# Vinyl for Tshirts.



## ChrisCloninger (Nov 21, 2013)

Where is the best place to get a great price on vinyl for t shirts and other products to heat press. Thank you for all your help. And also what type of vinyl is better?


----------



## Jarod (Aug 16, 2013)

Your question is way to vauge. Plenty of different people will tell you plenty of different things about there favorite vinyl, and why it is their favorite. As for the cheapest, if you go for the vinyl that is cheap, it will just lose you money. It will peel, won't apply right, will be hard to weed etc. I am currently using Fashion Film from Stahls, and It works great for me. Is relatively cost effective. Go here to see all of the different vinyl products Stahls sells: CAD-CUT Heat Transfer Materials for Vinyl Cutters | Stahls. I hope that isn't breaking self promotion rules, because it isn't "self" promotion  Let me know if you have some more questions.

Jarod


----------



## ChrisCloninger (Nov 21, 2013)

Thank you, but no im not looking for the cheapest, I am looking for what looks good and what works at reasonable prices. Im just starting out and just needing a lot of help right now.


----------



## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

If you read through the forums youy will get lots of contrary opinions on the subject......I love Siser Easy Weed and Spectra Eco Film and hate Joto Paper and Thermoflex....Best to buy small quantities of various materials and test until you find what you like....


----------



## oneeyedjack (Mar 7, 2007)

Royster why the hate for Joto multicut, just curious as was going to give them a try as we get sublimation supplies from them so figured might as well try their vinyl.


----------



## macman29681 (May 24, 2013)

The siser easy weed vinyl has been great for me. Very easy to work with.


----------



## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

Higher price, higher heat, longer application time, less colours (at the time) and it seemed harder to weed than Siser Easy Weed / Spectra Eco Film....The # of colours are all about the same now as Spectra Eco Film has eliminated some colours...And my pricing was based on purchasing in the US as I am on the border....This was done over 2 1/2 years ago so it may be different now...Having said that, Joto Paper is a good product and much better than some of the other imported materials....It just was not my 1st choice....

PS....Hate might of been too strong of word....But the 6 yards rolls really bugged me....


----------



## aimagedesign (Sep 2, 2009)

I've had good success with; Siser easyweed, easyweed stretch and stahls fashion lite. Stahls premium plus has a nice light hand but it's a nuisance to weed.


----------



## AndrewJR (Aug 22, 2013)

I'm newer and personally love the premium plus. I like it a lot for multi-color applications as it doesn't shrink much, if at all and is easy to register.

I've not used sister to compare but I don't think pp is too hard to weed.


----------



## Sonic08 (Jul 24, 2013)

I've had great luck with the Siser EasyWeed Stretch. The stuff seems unstoppable. Great matte finish and stretched as far as your particular fabric will allow. Used on t-shirts, hoodies, and stretchy workout pants with no issues. Colors are limited, but vibrant for what they have. I've used eco film but don't like the plastic look it gives and had problems with it cracking under stress.


----------



## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

Sonic08 said:


> I've used eco film but don't like the plastic look it gives and had problems with it cracking under stress.


When was the last time you compared these products?......As far as I know they come out of the same factory and are identical except in name.....


----------



## Sonic08 (Jul 24, 2013)

royster13 said:


> When was the last time you compared these products?......As far as I know they come out of the same factory and are identical except in name.....


I have tried both in the past month. The eco film I refer to is the spectracut brand. It is absolutely not stretchy and is much more glossy than the easy weed stretch. The eco works well on canvas or sports jerseys that don't stretch.


----------



## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

Sorry I got confused......I thought you were comparing regular Siser Easy Weed with Spectra Eco Film...I am not familiar with the Siser Easy Weed Stretch...


----------



## Sonic08 (Jul 24, 2013)

Not a problem. You should try to get a sample of the stretch, it's wonderful to work with.


----------



## cfrieson (Sep 3, 2013)

I purchased some Siser EasyWeed last week and thus far I have been very satisfied with my results.


----------



## oneeyedjack (Mar 7, 2007)

royster13 said:


> When was the last time you compared these products?......As far as I know they come out of the same factory and are identical except in name.....


I wonder how many vinyls people talk about are the exact same product. Seems there is so many different names out there it gets very confusing for some. Any one know of any that are the same?


