# Why can I see the outline of my press on t-shirts?



## dmm26 (Mar 21, 2007)

I looked around a bit and couldn't find the thread on this question, I know there is one. Anyway why can I always see exactly where my heat press, pressed?

I know that it goes away after the first wash, but I'm going to be filling a big order soon and I don't want to have to wash all the shirts before I drop them off.


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

try less pressure...if you just put a plain piece of paper on material and use heavy pressure, you will see the outline of the sheet


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## anewbeginning (Oct 11, 2007)

could be burning the tee ...
I done it with my iron the other day. Put it through the wash and it was gone. maybe less heat?


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

the mark left by burning...or scorching is a colored image...not just an indentation left by the paper...by the way you can remove scorching if not to bad with mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water..then wash..or use a clorox bleach stick to touch up..then wash


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## dmm26 (Mar 21, 2007)

I only have enough pressure on the shirt so that it doesn't move around. I've played with the heat and i need it @ 390 or the transfers don't really stick that well.

I've tried a lot of different settings and i have a teflon sheet to cover the shirt also and i still get that out line of where the press was on the shirt.

There has to be a way to do this so there are no marks on the shirt. 
weeeeeeeeeell not really marks but you can see where the press was, is a different color than the rest of the shirt.


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## dmm26 (Mar 21, 2007)

also I'm using plastisol transfers if that makes a difference.


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## bergenandco (Jul 30, 2007)

For me I only see the iron mark on the red-ish colored shirts (yellow, orange, red, magenta and some blues). Usually mine go away after a few hours of sitting and being left to cool.


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## etctees (Oct 11, 2007)

bergenandco said:


> For me I only see the iron mark on the red-ish colored shirts (yellow, orange, red, magenta and some blues). Usually mine go away after a few hours of sitting and being left to cool.


+1 for me. Usually the red is the most notable, and the first time I ever did it I was having a heart attack because it was the last XXXL shirt I had left, with my supplier closed for the long weekend. Thankfully by the time I called up all the fabric gurus I knew (aunties etc) and explained the situation, the discolouration had gone away significantly, and completely gone after half an hour or so.


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## hiGH (Jan 25, 2007)

bergenandco said:


> For me I only see the iron mark on the red-ish colored shirts (yellow, orange, red, magenta and some blues). Usually mine go away after a few hours of sitting and being left to cool.


i'm with you on this one. i think it also has to do with the quality of the tshirt..


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## dmm26 (Mar 21, 2007)

I'm using AA 1701's


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## badalou (Mar 19, 2006)

Chill out. when you take your socks off I bet there is a mark left by the elastic. Well the shirt will do the same thing. Pressure will leave a mark. Forget about washing it or the other stuff because you definitely are not going to do that if you selling it to a client. After I press the transfer on I usually press the rest of the shirt as well. Also colored shirts leave a darker color after pressing but after about 30 minutes this goes away. try it on a shirt for testing. all I know comes from doing something and finding out if it works or not. Sometimes it does not and when i figure out how to do it I tell you folks. Funny thing is you can do as well. learn your craft... Test.... when you find out how to do something tell us. Lou


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## sunnydayz (Jun 22, 2007)

Yep I do the same as you Lou, I press the entire garment and then it is all the same.

Bobbie


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## DowlingGraphics (Oct 22, 2007)

There's no real way to get around leaving the platen impression on a shirt, that's just physics.

You might want to double check your pressure again (should be around 50lbs), 390° can scorch a shirt, and you'd only want to run it that high if you're in a high volume situation.

Dyes react to heat, and they will shift color until they cool down. Reds are the most notorious for this, although as mentioned above, a number of colors will do this. This effect is also more pronounced in 50/50 shirts, due to the polyester also reacting to the heat.

Francois


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## transferguru (Apr 24, 2007)

I was always told that the discoloration in most shirts is because of the moisture that is being released and removed from the shirt. The steam that comes out of the press while you are pressing is the moisture. If you hold your hand over the steam your hand will get moist.

It goes away after the wash because you put the moisture back in the shirt. 

It makes sense


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## howrdstern (May 7, 2007)

You don't need to wash- I have a Jiffy professional garment steamer- and if you steam the garment after you press- the fibers will get back to the normal state- and only takes a few seconds- and putting moisture back into / while relaxing the fibers


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