back to me as there doesn't seem to be a distributor in my area. i would love anymore information/leads on obtaining this paper. please tell us any more info. thanks! natasha


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## jdmorrisn (Jun 27, 2010)

Where abouts are you both based? The US? If so the email is: kisscut-us@Kisscutpaper.com

Otherwise just give them a call - you can always use Skype then the call is free. Phone number is: +44(0)191 268 1122 

If you still don't have any luck let me know.


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## Delilah Storm (Jun 24, 2010)

hi! yes this is where i emailed them several weeks ago and have yet to get any response. i don't have skype. do you know of some US distributors directly? thanks again for any help.
natasha


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## james moughtin (Sep 1, 2011)

*Re: Self Weeding printing/ printer and ink problem*



jdmorrisn said:


> Hi Delilah,
> 
> This is quite an old post so things have moved on a bit - but I will give you the heads up on my experience so far.
> 
> ...



Hi, did you find using the kisscut inks have a better wash fastness, i have been using the normal inks that come with the printer and they are fading after 1 wash, 40 degs, i have cured the inks 60 sec after it has printed and the print up until washing is perfect...... will investing £220 in the ink system for the r1800 help, and also does re curing for another 60 secs make any difference, many many thanks hope you can help james


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## wizard1 (Jan 12, 2012)

*Re: Self Weeding printing/ printer and ink problem*

kisscut paper. i transfered nine designs onto the papers and used various timings and press pressures but not one of the transfer came out correctly, fine black and yellow inks would not transfer and sometimes the whole image would not transfer, all this process was used on white 100% cotton garments, i don't think i shall be buying this product it seems to be a very expensive poor quality product, i think other people may have had better luck than me, shame really, such a good idea...


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## sefosdad (Feb 2, 2012)

Has anybody received an e mail answer from Kisscut? I have sent them three messages with no answer from them. It seems they dont want to sell their products!


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## GormanArts (May 21, 2007)

sefosdad said:


> Has anybody received an e mail answer from Kisscut? I have sent them three messages with no answer from them. It seems they dont want to sell their products!


I tried emailing them too but got no responce, I also emailed a UK distributor twice with no reply. So, I called the distributor a few days ago, after noticing KISSCUT's website was gone (It's back up now). He appologized for missing my emails, and told me KISSCUT is in the process of moving. This guy Graham, from the distributor I called, said KISSCUT is still very much in business. When I asked about the problems many on this forum have experienced with KISSCUT, he said much of the problem usually has to do with finding the correct pressure (as long as you're using pigment inks and transfer within 30 minutes of printing). Too much pressure and a little of the backing comes off with the ink, too little pressure and not all the ink transfers. He said it takes quite a few tries to find the right pressure for indivudual presses. 

The approximate cost for shipping them from the UK is about $5 u.s. for a pack of 25 sheets. (No U.S. distributor yet). I'm going to give it a try and see for myself. There are quite a few UK dealers, but the guy I spoke with is from here...
The Transfer Press
..........Pete


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## sefosdad (Feb 2, 2012)

GormanArts said:


> I tried emailing them too but got no responce, I also emailed a UK distributor twice with no reply. So, I called the distributor a few days ago, after noticing KISSCUT's website was gone (It's back up now). He appologized for missing my emails, and told me KISSCUT is in the process of moving. This guy Graham, from the distributor I called, said KISSCUT is still very much in business. When I asked about the problems many on this forum have experienced with KISSCUT, he said much of the problem usually has to do with finding the correct pressure (as long as you're using pigment inks and transfer within 30 minutes of printing). Too much pressure and a little of the backing comes off with the ink, too little pressure and not all the ink transfers. He said it takes quite a few tries to find the right pressure for indivudual presses.
> 
> The approximate cost for shipping them from the UK is about $5 u.s. for a pack of 25 sheets. (No U.S. distributor yet). I'm going to give it a try and see for myself. There are quite a few UK dealers, but the guy I spoke with is from here...
> The Transfer Press
> ..........Pete


Thanks for the information. Please post your results after you have tried the paper.


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## captcook (Dec 10, 2012)

*Re: Self Weeding printing/ printer and ink problem*



jdmorrisn said:


> Hi Delilah,
> 
> This is quite an old post so things have moved on a bit - but I will give you the heads up on my experience so far.
> 
> ...



Hi Tony, thanks for sharing, your info is very helpful to me, I started trialing on kiss cut but we only found it frustrating due to the points you mentioned like the detail, colours and the actual peeling of the paper which is an art in its self! The result was fantastic tho until we put it through the wash 

We finally bit the bullet and went with generic heatpress paper which leaves the residue. Only recently we realised we had been using sublimation ink which was probably the cause of the bad washes, we spoke to one of the retailers and he said %99 of inkjet dyes work fine with kisscut so we are going to give it a go again as the price of the kisscut ink is very expensive. 

I would much appreciate it if you have any tips on what kind of pressure/time/temp you use to perfect the process, I'm also in the market for buying a new heatpress, if you could recommend any models it would help me a lot. 

Thanks in advance.

J


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## sefosdad (Feb 2, 2012)

But, just where do you get that paper? I have sent them messages and none have been answered!
Can we trust the quality of the paper when they are so irresponsible?


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## captcook (Dec 10, 2012)

sefosdad said:


> But, just where do you get that paper? I have sent them messages and none have been answered!
> Can we trust the quality of the paper when they are so irresponsible?


I know what you mean, the best way we found is just calling them, there are 3 vendors in the uk, they might even send you a free sample if you ask nicely. 

It seems with kisscut there is a lot of trial and improvement involved but the finished product does look like a dtg garment. Im going to give it another go I just need to find out what the most suitable ink should be used because the kisscut ink prices are crazy!! £30 for 125ml!!

If you hear of any alternatives of ink to use I would much appreciate it if you would share the info. 

Have a nice day bud


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