Heat Transfers Vs. Plastisol Transfers Vs. Screen Printing
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One question that comes up often in decorated apparel circles is, “What are heat transfers and screen printing and how are they different?” Today, we’ll answer that question.
To start off, let’s discuss what heat transfer is. Heat transfer is the process of applying an ink-based design (usually one printed on a sheet of special transfer paper) to the product to be decorated (usually a t-shirt) with a heat press machine. As the name implies, a heat press machine works by using heat and pressure to apply the design to the garment.
A heat press machine is designed to use and control the three key factors needed to apply the decoration: time, temperature, and pressure. For example, when customizing polyester open mesh sports jerseys a recommended practice is to heat the press to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and then press down with firm pressure for 10 seconds. On the other hand, when applying plastisol transfers, it’s best to heat the press to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and then press down for 10 seconds. Even though it’s just a couple of degrees difference it’s important.
Two of the most popular heat transfer methods are transfer paper (inkjet) printing and plastisol transfer printing.
In the transfer paper method, an inkjet printer prints a sheet of special transfer paper with the proper ink. Then, the paper is laid on the shirt (or other surfaces) and a heated press is applied for a few seconds. The exact time depends on the type of printing and material.
For light-colored garments, the mirror of the original desired image is printed on paper, then the transfer process puts the mirror of the mirror (the original) on the garment. However, on dark garments, the design is printed without mirroring. This is partly because inkjet printers cannot print white. Therefore, on white garments, all that’s necessary is not print white areas of the design and let the original color show through, while dark garments need certain transfer papers that are covered with transferable white ink.
Plastisol transfers are similar to transfer papers in that the decoration is applied to special paper first, then transferred to the product from the paper. The difference is that in the transfer paper method the paper is printed on by an inkjet printer and plastisol transfers are printed the paper on by screen printing.
The plastisol transfer paper is put underneath the screen on a screen printing machine. Then, the same process of printing a shirt (described below) is done, but instead of the plastisol ink being printed directly on the shirt it is printed on paper. Then, a sand-like grain is spread on top of the plastisol so that the design doesn’t blur. This also makes it easy to store the plastisol transfer in a folder for future use.
After the paper is printed, a heat press machine applies the paper to the garment. The advantage of plastisol heat transfers is that it makes otherwise tough-to-print locations easy since aligning a shirt on a heat press machine is far easier and quicker than on a screen printing platform.
The following infographic illustrates a form of transfer paper printing called dye sublimation. This gives a good overall view of the heat transfer process…by Row Apparel.
Now that we’ve discussed heat transfer, let’s talk about screen printing. The Chinese invented screen printing thousands of years ago. At first, they used silk screens for the process which is why another name for screen printing is silk screening. The reason the process has lasted, in one form or another, for thousands of years is its efficiency. To way oversimplify, screen printing is the process of applying ink, through screens, on many objects–not just shirts. Pens, bottles, hats, business cards, flyers, and more have all been screen printed.
Screen printing is complex and requires much more equipment–and chemicals–than heat transfer. For example, the emulsion is needed to create a screen and then three products – ink thinner, emulsion remover, and dehaze are needed to clean the screen after just one use. In addition, equipment like a washout booth is needed to both clean screens and create them. On top of all that, it requires a dark room to store the screens, a light machine to burn the screens, a flash dryer, and conveyor belt dryer to dry the screens, and a screen printing machine to actually print something. Then, of course, there’s all the little stuff like squeegees, scrubbers, tape, films, a printer to burn the film, at least 20 screens in various mesh sizes, and plastisol inks in various colors.
Screen printing usually requires a minimum order to be efficient. There is more setup time involved than heat transfer printing, but the setup time is exactly the same whether the order is for one shirt or one thousand shirts. Once the screens are aligned and the ink is put on them, all that’s left is to put on and take off the shirts from the machine (and possibly change ink on large orders). Therefore, only one design can be printed at a time, although ink colors can be changed and different garments can be printed with the design so long as it’s made from the same type of fabric.
Two common inks used are plastisol ink (the most popular) and water-based inks.
Screen printing is a great printing process that’s been around for thousands of years and will be around for thousands of years more. It’s an efficient way to print both full color and single color designs on shirts and it’s so versatile the customer’s imagination is the limit!
Plastisol ink is PVC based and, unlike water-based inks (discussed below), has no solvent. Like the UV ink used in graphic screen printing, it’s therefore referred to as a 100% solid ink system. Plastisol is thermoplastic; in other words, it’s necessary to heat the printed ink film to a temperature high enough (usually about 300 °F to 330°F) to cause the PVC resin and plasticizer to cross-link and solidify, or cure.
It’s important to keep plastisol ink clean since clean ink can be returned to the original container for reuse.
