# Versacamm printing on heat press vinyl?



## 34Ford (Mar 19, 2010)

Ok I love the Siser easyweed and the feel.

I tried some inkjet opaque vinyl for dark shirts yesterday and I hate the feel it gives. Really heavy.
Would be awful on a hot day.

So how does the vinyl feel that you use with a solvent printer?
Does it have that thick , stiff feel to it?


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## scuba_steve2699 (Nov 15, 2006)

Most solvent print heat transfer vinyl is much softer than the inkjet media


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## 34Ford (Mar 19, 2010)

Would you compare it to easyweed?

I guess the thing that bothers me most is how hot it is in the summer if its a big image. You sweat behind it.

I guess screen printing breaths the best.


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## cubedecibel (Nov 1, 2009)

I use 'Siser colorprint New' with my versacamm. Do NOT like it on t-shirts. On thicker fabrics, like hoodies and jackets its awesome. But it's too thick and plastic for thin t-shirts. Small prints are OK, but the bigger designs not.


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## spiderx1 (Oct 12, 2009)

Agree with everybody here so far. There are some very soft printables out there, they stretch well. Screen print won't breath any better if it is a solid area which most are not. So it does in reality breath because of unprinted areas. But I do not like the feel of large graphics on tees. 
Lettering small areas such as chest pocket are great or if u have a lot of the interior weeded. Washes great. 
Sometimes I mix and match, DTG print large area in back, then VersaCamm print pocket/ chest area.


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## 34Ford (Mar 19, 2010)

Oh I forgot about DTG. Seems it would breath the best since its a thin ink actually coloring the threads.

I just been trying to see if a Versacamm would actually be something I would use for shirt printing.
Do you have to use a specific heat press vinyl for the solvent inks?


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## cryptkeeper (Apr 26, 2010)

Subscribed, since I'm picking up a versacamm 54 inch for signs 

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## 34Ford (Mar 19, 2010)

cryptkeeper said:


> Subscribed, since I'm picking up a versacamm 54 inch for signs


So you have decided your gonna do it?

I found a dealer in Greenville, SC that I might go see to get a demo of one working. If not there, I found two other dealers near Atlanta, GA. I kinda like a dealer that frequents forums, and one of them is on signs101.

I would have to lease. Is the lease at each dealer done thru the Roland company?


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## 34Ford (Mar 19, 2010)

This is a interesting video from Josh Ellsworth about Solutions Clear.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9Z96yXLj8o[/media]


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## idonaldson (Sep 29, 2008)

As for the VC - I use it for signs, and apparel. I have at least 20 printable apparel vinyls. You will need to carry more than one type to get the right vinyl for the job. There are several types of clear - one that will clear holes if using on a mesh material. Some are easy some are used with some tricks. The important part of the VC is that it is used with profiles that help configure the machine for the type of vinyl. I have found that sign vinyl is more forgiving, while apparel vinyl needs to be dialed in. The VC opens up avenues never contemplated and there are tendencies to reel youself in before you are offering everything under the sun.


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## 34Ford (Mar 19, 2010)

Sounds as though you have a good deal of time with your VC.
Do these apparel vinyls have to be made specifically for the solvent inks?


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## idonaldson (Sep 29, 2008)

I would say yes to your question as when I am purchasing I am buying from the solvent ink section. I do see vinyl for signs that say it works with both. I have been doing VC printing for about 4 years, so you can judge by that.


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## Decal_Designs (Jul 4, 2005)

I have tried a lot of printable garment vinyl in my Versacamm. I don't like any of them, except Imprintables Warehouse Eco-Print. It has a fairly soft hand, a mostly matte finish, weeds well and doesn't pull from the backing too easily like many others do.


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## 34Ford (Mar 19, 2010)

Thanks for the suggestion.


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## 34Ford (Mar 19, 2010)

Well back when I started this thread I never in my wildest dream thought I would own a Versacamm.

But unless I kick the bucket between now and Saturday, I hope to bring back a SP-540i.

It only has 200 hours on it, and he said it has no ink spots anywhere on it because it has been used so little. Never been in a commercial shop.
Full 440oz cartridges and he may throw in Flexi 10 and some material.


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## lynnsnell (Jul 26, 2010)

Dennis, 
Did you get your printer through All Square in Greenville, SC? I've been thinking about buying one for a few years now and am probably getting more serious. I had a friend print some designs that I heat applied to very thin shirts. They turned out beautiful. I know it isn't going to be easy to learn but I think I'm up to it!


