# Spectra cut 2 giving problems, need other vinyl



## Majestic Leper (Jun 24, 2007)

I just got my own vinyl cutter and heat press and got some heat seal vinyl and I'm having the worst time with this stuff. I've been doing this stuff for years and I just struck out on my own. I ordered this "spectra cut II" vinyl and this stuff is real tough: tough to weed, bad adhesion to cotton shirts and cotton twill, and it behaves differently than vinyl I'm more familiar with.

Heck, when I increase heat and pressure, it actually adheres worse than low temp and pressure!

Question: What vinyl brands do you use and WHY and how much do you pay and where can I get me some. The why is the important part.

secondary question: If you know how to improve the way spectra cut 2 vinyl is printing, please let me know.


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## TahoeTomahawk (Apr 12, 2006)

We had the same experiences with the Spectra Cut II.
We switched over to Hotmark 70, great stuff. Super easy to weed, simple to press and has a very soft touch.


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## Majestic Leper (Jun 24, 2007)

Glad I'm not the only one where do you get this hotmark 70?

-MJ


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## COEDS (Oct 4, 2006)

I also use Hotmark 70,I purchase from Shop for Screen printing supplies & equipment,embroidery supplies,Digital printers,Digital Cutters,Garment printers, media and more!. They are located in the columbus.ohio area. ... Good luck. ...JB


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## TahoeTomahawk (Apr 12, 2006)

COEDS said:


> I also use Hotmark 70,I purchase from Shop for Screen printing supplies & equipment,embroidery supplies,Digital printers,Digital Cutters,Garment printers, media and more!. They are located in the columbus.ohio area. ... Good luck. ...JB


I buy from the same place.


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## rusty (Feb 9, 2007)

There are a lot of old discussions on the difficultlies (and successes) of SpectraCut II. Were you using white? That seems to be the color with the most problems. The other two most popular options were ThermoFlex Plus and MultiCut from Joto.


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## JIM (May 30, 2007)

i've had better luck by "warm" peeling than "cold" peeling. i wait only about 15 - 20 seconds. it seems the longer you let it cool the harder it is to peel.


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## leisure (Mar 3, 2007)

Multicut all the way I have had GREAT success with this Thanks to another forum member.Check them out at jotopaper.com hope I'm allowed to give that out.



rusty said:


> There are a lot of old discussions on the difficultlies (and successes) of SpectraCut II. Were you using white? That seems to be the color with the most problems. The other two most popular options were ThermoFlex Plus and MultiCut from Joto.


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## mazinger (May 17, 2007)

hello

im using thermoflex ll its easy to me so far ....


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## rusty (Feb 9, 2007)

JIM said:


> i've had better luck by "warm" peeling than "cold" peeling. i wait only about 15 - 20 seconds. it seems the longer you let it cool the harder it is to peel.


You warm peel with SpectraCut II??? For me, the vinyl peels right off the shirt when I've tried that. If you are talking about ThermoFlex Plus, then yes, it usually warm peels pretty nicely.


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## theflowerboxx (Mar 26, 2007)

Multicut is all I am using now, it is about the same price as thermoflex plus and comes in 20" width compared to thermoflex plus 15" and it works as well, if not better then thermoflex plus.


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## Robin (Aug 28, 2006)

I just purchased a 2nd roll of spectra cut II, thinking Id give it another try. They have changed the heat setting for the white. Im not at the shop, so I cant check the sheet that came with it. But its a higher temp, for a long time.

Anything big and chunky was fine to pull off the mylar backing, but the fussy twirly stuff was brutal, and taking shirt fibres off with little tails of fonts. *But *if I completely cooled the shirt, then set it back on the heat press, and let the bottom plate just warm the shirt a bit under the lettering, it peeled off much more smoothly. You just cant warm it too much or you have to start all over. I havent had any trouble with any other colors lately.


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## knifemaker3 (Sep 8, 2006)

I just ruined another navy blue shirt today using SCII. I have an order to get out and am going to have to get another brand real quick. I did an order with yellow 
SCII the other day and everything worked ok. Todays was with the white. I've had the same trouble as everyone else with the white and this roll I just bought less than a month ago. I'm switching to something else at least in white just out of neccessity.


