# teflon sheet leaving a shadow print



## JoBug (Jun 8, 2008)

I've been using teflon sheets between my transfer sheet and the top platen. Now the teflon sheet is leaving a light print of a previous design on a new shirt with a totally different desgin. I didn't think teflon sheets would absorb the ink...? I've wiped them off with a damp cloth plus I wiped them with some alcohol. Has anyone else had this happen? I guess I'll go back to paper on the top. Anyone have any thoughts on this?


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

JoBug said:


> I've been using teflon sheets between my transfer sheet and the top platen. Now the teflon sheet is leaving a light print of a previous design on a new shirt with a totally different desgin. I didn't think teflon sheets would absorb the ink...? I've wiped them off with a damp cloth plus I wiped them with some alcohol. Has anyone else had this happen? I guess I'll go back to paper on the top. Anyone have any thoughts on this?


Yes this happens. You can go to Sams' club and get a wide roll of butchers paper cheap. The paper is wider than the shirt therfore won't leave crease marks.


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## skdave (Apr 11, 2008)

Mike is correct but brown kraft paper works as well.


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## jean518 (Sep 23, 2009)

So does parchment paper. I live an hour from Sam's and my local grocery store and WM both have parchment paper. I have several teflon sheets. I always found they cleaned well. When I do plastisol or inkjet transfers, I wipe it off after each press with a paper towel.


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## Riderz Ready (Sep 18, 2008)

Maybe Kevin from Johnson Plastics or one of the other distributors can jump in on this as we use Beaver Tacky papaer and ink never blows through the paper. We use nothing inbetween the press and the printed papaer and never had an issue with ink blowing through. Understand that Beaver tacky is not available for the desktop market but clearly the type of paper one uses will affect this issue.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

jean518 said:


> So does parchment paper. I live an hour from Sam's and my local grocery store and WM both have parchment paper. I have several teflon sheets. I always found they cleaned well. When I do plastisol or inkjet transfers, I wipe it off after each press with a paper towel.


Costco also carries parchment under the "Kirkland" brand. I don't know the roll length for Sams, but WM carries the same stuff as the regular grocery stores do, like the "Reynolds" brand and in 24 ft rolls. 

The Costco version is in 164 ft rolls and very cheap considering the roll length. 

Costco - Kirkland Signature

I saw it in a local store but the link above describes it.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

Riderz Ready said:


> Maybe Kevin from Johnson Plastics or one of the other distributors can jump in on this as we use Beaver Tacky papaer and ink never blows through the paper. We use nothing inbetween the press and the printed papaer and never had an issue with ink blowing through. Understand that Beaver tacky is not available for the desktop market but clearly the type of paper one uses will affect this issue.


There once was a competitive paper to that for desktop use and available in sheets and desktop widths, but Beaver forced it off the market claiming patent infringment. Several postings here asking a couple or so resellers if they would cut that paper down to desktop size, but nothing going yet.

The trick would be testing the various papers, inks, and printer settings though. I have used most of the sub paper available for desktop printers and it could be some of those don't require a "blow paper" on top. But I always placed something on top, not because I knew it would blow thru, but because I believed it could.

So some of us may be using inks/printers/papers where it is not required to use a cover sheet, but we just won't know due to being cautious.

I recall you had mentioned in a thread that you had worked with your RIP vendor and was able to save on inks by fine tuning RIP settings, or something like that. 

So if your ink coverage on the paper is "lean" that should be a big factor. Desktop users are confined to using either the Epson or Ricoh driver or Power Driver, so could be they might not see that benefit as you have with the Beaver tacky paper and your RIP, but then again no one really knows unless they tested it out without the cover paper.

A vendor like you mention like JP has many printers, inks, and papers available and would have the best resources to test this on a wider scale. 

I think I could figure out a reasonable test for that, but the results would only be applicable to my printers, inks, and papers.

But I would like to be able to lose the cover sheet. You raise a good possibility, just need to be able to test it out without sacrificing good garments.


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## skdave (Apr 11, 2008)

I have had blow out with Beaver Tacky. The cost of all of the paper mentioned is a safe investment instead of losing a garment.


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## Riderz Ready (Sep 18, 2008)

skdave said:


> I have had blow out with Beaver Tacky. The cost of all of the paper mentioned is a safe investment instead of losing a garment.


Not sure if you are using too much presure or heat but we have done 10,000+ jerseys equaling 30,000+ individual presses and not had a single blow thourgh using tacky paper.


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## skdave (Apr 11, 2008)

Good for you mark. I'll keep doing what I'm doing.
Safe than sorry.


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## JYA (Jun 2, 2008)

Riderz Ready said:


> Not sure if you are using too much presure or heat but we have done 10,000+ jerseys equaling 30,000+ individual presses and not had a single blow thourgh using tacky paper.


Mark, I think that since you may not have a huge variance in humidity, you may not have experienced this. 

As you know, I also use Beaver Tacky, but, have found with that variance in humidity that it isn't so much blowout, but, some ghosting from time to time. I resolved this during low humidity by using heat tape. I found a great supplier (Specialty Tapes) and bought a lifetime's worth of tape at a screaming price!


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## Riderz Ready (Sep 18, 2008)

JYA said:


> Mark, I think that since you may not have a huge variance in humidity, you may not have experienced this.
> 
> As you know, I also use Beaver Tacky, but, have found with that variance in humidity that it isn't so much blowout, but, some ghosting from time to time. I resolved this during low humidity by using heat tape. I found a great supplier (Specialty Tapes) and bought a lifetime's worth of tape at a screaming price!


I am not sure I get the issue with humidty? Are you losing tacky when it is humid or not humid? Have you used the tape on neoprene? We do some number plate shaped mouse pads and neoprene is a ***** to get tape to stick to. The regular heat tape sold in dye sublimation market does not work that well. Let me know.


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## Riderz Ready (Sep 18, 2008)

mgparrish said:


> There once was a competitive paper to that for desktop use and available in sheets and desktop widths, but Beaver forced it off the market claiming patent infringment. Several postings here asking a couple or so resellers if they would cut that paper down to desktop size, but nothing going yet.
> 
> The trick would be testing the various papers, inks, and printer settings though. I have used most of the sub paper available for desktop printers and it could be some of those don't require a "blow paper" on top. But I always placed something on top, not because I knew it would blow thru, but because I believed it could.
> 
> ...


Who would not want to lose a cover sheet? Surely the concept effects some more then others. For us to buy, cut, place, remove and dispose of 3 pieces of paper per jersey would without question effect our cost. If one is not doing shirts or apparel on a regular basis then maybe it does not matter as much. 

If I recall David from Conde posted some time back that there is paper feeding issues with individual sheets of tacky paper and they were working on a solution. If that is the case then the desktop market will soon be jumping for joy. 

I did a quick test printing a file straight from AI with a lot of black thus not reducing ink through the RIP. Pressed with no issue of blow through. I would guess, and it is only a guess, that heat, presure and time are the most likely factors not the amount of ink but a vendor doing a test would be much more accurate. 

If someone in the desktop market wants to test on their profile we will cut up some pieces for them to try so other users can get additional feedback.


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## JYA (Jun 2, 2008)

Riderz Ready said:


> I am not sure I get the issue with humidty? Are you losing tacky when it is humid or not humid? Have you used the tape on neoprene? We do some number plate shaped mouse pads and neoprene is a ***** to get tape to stick to. The regular heat tape sold in dye sublimation market does not work that well. Let me know.


I'll mail you a roll of tape this week to see what you think. Works great for me!


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