# FM Expressions One Spot Transfers



## paulo (Dec 13, 2006)

The FM Expressions One Spot Transfers, are they plastisol transfers?

I just did a transfer onto long sleeve thermal and it feels like plastic or vinyl after it has been transferred, is this normal?

Or did I do something wrong?


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## treadhead (Jul 26, 2006)

paulo said:


> The FM Expressions One Spot Transfers, are they plastisol transfers?
> 
> I just did a transfer onto long sleeve thermal and it feels like plastic or vinyl after it has been transferred, is this normal?
> 
> Or did I do something wrong?


Paulo,

Yes...they are plastisol. However, I've noticed that any color other than white (not sure what the difference is) does feel and look similar to "vinyl" as you describe. It has a glossy look and a "thick" feel with high coverage designs.


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## ArenaSports (Oct 15, 2007)

treadhead said:


> Paulo,
> 
> Yes...they are plastisol. However, I've noticed that any color other than white (not sure what the difference is) does feel and look similar to "vinyl" as you describe. It has a glossy look and a "thick" feel with high coverage designs.


 
I have been using F&M for about 6 months and have found that the print quality is normally EXCELLENT, but yes the prints are very thick and pastey like. 

I have not had any complaints about it, but I'm sure at some point someone might. 

Has anyone else had any complaints about F&M prints and how they feel??


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## clothmoth (Sep 29, 2007)

I just tested out F&M transfers after picking up a great sample pack at ISS Ft. Worth. On the plus side, they are super easy to use. I didn't have to make any pressure adjustments. . . these things just went on perfectly every time. 

Since I am working to build a fashion line, though, the thick vinyl-like feeling of the transfer is definitely not what my target buyers will be expecting. I dropped a note to F&M to see if they have some alternate products or processes they can use to make the transfer feel much lighter and closer to a screen print. 

My feeling is that if you are printing for kids teams, etc. you would not likely have any problem with these transfers, and you can't beat the ease of use and convenience of their Freedom pricing for multiple colors. 

I'm curious if anyone is using F&M transfers for fashion lines?


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## paulo (Dec 13, 2006)

Has anyone have had any luck with other companies?

Having the look and feel of actual screenprinted plastisol but using heat press transfers.


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## treadhead (Jul 26, 2006)

ArenaSports said:


> Has anyone else had any complaints about F&M prints and how they feel??


I've had a few people comment and / or back away from that alternative when presented to them.

We do screenprinting, DTG, plastisol (usually F&M), and vinyl which we present the customer the options that best meets their particular need.


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## calijimmy (Jul 16, 2007)

treadhead said:


> I've had a few people comment and / or back away from that alternative when presented to them.
> 
> We do screenprinting, DTG, plastisol (usually F&M), and vinyl which we present the customer the options that best meets their particular need.


hey john i was wondering if you already provide screen printing service why do u also do plastisols?


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## paulo (Dec 13, 2006)

Do you think the garment into which it is being transferred to makes a difference?


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## treadhead (Jul 26, 2006)

calijimmy said:


> hey john i was wondering if you already provide screen printing service why do u also do plastisols?


Hey Jimmy..

Sorry for the delay in responding.

Great question! 

First of all, I have the screenprintng contracted out to a local guy so we don't do it inhouse. But, his pricing and turnaround keeps us competitive with the local screenprinting market.

The reason we go with "traditional screenprinting" over plastisol at times is because of the difference in look and feel. I've had customers not like the glossy look and vinyl feel of the F&M product. There are just some colors that are better matched using a direct screenprinting method. 

There are advantages of the F&M plastisol however;

1) I can typically order additional sheets at the next price break (for a reasonable amount of $) which allows the customer to come back with small quantity reorders. We do this for our church which sends us orders weekly that may only be 6 to 12 shirts which we can turn around pretty quickly. Try dong that with a screenprinter! lol

2) When we start getting above 4 colors, it becomes more cost effective using the F&M Freedom transfers in alot of circumstances. However, this thread is about 1 color spot so this would not apply here.

3) F&M Freedom can do photorealistic images better than my screenprinter. Also, your design can have gradients rather than half-tone dots. Also, does not apply to the topic of this post.