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## leisure (Mar 3, 2007)

knifemaker3 said:


> I just ruined another navy blue shirt today using SCII. I have an order to get out and am going to have to get another brand real quick. I did an order with yellow
> SCII the other day and everything worked ok. Todays was with the white. I've had the same trouble as everyone else with the white and this roll I just bought less than a month ago. I'm switching to something else at least in white just out of neccessity.


 
Please try the multicut from Jotopaper you won't be sorry


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## badalou (Mar 19, 2006)

I am with Brenda on this one. Multicut works for me. I didn't really have aproblem with Spectra Cut other than small pieces coming up and it was hard to get them back down.Also because I am in California the shipping was costly. There is a another company I tried also called Hot Fix film. They are located in Southern cal . orice is good but the vinyle is thicker then i like but it has a tacky surface.


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## harley53 (Mar 19, 2007)

Hi all,

I use spectraII white all the time. I just increase the temp to 317 degrees and 16 seconds. Wait till it cools, peel and press a second time for 5 seconds just to clean things up. Works great.


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## treadhead (Jul 26, 2006)

TahoeTomahawk said:


> We had the same experiences with the Spectra Cut II.
> We switched over to Hotmark 70, great stuff. Super easy to weed, simple to press and has a very soft touch.


How does the Hotmark 70 compare to ThermoFlex Plus in price / performance / feel??

I've experienced the same issue with white SC II and have been very happy with TF Plus.

Also want to try the MultiCut with all the positive feedback going around and now knowing the Lou is also using it!!


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## harley53 (Mar 19, 2007)

Hi All,

I just completed five Hanes 50/50 heavyweight black T-shirts, using spectraII WHITE. I pressed at 317 degrees for 16 seconds medium pressure on my mighty press. Let cool down and they peeled like a dream. No problems at all.

Just thought the forum would like to know.

Greg


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## theflowerboxx (Mar 26, 2007)

That's great to hear, but I bet they still don't peel as easy as multicut or thermoflex plus. Just glad to finally hear someone is having better luck with SCII white then I ever had. 

Personally I will never use another product from Imprintables but that's just me and my reasons. Again it is great to hear though for the sake of the people who are still using SCII.


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## harley53 (Mar 19, 2007)

David,

I have never used multicut, so I don't know how it peels. All I know is when I peeled it, it peeled just like the red or black spectraII that I have also been using. Anyway sorry to hear about your falling out with imprintables. I fined them to be real standup people.

Greg


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## selzler (Apr 4, 2007)

I use spectra cut 2 and had to learn to use it the right way. I always preheat the shirt. 5 sec. 3 times then press at light presser for 15 sec. Let it get cold then peel. I also had to check that my blade wasn't cutting to deep that also has a lot to do with it not wanting to peel.


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## rusty (Feb 9, 2007)

selzler said:


> I use spectra cut 2 and had to learn to use it the right way. I always preheat the shirt. 5 sec. 3 times then press at light presser for 15 sec. Let it get cold then peel. I also had to check that my blade wasn't cutting to deep that also has a lot to do with it not wanting to peel.


Yeah, there are a lot of people that have tried that, and still had problems, especially with the white. If you've ever used MultiCut or ThermoFlex, you'll notice there is no comparison in the ease of application and peeling. SpectraCut II seems to be ok IF you can get it off the backing and onto the shirt. That's the hard part.


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## Majestic Leper (Jun 24, 2007)

Thanks to all of you that gave an alternative product to try! I'll take your suggestion for multicut, I'll try that one next.

I've actually tried sc2 in white and black and even if I follow all the directions, I still have problems. I can't use a product that is so damn finiky. I need something that can be printed by retarded chimps after a long day drinking and eating drywall.

So what happens to all this crappy vinyl that I have? Some people seem to really like it... I would hate to throw it away...

