# Heat Press marks on poly and poly blends



## oldsewandsew (Nov 27, 2011)

Can anyone out there help me? I am really pretty new at heat press. I did one job where I pressed plastisol ink onto 100% poly shirts. The platen left marks on the shirts. I asked my transfer supplier and they said it was a problem with the shirts and perhaps I should use a pillow. Well, I pressed a 50/50 golf shirt today with vinyl and got the same marks. I am following the instructions for the vinyl to the letter. What do I need to do to press onto poly and poly blends? I have Hotronix Fusion Air press and the vinyl I am using is Premium Plus. Doesn't anyone out there do this on a regular basis? I just did a job with 100% cotton shirts and the shirts shrunk up SOOOOO badly I am having to replace the shirts. Because of that, I would prefer to work with blends, but not if I am going to have this problem all the time. HELP????


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## headfirst (Jun 29, 2011)

Is it the platen leaving the marks or is it the carrier sheet / transfer paper?

If it is the platen, you are burning the shirt. Turn the temp down and cook longer if necessary.

If it is the transfer sheet, cut a piece of heat safe foam to be just smaller than your sheet and place that under the garment so that the edges hang over the foam. This prevents your sheet from putting a permanent press crease into the garment.


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## oldsewandsew (Nov 27, 2011)

It's definitely the platen leaving the marks and not the paper. On the 100% poly I was using transfers and transfer paper from TE. On the poly blend last night I was using vinyl (Premium Plus from Stahl's). Neither left a mark. Also, I used two different platens on each of these and the marks are the size of the platen.


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

Some types of polyester shirts simply can not take the heat of the press.....So you may have to test different shirts.....


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## Louie2010 (Feb 26, 2010)

Which cotton shirts shrank so badly? I mostly use Gildan 2000 100% cotton and don't have a problem with excessive shrinking. You may also want to try some other cotton shirts.

it could also help to include some washing instructions with an order that could explain not to wash or dry in high heat.


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## oldsewandsew (Nov 27, 2011)

Funny you should mention Gildan shirts..........it was their G500L shirt that performed SO badly!!!! I will NEVER use Gildan shirts again. The tag even says pre-shrunk!!!! What a rip off. I called my supplier and they qould only give me a 30% credit on them. In addition to the shrinkage, I had seams coming out and one hem unravelling. I am still learning every day about this business, but this lesson hurt the pocketbook!!!


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## Louie2010 (Feb 26, 2010)

Yeah, I am not as big fan of the 5000 either, I do like the 2000 though which is a heavier shirt and I haven't had any problems with.

If you want a ladies lighter weight 100% cotton shirt you might want to try the Anvil 428 organic Tees. They are pretty nice, much better than the 5000. Of course they are more expensive.

Just curious, who your supplier is? The fact that you are having two separate problems with the same shirt, maybe your supplier is selling seconds? Just a thought.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

Not getting press marks on poly shirts is the ultimate accomplishment. If you want to use your existing garments and media, a teflon pillow will help a lot, especially with hard press lines caused by the edge of the platen.

Ultimately though, Royce is right, you may have to switch up your garment &/or media to something that works at a lower press temperature.


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## astitchinthyme (Nov 16, 2009)

I have had success removing marks by brushing with a steam brush, prior to that hovering a steam iron over the mark took most of it away. Best not to have the mark in the first place and reducing the temp can achieve this


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## Naptime (May 19, 2011)

you said yourself that you are pretty new, and still learning. but blame the garment?

what temps are you pressing at, and what sort of pressure?

i make my own plastisol transfers, we use inkjet transfers, we press names...

i would say that 75% of our business is on gildan 5000. 10% on gildan 8000 and 10% on gildan 2000 5% for random stuff, jerzees, hoodies, etc...

i have never had an issue with shirts shrinking on the press. i have never had an issue with the press leaving marks.


what do you mean exactly, by "marks" 

do you mean the outline of the platen?

it's been my experience, that the platen outline almost always goes away, after the shirt has been cooled. or, in extreme cases, after it has been washed and dried.


we are a local printer, and also have a funny line, and have never had a complaint do to a shirt having marks or shrinking.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

Naptime said:


> i have never had an issue with the press leaving marks.
> 
> what do you mean exactly, by "marks"
> 
> ...


You guys are talking apples to oranges. If you reread his post, the press mark issue relates to pressing poly shirts. Press marks, scorching/melting, is a MAJOR issue when pressing poly garments. It is a NO ISSUE with cotton garments.


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## oldsewandsew (Nov 27, 2011)

Thanks for restating that, yes. My issue is with POLY, not cotton shirts. The cotton shirts took the decoration just fine with no marks, they were just lousy shirts! My real reason for posting is the issue with the marks left by the platen exactly where the edge of the platen is. I will try reducing temp a little and also the pillow thing. Thanks!


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

You may need to find transfers that press at a lower temperature......For example, F&M Expressions have some that press at 325....Less heat equals less problems.....


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## Louie2010 (Feb 26, 2010)

I understood you problem was with poly. I thought maybe if you could find a cotton shirt that you liked, it would eliminate your new problem as well. The old "kill two birds with one stone" theory 

I hope you get it figured out.


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

Louie2010 said:


> I thought maybe if you could find a cotton shirt that you liked, it would eliminate your new problem as well.


Heck no!......100% poly shirts sell for way more than 100% cotton.....


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## Louie2010 (Feb 26, 2010)

I understood the reasoning behind trying to use poly was because of the shrinking problem of the cotton shirts previously used. I didn't think it was a marketing question. Oh well, like I said. I hope they get it figured out.


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## Michelle Roberts (Mar 8, 2012)

What temperature were you using to press the polyester items? I believe that was asked before, but I don't see the temp mentioned in the thread.






oldsewandsew said:


> Can anyone out there help me? I am really pretty new at heat press. I did one job where I pressed plastisol ink onto 100% poly shirts. The platen left marks on the shirts. I asked my transfer supplier and they said it was a problem with the shirts and perhaps I should use a pillow. Well, I pressed a 50/50 golf shirt today with vinyl and got the same marks. I am following the instructions for the vinyl to the letter. What do I need to do to press onto poly and poly blends? I have Hotronix Fusion Air press and the vinyl I am using is Premium Plus. Doesn't anyone out there do this on a regular basis? I just did a job with 100% cotton shirts and the shirts shrunk up SOOOOO badly I am having to replace the shirts. Because of that, I would prefer to work with blends, but not if I am going to have this problem all the time. HELP????


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## drdoct (Jul 26, 2011)

With premium plus you should be able to bring the press down to 300 too. That should help. I have had the same problem on some Gilden dry blend polo shirts that a customer HAD to have some vinyl on. I don't plan on doing it anytime soon again. I ended up dropping the heat and the pressure to finally keep it from getting shiny.


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