However, a couple of my designs that used pink were not solid but rather half-tone dots using F&M. I've asked that question to F&M but have not yet received an answer from Zach or Courtney. If anybody has an answer, I'd like to understand this. Actually, this particular issue (pink) was why my last two jobs were sent to my screenprinter rather than to F&M. It required a vibrant solid pink..not a muted half-tone look. Until I understand what the deal is with pink, any screenprint / plastisol job that requires pink will be sent to the screenprinter.

4) Finally, if we are backed up with orders, I can send the job to my screenprinter and free up our internal resources to tackle those jobs that we have to do inhouse. 

Basically, I weigh the pros / cons of the two methods and decide which is best suited to meet the customers expectations.

Hope that long answer to your short question helped!


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## calijimmy (Jul 16, 2007)

thanks john.
i was wondering y are plastisols less in cost then traditional screenprinting? is it the same process except one goes on transfer sheets and the other directly on the material? or is it totally different process compared to screenprinting?


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## treadhead (Jul 26, 2006)

Actually, they are more expensive then screenprinting in most cases once you spend the time and money initially to get get setup with all of the necessary equipment. One cost advantage of plastisol transfers is that it allows you to minimize the amount of money you have tied up in inventory. You can order a given number of transfers for a design and not have to preprint a bunch of shirts hopeing and guessing on the size / color combinations that people will want. We do this with our church. I have several dozen designs in stock and as people order the shirts we make them. The design is white so it can go on many different colored shirts as well short or long sleeve and there would be no way for me to be able to guess what they would want from week to week without just limiting the selection of colors to a few.

Hope that helps....

John

We outsource because we have not done that and really don't have the room to do so at this time.

It is basically the same process as you describe. Instead of printing directly on the garment, the design is printed (in reverse) on release paper.

As far as F&M goes, the process they use allows them to charge the same price for 3 or more colors so that is why we use them when there are alot of colors in the design.


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## paulo (Dec 13, 2006)

clothmoth said:


> Since I am working to build a fashion line, though, the thick vinyl-like feeling of the transfer is definitely not what my target buyers will be expecting. I dropped a note to F&M to see if they have some alternate products or processes they can use to make the transfer feel much lighter and closer to a screen print.


Have you had any luck finding a heat-transfer vendor closer to fashion line prints?


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## T-BOT (Jul 24, 2006)

paulo said:


> Having the look and feel of actual screenprinted plastisol but using heat press transfers.


do you mean direct screen printing that feels rough and uneven aka bad screen print? not like smooth thin opaque finish plastisol transfers? 

with great screen printing, it sure feels and looks like plastisol transfers. Oh yeah, dont use a teflon when you press plastisol transfers, it makes them look and feel like rubber/plastic and glossy.


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## paulo (Dec 13, 2006)

T-BOT said:


> Oh yeah, dont use a teflon when you press plastisol transfers, it makes them look and feel like rubber/plastic and glossy.


So just press the transfer paper and the transfer...


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## T-BOT (Jul 24, 2006)

paulo said:


> So just press the transfer paper and the transfer...


i think so Paulo.

Also, if the transfer type has any Adhesive portion in it, over pressing and heat will make the Adhesive come thru the inks and make it rubbery/glossy.

example i found laying around. If you ask a screen printer to print this design or make a plastisol transfer and print it, the end finish would be the same as below.


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## paulo (Dec 13, 2006)

Thanks Lucy. BTW your link by your signature seems to be down. I wanted to check out some of your products.


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## T-BOT (Jul 24, 2006)

paulo said:


> Thanks Lucy. BTW your link by your signature seems to be down. I wanted to check out some of your products.


yeah i know, sorry.

trying to make a site, again.  it seams everytime i want to start making it (the site) things come up and I put it aside.

Paulo, i think the best way with any transfer company is to get them involved with your project before you settle on a plastisol transfer type. This is because a lot of design and production factors come into play, look, feel, mood, artwork, fabrics, inks, process, colors. textures etc..... Sometimes a small change can make it easy to deliver a great end procduct and everyone will be happy.

This is because there are some limitations with Plastisol screen print and transfers.


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## photoblocks (Apr 30, 2008)

Yes I use the "EPT" from Versatranz and everyone thinks they are silk screen. Very easy to use and consistent as well.


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