-MJ


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## leisure (Mar 3, 2007)

Majestic Leper said:


> Thanks to all of you that gave an alternative product to try! I'll take your suggestion for multicut, I'll try that one next.
> 
> I've actually tried sc2 in white and black and even if I follow all the directions, I still have problems. I can't use a product that is so damn finiky. I need something that can be printed by retarded chimps after a long day drinking and eating drywall.
> 
> ...


They where offering a refund one time you may want to contact them and see what they say.Good luck.


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## theflowerboxx (Mar 26, 2007)

You can use it as a 2nd layer on dual colors......it does stick good to other vinyl. That's how I used up my leftovers.


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## badalou (Mar 19, 2006)

If you get a chance if you are at the show ask Josha
about new vinyl they are going to carry. Lots of colors. I think they are introducing it this week. If you at the show ask him to show it to you.


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## COEDS (Oct 4, 2006)

I have had great luck with all the spectra products I use hotmark 70 because, I can buy it from a local distributer....JB


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## pawsflorida (Jul 21, 2007)

Can anyone recommend settings for gx-24 to cut multicut? I ordered 2 rolls of black but I'm having more problems weeding (portions coming off that shouldn't). I'm thinking maybe I'm cutting too light ot too hard?


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## MotoskinGraphix (Apr 28, 2006)

I started with thermoflex plus and am still using the product happily. I have never had a problem with the product from day one. My dist. is in Houston and delivers to my door no charge. If they carried another brand I would probably sample it but it would have to be nite and day amazing for a complete product change. I have samples of SC2...going to have to try it and see what the fuss is all about. Is the product that bad? I like Josh and Imprintables so you might want to send him some samples of why the product is failing.
I have found with thermoflex there is a lot of production leeway. Suggested pressure, temp and time....I have been all over the place on these variables doing customs at events. The product has never failed. On two color overlays you only press the first color for 5 seconds and peel. Even at 5 seconds there is no problem with the vinyl sticking to the shirt or coming up with the backing.

Just my opinion and a bunch of vinyl tees.


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## theflowerboxx (Mar 26, 2007)

MotoskinGraphix said:


> Is the product that bad?


Yup the product is that bad. Moto I use multicut from Transfer Papers and Sublimation Inks at Joto there is not night and day difference with it and thermoflex plus, actually they are almost identical, but multicut is 20" wide where TFP is only 15" and the price is basically the same. I do alot of 9" wide tranfers so I can get 2 transfers out of the same length where TFP I can only get 1. So my cost is basically in half using mulitcut.


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## MotoskinGraphix (Apr 28, 2006)

theflowerboxx said:


> Yup the product is that bad. Moto I use multicut from Transfer Papers and Sublimation Inks at Joto there is not night and day difference with it and thermoflex plus, actually they are almost identical, but multicut is 20" wide where TFP is only 15" and the price is basically the same. I do alot of 9" wide tranfers so I can get 2 transfers out of the same length where TFP I can only get 1. So my cost is basically in half using mulitcut.


Your point about the width of multi-cut is understood and you are probably using the best product for your needs.

I do events every month doing custom jobs on the fly. My average front graphic is 13.5 inches wide for men and 9.5 or less for ladies tanks and tops. I prefer the 15" width for less waste product and easy positioning. Large multi orders I do at home and can gang design but that isnt our bread and butter. At 13.5 inches there is very little waste product in a 15" width. When I do the ladies size designs I can lay in a typical pocket design and cover the length again with little waste.

The same can be said for sign vinyl. The 24" width is perfect for fullside graphics but isnt great for 8", 12", 15" decals and one offs that the customers ask for at shows. At home when cutting hundreds of decals for upcoming events and custom orders I can gang them up in the design program with zero waste. If I have waste I can save it in my giant scrap vinyl bins. On the road I need widths that fit the custom orders and the smaller vinyl widths are key because keeping up with scraps becomes problematic. I hate only having 24" cherry red and the customer wants a 10" graphic.

You find the size that gives you the least amout of waste for the applications or sales that you do.

I have nothing against 20" heatpress vinyl but I have no need for it on the road.


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