Some customers and print shops prefer water-based inks over plastisol, because fabric printed with water-based inks, unlike plastisol inks, have a “soft hand” feel. This, in turn, is because water-based inks get embedded into the fabric, while plastisol inks sit on top. In addition, they are more environmentally friendly. Best of all, water-based inks don’t crack or fade. One thing to remember is that they work best on 100% cotton fabrics, lightweight and stretchy fabrics like rib and bamboo, and garments such as towels.
Water-based inks are very transparent inks with a low opacity (brightness), which means that on light shirts the colors are bright, but not on dark colors. Some firms offer H.O. (high opacity) water-based inks which show better on dark-colored garments while maintaining the “soft hand” feel.
So, is heat transfer or screen printing the better option? The best answer is that each serves its own purpose, so “it depends”. To summarize, if you’re doing a smaller job with complex designs, several different designs, or variable parts such as team member names or numbers, heat transfer is probably the best bet. On the other hand, if you are doing larger orders (especially ones with solid colors) screen printing is better.
Whichever method–screen, heat transfer, or both you use for your jobs, OnSite All-In-One Business Management Software is specifically designed to handle the entire process. Learn more about how you can customize OnSite for your needs and sign up for a demo here.
Advantages: wide application, bright colors, high reduction degree, affordable price, can be printed in a variety of colors on a large area, strong covering.
Disadvantages: it will stick in hot weather and feel hard.
Material: Suitable for printing of various dark colors and materials.
Advantages: reflective printed textiles have a strong "eye-catching" effect under light conditions. The safety clothing (or logo) made of this high-visibility reflective material, no matter whether the wearer is in a remote place, or is in light or scattered light In the case of interference, it can be easily discovered by night drivers, thus smoothly solving the night driving problem of "seeing" and "being seen".
Disadvantages: easy to crack and not washable.
Material: Used in highway signs, advertisements, posters, special uniforms, police uniforms, and sanitation clothing.
Advantages: adding several kinds of high-tech ultraviolet light to the dye to excite the Mars micro-colloid particles, the color changes instantly when exposed to ultraviolet light.
Disadvantages: easy to crack and not washable.
Material: used for cultural shirts, children's clothing, posters, etc.
Advantages: A very neat three-dimensional effect can be achieved.
Disadvantages: the cost is relatively high.
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Material: Suitable for all kinds of knitted fabrics.
Advantages: soft hand feel and good warmth retention. The wool is woven on the cloth surface using a specific process.
Disadvantages: It is easy to fall off when the washing frequency increases, and there will be sticky hair phenomenon.
Material: Suitable for all kinds of warm fabrics or trademarks.
Advantages: fine patterns, rich and clear layers, high artistic quality, strong three-dimensional impression, which is inferior to ordinary printing methods, and can print photography and painting style patterns; the printing colors are bright, and the tar in the dye is left in the sublimation process On the transfer paper, it will not contaminate the fabric.
Disadvantages: The disadvantage is that it consumes a lot of transfer paper. After printing, it is washed with water, which consumes water and produces sewage.
Material: In addition to being suitable for synthetic fiber fabrics, transfer printing can also be used for printing on natural fiber and blended fabrics.
Advantages: fast response speed, good proofing effect, high customer approval rate, and wide use.
Disadvantages: slow printing speed and high ink price.
Material: various gift boxes, various decorative items printed with patterns, photos, etc.
Advantages: soft hand feel, widely used, with patterns on both sides.
Disadvantage: The color is not too bright.
Material: Generally used for blanket printing.
Advantages: the pattern is clear, the color is bright, the hand feel is soft, and the pattern is more beautiful than glue printing.
Disadvantages: The price is more expensive than glue printing.
Material: The fabric must be loose and light.
Advantages: strong three-dimensional effect, prominent printing surface and swelling.
Disadvantages: The color fastness of printed parts is difficult to control.
Material: Widely used in materials such as cotton cloth and nylon cloth.
Advantages: translucent texture, concave and convex patterns, natural pattern, unique style, colorful.
Disadvantages: Cotton fabrics cannot be used.
Material: In addition to rayon and real silk, polyester-cotton core-spun yarn materials are currently mostly used.
Advantages: soft hand feel, sticky, non-sticky, washable and wearable, strong color fastness.
Disadvantages: the price is not expensive for glue printing.
Material: Suitable for various fiber fabrics.
Advantages: bright and gorgeous color, good light stability. It can give the fabric a full, dry and soft hand feeling, excellent washing fastness, and good air permeability of the fabric.
Disadvantages: The paint-printed area feels slightly harder than the unprinted area, and may be thicker.
Material: Suitable for various fiber fabrics.
Advantages: soft hand feeling.
Disadvantages: It must be washed with water if there is a peculiar smell, the color is difficult to grasp, and it is easy to change color.
Material: Suitable for various fiber fabrics.
Advantages: wide application, good flower position firmness, softer hand feeling and cheaper price.
Disadvantages: The covering power is not strong, and the color is not too bright.
Material: suitable for printing on light-colored fabrics.
For more 70gsm sublimation paperinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.