----------



## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

It seems that Thermo Flex and Joto are both made by Poli Tape...There are lots of private label brands that may come from the same factory as another but it is really hard to tell....Sometimes you can find hints on the Material Safety Data Sheets or Specifications.....Then one can speculate from there...


----------



## oneeyedjack (Mar 7, 2007)

What about Stahls vinyl and Spectra vinyl. Isn't Imprintables warehouse and stahls basically the same company.


----------



## oneeyedjack (Mar 7, 2007)

royster13 said:


> It seems that Thermo Flex and Joto are both made by Poli Tape...There are lots of private label brands that may come from the same factory as another but it is really hard to tell....Sometimes you can find hints on the Material Safety Data Sheets or Specifications.....Then one can speculate from there...


So Thermoflex plus would be Multicut Ultra I would guess.


----------



## tiger24 (Jan 11, 2009)

oneeyedjack said:


> What about Stahls vinyl and Spectra vinyl. Isn't Imprintables warehouse and stahls basically the same company.


Hi Gary,

Have you ever tried Sport Flex?
It is from a company in Ontario, Canada

FlexHeatTransfers , Neil is the owner I believe.

It is pretty good stuff.


----------



## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

tiger24 said:


> Hi Gary,
> 
> Have you ever tried Sport Flex?
> It is from a company in Ontario, Canada
> ...


I should check this out.....It seems his prices are lower now than when I 1st looked at him.....But still pretty limited in the number of colours and highter temperature but might work well for single colour work....Do you know how thick this material is?...


----------



## tiger24 (Jan 11, 2009)

royster13 said:


> I should check this out.....It seems his prices are lower now than when I 1st looked at him.....But still pretty limited in the number of colours and highter temperature but might work well for single colour work....Do you know how thick this material is?...


Hi Royce,

I don't have the product specs for thickness.

The actual feel on a tee is the best I felt. It sure feels thin pressed on a garment.

I don't know if you are looking for thicker or thinner. I would assume we are all looking for thinner.

I have a digital caliper at work measuring to 0.005"
I could give you a thickness tomorrow when I am at work.


----------



## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

How is the opacity of the white?.....Especially on red or orange shirts?...


----------



## tiger24 (Jan 11, 2009)

royster13 said:


> How is the opacity of the white?.....Especially on red or orange shirts?...


Royce,

I assume that was directed at me?

If so, this is the only example I have on hand.

It is a red 100% poly athletic tank top.

Cheers,
Andy


----------



## tiger24 (Jan 11, 2009)

ChrisCloninger said:


> Where is the best place to get a great price on vinyl for t shirts and other products to heat press. Thank you for all your help. And also what type of vinyl is better?



ChrisCloninger,

Sorry for hijacking your thread.


----------



## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

tiger24 said:


> Royce,
> 
> I assume that was directed at me?
> 
> ...


Thanks.....


----------



## oneeyedjack (Mar 7, 2007)

tiger24 said:


> Hi Gary,
> 
> Have you ever tried Sport Flex?
> It is from a company in Ontario, Canada
> ...


I have used the sports flex but not the super flex. It was pretty good, kinda nice that he has gotten into the apparel sales now also.

So any chance Stahls and Imprintables Spectra vinyl are the same product. Isn't Imprintables warehouse a division of Stahls.


----------



## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

oneeyedjack said:


> So any chance Stahls and Imprintables Spectra vinyl. Isn't Imprintables warehouse a division of Stahls.


I do not think that Stahls Thermo Film is the same as Spectra Eco Film.....The Stahls' product is twice as thick (190 microns versus 95 microns)....But I am sure Stahls has something the same or close....


----------



## oneeyedjack (Mar 7, 2007)

Meant all their vinyls in general, not sure what matches up with what.


----------



## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

oneeyedjack said:


> Meant all their vinyls in general, not sure what matches up with what.


Not sure what your question is.....


----------



## oneeyedjack (Mar 7, 2007)

Are Stahl's cad cut vinyls the same as Imprintables Warehouse Spectra vinyls. Someone had mentioned to me that Stahls has a few different divisions and believe they said Imprintables was one of them (but not positive on that)


----------



## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

IMO they are different.....Last time I compared, I could not find any that had the same specs...But this is mostly speculation on my part...


