# Printing Plastisol Transfers - Help Please



## punkpatches (Nov 26, 2016)

Hello, I had a few questions after trying to print plastisol transfers. I used Ryonet's hot split transfer paper and Hot Split transfer paper from mc Logans. 

I printed one coat of white for my design with a fairly thick stencil, applied powder adhesive, and cured to about 250 degrees Fahrenheit. *First off, the powder adhesive rubs off very easily. Could this be a need for the two layers of ink? * I have my platens up very high so after I print the coat I put it on a lower platen and dry that way, making two coats hard to register properly on a single station press. 

Second group of questions, maybe related to the thickness of my ink layer. The print transfers just fine at about 340 degrees fahrenheit for about 11-20 seconds. I immediately peel the paper and I get an opaque transfer (opaque enough for my needs) but about three washes later I get peeling of the plastisol itself but can still see a transparent layer of adhesive. *Could this be overcuring of the ink? And if so at which stage? Am I overcuring when I flash it or maybe when transferring it? *

I would appreciate any help I can get and will continue to research, I'd like a quasi scientific approach to this instead of trial and error of things I am not sure I am even doing correctly.

Not sure if it matters but before the weather started being consistently over 100 everyday I was using a curable reducer in my white plastisol. I am now using it straight from the bucket with almost the same viscosity.


----------



## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

I would be surprised if you can get consistency using a flash. Transfers are fussy and require controlled conditions. Even experienced printers screw them up sometimes.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk


----------



## djque (Feb 5, 2013)

Your not curing it hot enough I usually do 350 for 20 seconds with ryonet paper for some reason I could not get it to work with anything lower. I have a hotronix fusion and I don't wash text till 24hrs. if at all. I flash and get a gel feel. You should be able to peel the transfers edge. Also use a heat gun


----------



## franktheprinter (Oct 5, 2008)

Hi. You need consistency in every part of the transfer making process. Using a flash dryer
and/or a heat press just wont cut it. What you are trying to do is "gel" the ink (you do not want to cure it - you want to gel it to the paper just enough to not get any transferring of the ink to when it comes into contact with anything ). To get temperature consistency you need a conveyor dryer...they can all be temperature controlled- that will give you the consistency needed. You also need transfer ink (ink specifically made for producing transfers). You also need to find out from your ink manufacturer
what you need as far as proper temp,powder,etc to produce transfers using their ink


----------



## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

What is different about transfer ink? It didn't exist when I was screenprinting transfers.

Sent from my KFGIWI using Tapatalk


----------



## franktheprinter (Oct 5, 2008)

wormil said:


> What is different about transfer ink? It didn't exist when I was screenprinting transfers.
> 
> Sent from my KFGIWI using Tapatalk


Hi. That's a good question. When I researched
a few companies back in the day... I found 
consistently that it was very technical to explain but generally it was in the chemical makeup. The company I ultimately decided on was One Stroke Inks as they are local and I always knew if I had any
issues with what I perceived to be an ink problem
that they would be there to help determine what it 
was.

For anyone that is interested in producing transfers
(lol definitely a hands on thing with a huge learning curve) or is just interested in the process of it I would highly recommend an article written by Union
Ink (another very good transfer ink supplier I use) here is a link to it:

Printing Plastisol Transfers - Union Ink


----------



## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

We didn't have any option other than regular plastisol and it worked fine. You don't "need" transfer ink, not at all, so it sounds like the benefits are not clear to you either.


----------



## franktheprinter (Oct 5, 2008)

wormil said:


> We didn't have any option other than regular plastisol and it worked fine.
> .


That is true... back in the day there was no option 
and they did work "fine"



wormil said:


> You don't "need" transfer ink, not at all, so it sounds like the benefits are not clear to you either.


That's partly true...you don't need it.. but which one do I use? All serious transfer manufacturers i know of use plastisol inks specifically made for transfers "transfer ink" if you will....my thoughts were that you were asking what makes it different as in the makeup of it ...that i cannot tell you so i misunderstood the question. 


Why do i believe we all use it? i can only speak for me and my company. For me it was because when we printed a transfer with plastisol transfer ink and compared it with printing transfers with regular plastisol ink we found thru numerous comparisons of both that the benefits of using transfer ink were numerous....the main ones were:

:better longevity - for me -factual
:better feel - subjective
:better look - subjective
:better stability(control of outcome) - for me -factual 
:better productivity - for me -factual

the drawbacks? the only one i know of is pricing
(transfer inks are more expensive)

So can you use plastisol inks? most definitely.

I will however pay more monies for transfer ink
as for me and my company its worth it


----------



## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

Judging by the failures I've seen, process and quality control are still as important as ever and make or break a print shop. 

Sent from my KFGIWI using Tapatalk


----------



## Shelli07 (Aug 7, 2017)

Hello,

I want to make heat transfers at home. Does anyone have any good recommendation for paper and ink brands?


----------



## Klharri12 (Jul 30, 2017)

Also interested in this


----------

