# Heat press settings for dye sub transfers



## BigD (Mar 18, 2007)

We have a Hottronix heat press and are pressing black dye sub transfers on 100% polyester soccer style shirts. We started with 400° at 17 seconds medium pressure. The black ink is on the light side and has like a green tint to it. We are using Artainium ink and using the ICC profiles that came with the ink. Looking at the used transfer paper, it does not even look like it has been used. Do we need to just increase the dwell time? If so, how long, what are the typical settings? Any help will be greatly appreciated!


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## plan b (Feb 21, 2007)

Hi, I sublimate at 400 degrees , light pressure,, for 55 seconds,, dont think your dwell time is long enough,,

R.


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## Reinbow (May 21, 2007)

Hi
I have to agree with Roger-your dwell times aren't long enough.Also, make sure the paper you are using is for fabric & not hard surfaces. I usually find between 35-45 sec's enough for polyester fabric-might be different for 'bought-in' shirts though!
Good luck!
Babs


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## Eastdsm (Mar 10, 2007)

Yes, longer dwell time. Also, I'd reduce the pressure a little. Lines are rampant with sublimation, as far as having a "box" appear on the shirt where the paper was. Lighter pressure will help this. I've reduced the pressure pretty light when doing shirts and had no reduction in the quality of the print. Especially doing soccer type shirts are I'm sure a thinner more "micro performance" type than the common vapor apparel shirts. 

I have a heck of a time reducing the lines on Vapor Apparels micro performance shirts. Although they recommend 385* , preheating for 45 seconds with a large single sheet covering the whole heat press area, then only pressing the graphic for 30 seconds.


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## plan b (Feb 21, 2007)

Have you seen vapor's new press kit,, you can cut a perfect size of material to raise your print area ,, same as a mouse pad but in a wide roll so you can cut any size you like???

R.


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## BigD (Mar 18, 2007)

Thanks for the advice! We are experiencing the lines! We also are noticing that the color of the polyester is turning the transfer paper the color of the shirt. We were doing some red shirts and after presssing, the trasnsfer paper had a pink tint and you could see the perfect rectangle of the paper. We backed the pressure setting to 1 and the dwell back to 20 seconds then when it is done we remove the transfer and cover the shirt with the teflon sheet and press for another 12 seconds and it seems to reduce the lines and the miscoloration mismatch. Overall the results are pretty good. The other problem we are having is ghosting. Is the result of a short dwell time. Or could it be ghosting when I am trying to align the transfer on a hot shirt? How do you stop it from happening?


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## D.Evo. (Mar 31, 2006)

Yes, ghosting could be from aligning a transfer on a hot t-shirt. 

You don't have to pre-heat shirts before pressing (we never do) - try just placing your transfer on a cold shirt with Teflon sheet on top and press it. To stop the transfer from shifting you may want to use special adhesive spray or heavier Teflon sheet.

In my experience 20 sec. is not really enough for vibrant print - with the combination of pressure and temperature I’m using it's more like 45-60 sec. I also would reduce re-pressing time from 12 sec to 4-5 sec.

When it comes to press lines - we found that the thinner transfer paper is used - the less chances of lines you get. Some types of paper are perfect for hard substrates, but way too thick for fabric. 

As Roger said - Vapor has a foam press kit and there are other kinds of inserts on the market - they are definitely very helpful with reducing lines. The one I'm using has a Teflon cover – very convenient.


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## BigD (Mar 18, 2007)

Thanks Tania! Another question...will a longer dwell time help reduce the ghosting? in regards to the adhesive, is it the same type screen printers use to spray on the platen to keep the shirt from moving?


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## D.Evo. (Mar 31, 2006)

Thanks Tania! Another question...will a longer dwell time help reduce the ghosting? 
I wouldn't expect so - the ghosting happens when thransfer shifts, before or after pressing.



BigD said:


> in regards to the adhesive, is it the same type screen printers use to spray on the platen to keep the shirt from moving?


Sorry, I don't know what is used in screen printing. I don't use sprays myself but I know there are things like Wilflex Hot Tak Adhesive.


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## plan b (Feb 21, 2007)

Hi,,, you can use teflon tape to hold your transfer in place also,,, if you do mugs you can use that tape,, works ok,, as tania said or use the spray,,, you need to lift the immage a little to avoid lines,,,, that should take care of ghosting also,,, you still need to press that full 40 to 50 secs,,, do this in one press,, Hope this helps,,

R.


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## BigD (Mar 18, 2007)

plan b said:


> you need to lift the immage a little to avoid lines,,,, that should take care of ghosting also R.


Thanks Roger! When you say lift, you mean put a pad or pillow inside the shirt underneath the area being pressed? Will cardboard work?


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## plan b (Feb 21, 2007)

Yes you can,, but get you a blank mousepad or 2,, no ink or anything on it ,,, stick that in there,,, adjust your press before you heat your press for light pressure,, with the shirt in the press etc... don't be shy,, press the full 50 seconds,,, don't be shy,,,, this should do the trick,,, the deal with sub ink is you need to have the full dwell time for the ink to do the job it is made for,,, once you do that you will have it licked,..

R.


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## TwoAngeles (Jun 27, 2007)

I wouldn't recommend cardboard, because when I tried that I got cardboard lines. What worked for me was less pressure and more time.


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## rusty (Feb 9, 2007)

If you are pressing on the edges of your paper at the right temp and dwell time, you WILL get press lines from the edges. The only way to avoid press lines is to make sure your paper is larger than the area being pressed so that the edges of the paper hang over. You need to use either a Teflon pillow or a piece of the foam vapor kit under your image being pressed. Use a VERY LIGHT pressure. This is very difficult to achieve with a clamshell press. You really need to press for at least 40 sec. I press all my fabric at 395 for 55 seconds. It takes a lot of heat and time for enough of the dye to sublimate.

Ghosting is caused by your transfer shifting in relation to your shirt when at temp. You can move it around all you want before pressing it. The 2 main causes of ghosting is 1) not using adhesive spray, and 2) using too much pressure. And doing both will cause really bad ghosting. When you press a shirt with even a little pressure, the fabric is compressed and changes shape, while the paper holds its shape. Think of mashing a layer of cookie dough and how it squeezes out from under your hand. Fabric will do the same thing when compressed, not as exaggerated obviously. And when you release the pressure, the shirt de-compresses back to it's original shape, shifting under the stationary paper. Even a little compression/de-compression will cause the image to blur when the press is opened. But when you use the adhesive spray, it causes the entire image to stick to the shirt, and the shirt does not shift when it's compressed.

The only spray I know of is called ProSpray from Conde.com.


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