----------



## oneeyedjack (Mar 7, 2007)

Iwas comparing some of their vinyls and some are pretty much the same and others pretty close to the same. Would make it less confusing for people if we knew what was what out there. Being human nature everyone is always looking for the next best thing when the next best thing could already be what your using.


----------



## ukracer (Feb 11, 2010)

It would be nice to get a table of products so we could compare them especially across the pond. I am sure some that reach here are the same but under a different name here in the UK. The magic Touch is in the states and the UK so what results do you get with the 123 flex? The small amount I have used is awesome. But as its 3 second vinyl I dont know how well it layers yet.

One thing I will say is to steer clear of the chinese vinyls (like those sold by SIGNZWORLD) on ebay as its appalling quality control even across a roll let alone across different rolls. Some have to be binned by the complete roll (50 meters) as its unusable. It is a lot harder to weed but looked good at the start as it is a dry bonded vinyl so no hairs stick to it if dropped on the floor etc.

The sad thing is if Chinese works its durable but it wastes so much time and garments when you get a bad batch.

I would be interested in you guys in the states if you have used magic touch 123 flex and how that 
compares to magic Touch premium flex??

Regards Andy T


----------



## oneeyedjack (Mar 7, 2007)

I have not tried Magic Touch vinyls just their transfer papers. When I first started doing heat press vinyl it was very confusing and still is to some extent figuring out the different products out there, was told buy someone "in the industry" that there are really only 3 -4 big players in the heat press vinyl market as they need to be multi international and have massive facilities. Also told Stahls does not manufacture their own vinyl but don't know if that is true or not, could be bull****.


----------



## JoshEllsworth (Dec 14, 2005)

The Stahls' comparable to Imprintables Eco-Film would be Fashion Film. It is not the same product but has a lot of the same performance features. The Fashion Film (under its new formulation) has a matte finish and is slightly thinner - approximately 7-10% less weight than Eco-Film. If you are looking for a material with a sticky backing that allows for finer detailed graphics from the Stahls' range than Fashion Film is the first one to look at. We do manufacture our own heat transfer films and I'd be happy to answer any specific questions about any of the products.


----------



## tiger24 (Jan 11, 2009)

JoshEllsworth said:


> The Stahls' comparable to Imprintables Eco-Film would be Fashion Film. It is not the same product but has a lot of the same performance features. The Fashion Film (under its new formulation) has a matte finish and is slightly thinner - approximately 7-10% less weight than Eco-Film. If you are looking for a material with a sticky backing that allows for finer detailed graphics from the Stahls' range than Fashion Film is the first one to look at. We do manufacture our own heat transfer films and I'd be happy to answer any specific questions about any of the products.


Hey Josh!

I have been away from the Forum until very recent.

I haven't seen your name in a while! You don't know me but please know you basically taught me how to heat press from your youtube vids back in the day when you weren't with Stahls yet. I think it was your own indy site.

ChrisCloninger, Josh will not steer you wrong. I use Fashion Film but from the Stahls Canada division.

Take care everyone...


----------



## JoshEllsworth (Dec 14, 2005)

tiger24 said:


> Hey Josh!
> 
> I have been away from the Forum until very recent.
> 
> ...


Happy to help and thanks for the support! I haven't been as active on the forums lately, but we've been very busy and have some very exciting initiatives and products for 2014 that we will be able to share with everyone soon.


----------



## RedbirdJaybird (Mar 14, 2013)

Hi Josh! I know this thread is old, but I wanted to ask about something and I can't find info specific on it anywhere! You carry Fashion Film Matte and also Metallic II - I know the Metallic II isn't available, but what is the finish like on your regular Fashion Film "Metallic Silver" color? 

I need a metallic silver vinyl that DOES NOT have a mirrored chrome finish ... something similar to Specta Alloy, Coastal Digi-cut Metallic, or Chemica Metallic ... would the metallic silver color from the regular Fashion Film fit the bill? Thanks!!


----------



## kukonstantinos (Sep 18, 2015)

This is my product site

BoredSport Clothing

You think I could get basically identical prints using vinyl, it's just that screen printing is expensive for small amounts of items, and I work at a sign makers so t would be easier to polt a few items


----------



## kamar1375 (Sep 7, 2015)

Hi Chris, I was reading your post I don't use vinyl. I really don't care for it to much, but I will say this when you start to using cheap supplies it takes an effect on the quality you put out. You may have heard the term what looks greener on the other side it is not always good.


----------