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## Decal_Designs (Jul 4, 2005)

Sounds very nice! You will love it.


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## 34Ford (Mar 19, 2010)

Hi Lynn,

I did go to All Square two weeks ago to see a demo of their 540i and Jason was a super nice person.
But when the wife and I looked at the lease payments we just couldn't do it.

This one came up for sale on digitsmith and when I inquired about it I found out its practically new and a its a 660 mile drive, round trip. I'm saving about 7 grand.


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## scuba_steve2699 (Nov 15, 2006)

There are many dealers on the Rolands - make sure to look over the specifics on the deal and see who has the best training, support and reputation in the industry when you are getting ready to buy one.


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## JSISIGNSCOM (Apr 19, 2012)

I use chemica easy print for my martial arts school shirts and it's not too heavy . Also its pretty durable for rolling around and being grabbed all the time. small image on the front and large 8x10 image on the back.But we do sweat alot and i dont feel the material as much as i have with other printable materials i've tried.


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## 34Ford (Mar 19, 2010)

Thanks Richard. Will make a note of it.


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## 34Ford (Mar 19, 2010)

Well its home. Now to figure out how to get the latest Versaworks and dial in the profiles.


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## scuba_steve2699 (Nov 15, 2006)

34Ford said:


> Well its home. Now to figure out how to get the latest Versaworks and dial in the profiles.


Looks good! try using the online updater tool in the Roland folder in the start menu to get your versaworks and profiles updated.


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## spiderx1 (Oct 12, 2009)

Sweet!! If you have an older version of Versaworks it will update itself. Sometimes it takes several updates to get caught up. The newer versions check every start up if you want. Profiles sometimes come down to printing swatches. The most popular profiles for vinyl are gcvp and pcvp. Also try Max Impact in settings. Good for bright colors. Not so good for photos.


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## scuba_steve2699 (Nov 15, 2006)

spiderx1 said:


> Sweet!! If you have an older version of Versaworks it will update itself. Sometimes it takes several updates to get caught up. The newer versions check every start up if you want. Profiles sometimes come down to printing swatches. The most popular profiles for vinyl are gcvp and pcvp. Also try Max Impact in settings. Good for bright colors. Not so good for photos.


I agree! Max Impact will use the Roland gamut for the output of color and will cause shift in raster images. There are a ton of resources out there to help you learn your machine so make sure to take advantage of them!


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## 34Ford (Mar 19, 2010)

I finally found a place on Roland that only asked for my serial number and has the 3.0 and 4.6 updates.
The auto update will not work since I didn't buy this new and dont have a dealers name.

I also found a firmware upgrade, SPi Firmware v1.6 that says its for the 300 and 540 but the filename is SP300i_M160.rfw.

So I guess it works with the 540.


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## scuba_steve2699 (Nov 15, 2006)

34Ford said:


> I finally found a place on Roland that only asked for my serial number and has the 3.0 and 4.6 updates.
> The auto update will not work since I didn't buy this new and dont have a dealers name.
> 
> I also found a firmware upgrade, SPi Firmware v1.6 that says its for the 300 and 540 but the filename is SP300i_M160.rfw.
> ...


I can email you the latest firmware for the 540 - send me the model number and serial number and I can get the file over to you.

Steven[USER=108410]@Imprintables[/USER].com


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## 34Ford (Mar 19, 2010)

Well long story short, I finally updated my VW to v4.6.
I looked at the firmware currently on the machine and its 1.0

But after fighting with the updating problems I didn't bother trying to print anything.
I guess I need to understand VW more to keep from wasting good vinyl.
Looked for tutorials on the just the basics and never really found anything.

And what profiles should I look for. I d/led the one for Orajet 3651ra since that is what I did my first print on and it looks horrible.


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## scuba_steve2699 (Nov 15, 2006)

34Ford said:


> I guess I need to understand VW more to keep from wasting good vinyl.
> Looked for tutorials on the just the basics and never really found anything.
> 
> And what profiles should I look for. I d/led the one for Orajet 3651ra since that is what I did my first print on and it looks horrible.


Did you look over any of the videos on versaworks at MyVersacamm.com - A Digital Printing Network There are a bunch of good ones there and I know the guy that makes them takes requests


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## 34Ford (Mar 19, 2010)

Oh yea, I have been visiting there for a few weeks now.


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## 34Ford (Mar 19, 2010)

Well I ordered some Stahls Cad-Color Express Print and mask yesterday, so I will see how it goes.

I almost bought some Spectra Eco-print till I saw their $28 shipping for 5 yards of it and the mask.


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