# can i heat press AND then screen print a shirt? or will the vinyl get ruined in the screen print curing process (350 F)?



## tiger24 (Jan 11, 2009)

hi everyone,

i am looking for help on the following question:

i plan to vinyl heat press a logo to the front of a shirt and around the collar on the back of the shirt.

is it possible to then add screen printing on the back, middle of the shirt?

will the curing heat of the screen print ruin my existing heat press vinyl?

or should i screen print first and heat press later?

thanks for your help in advance,
andy


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

I do know you want to avoid heat pressing a screen print if at all possible. I'm not sure if vinyl can withstand the time and temperature needed to cure plastisol.

Is screening the back first, then applying the vinyl without putting the screened area in the press an option?

I guess you could also just test a piece of vinyl scrap pressed on to a garment scrap and see if your dryer damages it.


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## gerry (Oct 4, 2006)

what if you screen with waterbased inks then heat press? Plastisol would surly make a mess with your thought.


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## TWTshirts (Jun 13, 2009)

I heat press shirts I have already screen printed all the time. I just put teflon sheets over the ink area. I actually did this to 23 shirts today. Screen printed a full back and a left chest. Then added individual names to the right chest.

Running vinyl thru a conveyor dryer is bad though.


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## vipgraphx (Apr 2, 2008)

I have screen printed then heat transefered and used the teflon sheet for pertection..I use plastisol ink and the screen print takes on a different characteristic. Feels rubbery. This is a great technique to flatten out mistakes like inf lifting or wanting a softer touch...Works fine for me and if the order is small enough I often will run it through the heat press as I really like the finish product.

Rich


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## tiger24 (Jan 11, 2009)

splathead said:


> I do know you want to avoid heat pressing a screen print if at all possible. I'm not sure if vinyl can withstand the time and temperature needed to cure plastisol.
> 
> Is screening the back first, then applying the vinyl without putting the screened area in the press an option?
> 
> I guess you could also just test a piece of vinyl scrap pressed on to a garment scrap and see if your dryer damages it.


hi splathead,

thanks for the reply.
yes that is an option.
after the screen printing is done i could raise the portion of the shirt with a pad and hit only the area i need.

thanks, it sounds like i better screen print first.

andy


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## tiger24 (Jan 11, 2009)

gerry said:


> what if you screen with waterbased inks then heat press? Plastisol would surly make a mess with your thought.


hi gerry,

thanks for the reply.

i do not do my own screen printing so i am not sure what kind of ink the company i get to do it.
plastisol is a type of ink/paint the silk screeners use?

thanks,
andy


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## tiger24 (Jan 11, 2009)

TWTshirts said:


> I heat press shirts I have already screen printed all the time. I just put teflon sheets over the ink area. I actually did this to 23 shirts today. Screen printed a full back and a left chest. Then added individual names to the right chest.
> 
> Running vinyl thru a conveyor dryer is bad though.


hi twtshirts,

great feedback my friend.
did you put a pad or sheet in the shirt to avoid putting heat on the full back print?

or was the shirt just laid down on the heat press platen and the whole shirt got hot when you applied the names to the front right?

sorry, i hope you understand what i am trying to say

thanks again,
andy


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## rdewolfee (Jul 15, 2009)

It can also be done with the vinyl first if you use a special vinyl based ink and MAKE SURE SOMEONE Catches the shirts at the back of the dryer. It also depends on what kind of film you are using for the heat transfer. Some of the foil films can use regular inks. The vinyl ink kinda sucks for tees, but will work. I would do what the others have said. Print first then transfer with teflon.


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## tiger24 (Jan 11, 2009)

rdewolfee said:


> It can also be done with the vinyl first if you use a special vinyl based ink and MAKE SURE SOMEONE Catches the shirts at the back of the dryer. It also depends on what kind of film you are using for the heat transfer. Some of the foil films can use regular inks. The vinyl ink kinda sucks for tees, but will work. I would do what the others have said. Print first then transfer with teflon.


thanks rdewolfee,

i will screen print first and protect with teflon.

andy


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## Invizzible (Feb 5, 2009)

We've done the same technique for similar reasons. You DO want to do your screen printing first.

vipgraphx mentioned about using the heat press to flatten out mistakes. We've done that, too. Sometimes at the start of a multicolor job the first few prints will have an 'orange peel' look to them (very unattractive) until the platens get warmed up. If we press those first few shirts in the heat press at a low pressure it does flatten out imperfections.


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