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Top rated material for heat transfer

Sticky Signs

Sticky Signs

New Member
I have a heat press with cap attachment being delivered this Friday. (Thanks to those that helped me make a decision on which way to go. I do believe I found equipment that is a good fit for me.) Now I need to find some good material to print/cut on.
I'm using a roland Soljet Pro III with eco-sol max ink.
I plan on just doing t-shirts and hats for now but who knows....


I'm looking for a material that has that natural look/feel of screen printed. Not that really thick plastic looking crap.
I'd like it to be compatible with light and dark color fabrics however I don't mind having 1 for light colors and 1 for dark colors.
I'm hoping there's stuff available that will work on a wide variety of fabrics.
Pricing is also a factor but I don't mind paying good money for a good product.
Ideally, the product will have a "white" white point and will have no problem printing vibrant colors. Weed-ability is also a plus. (that's right - weed-ability) As well as washability and wearability and durability. (i need a beer)
Availability is also a huge factor. I'm in the Vancouver Canada area so something that's available locally would be a major plus.
Please let me know if these products require a specific transfer mask.

Hope I'm not forgetting anything.
Once again, your help is greatly appreciated.
 
Bigdawg

Bigdawg

Just Me
In all honesty - ALL the heat transfer materials I've used have a fairly heavy hand when all is said and done... nothing that I've come across would do what you are asking.

and if anyone says they have that material... then ask them to send you a sample FIRST. The "thin" materials I've tried... weren't.
 
Sticky Signs

Sticky Signs

New Member
Really??? My supplier has just started carrying a bunch of stuff from Siser. They had a bunch of samples already pressed onto fabric. Some of it look rather promising. As you know, there's a massive amount of heat transfer material to choose from. I'd like to save a little time and headaches by skipping some of the trial and error.
 
S

Slamdunkpro

New Member
Sticky Signs said:
Really??? My supplier has just started carrying a bunch of stuff from Siser. They had a bunch of samples already pressed onto fabric. Some of it look rather promising. As you know, there's a massive amount of heat transfer material to choose from. I'd like to save a little time and headaches by skipping some of the trial and error.
Click to expand...
I've used a lot of the Siser materials - They work really well for some applications and the hand on the colorprint isn't too bad. Biggest downside for me was that it's really difficult to weed and small text / graphics tend to come off the backing. Siser also tends to be on the expensive side.
 
G

GB2

Old Member
I've been using Color Print Sol 2160 for quite a while but I've not been totally satisfied with it. It has way too glossy a finish, has too heavy a feel and doesn't always hold up well to washing. I think the application method has to be consistent to have long term consistent performance too.

OK, so now I recently tried the Spectra Quickprint from our own Mike Koval at Imprintables Warehouse, upon his recommendation. So far I'm happy with this as it seems to have more of a matte finish and a little lighter feel. Cutting and weeding is better than the color print also. I don't yet know what the long term performance is but I'm optomistic. They have a dedicated transfer tape available but I always have used regular transfer tape in the past with good results.

By the way, what heat press did you get?
 
TresL

TresL

New Member
I agree with GB2.

Now if there was a sub-block with VERY light hand, I'd be all over that. :)
 
ProColorGraphics

ProColorGraphics

New Member
If your on lighter or plain colored shirts, the new Sihl stuff works great. But if you try to go over a jersey or something with graphics, the ink from the shirt will bleed through. The colorprint material is the best I have seen to do those, although it is thicker and is really glossy compared to the Sihl.
 
M

Mike_Koval

New Member
Well, I can tell you that there are quite a bit of different heat applied films for solvent printable materials.

I do feel that we have the superior products in the apparel market. When it comes to applying on darks, it is going to be tough to find a true screen print finish for opacity reasons. Out of our product here is what i would recommend the following....
  1. Quick Print - Cotton and poly cotton blend applications
  2. Solutions Opaque - Synthetic fabrics such as nylon and anything that has a high stretch
  3. Versaprint - Economy media that is firly thin and easy to work with. Comparable to the Sihl media
  4. Sub-Block - use for dye migration issues
I will say that I am excited to say that we have a material coming in about six weeks, that is very easy to work with, thin and excellent color. Once available i'll post it.

I suggest trying a few different suppliers to test and see which is going to work best for you. As always, samples are always always available upon request...email, PM or call. If you have any sorts of questions, let me know. I'm always glad to lend my advice.

Thanks to everyone in the community for recommending me throughout posts here. It is a pleasure to be on here and working with you!!
 
F

Finishline Signs

New Member
I would try the stuff Mike has at Imprintables. I have not tried their print-n-cut transfer material but the Eco-Film is the best material I have ever used, and I have tried most of them. When I use up the print stuff I have now I will be buying my next roll from Imprintables.
 
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