One of the most common garment decoration methods for beginners is heat transfer vinyl pressing. Vinyl has the best opacity of all decoration methods and is fairly simple to apply. Vinyl has been a popular option for printing names and numbers on t-shirts and jerseys for decades, but has gotten much better in recent years. In fact, one of vinyl’s bet qualities now is its versatility. Most garments can be printed with vinyl, which comes in hot peel, cold peel, and other varieties. These different types of vinyl require different press times, temperature, and pressure, so understanding the differences is important.
Vinyl is cut using a plotter-cutter, which can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a couple thousand. The artwork must be in a vector format to be traced in the cut driver software that will tell the plotter where to cut. The vinyl is then pulled back and forth through the machine while the blade moves left to right to cut out the design. Once the cutter has finished, the excess vinyl must be removed from the backing before the design can be pressed onto a product. This process, called weeding, is performed with a tool like a dentist’s pick. With the excess vinyl removed, the design can be pressed onto a product with a heat press. Once completed, it is wise to press again for a shorter time with Kraft paper to ensure the vinyl has successfully transferred to the product.
At this point, it is important to note that vinyl is expensive, typically costing a few dollars per square foot, and there can be a lot of wasted material. However, the quality and versatility of vinyl has made great strides in the past decade. Vinyl used to feel thick and rubbery to the touch, but now is almost indistinguishable from screen printing and screen print transfers. When you consider that most vinyl orders are unique designs, like names and numbers, it is a more economical method of production than screen printing. Not only will the resulting product look great, but it will maintain its opacity better than most ink-based printing methods.
In addition to being able to cut heat transfer vinyl, a plotter-cutter can also cut rhinestone templates and sign vinyl. To print rhinestone designs, the plotter-cutter is used to cut a negative of the design into a stencil film. Once the stencil film has been cut and weeded, the rhinestones can be placed into the cut area. Transfer tape is then placed over the stencil film and pressed firmly, allowing it to “pick up” the rhinestones from the stencil so it may be transferred to the garment with a heat press.
Sign vinyl is first cut and weeded like heat transfer vinyl. Next, application tape is applied to the design, and a squeegee is used to press out any bubbles and ensure that the application tape is completely sealed over the vinyl. The application tape can then be removed and it will pull up the vinyl from its backing. To apply sign vinyl, the window or other application area is sprayed with a mixture of soap and water. This allows the decorator to move the design on application area, as it would immediately stick to a dry surface. Once the design is arranged just right, it is squeegeed in order to remove all air and liquid from under the application tape. The application tape can then be peeled off of the surface and the design will be left. Sign vinyl is great not only for windows, but cars, floors, and other surfaces as well.
Though the majority of heat transfer vinyl printing involves white vinyl, there are even more kinds of vinyl than can be listed here. However, there are a couple others worth mentioning. Flock, for instance, is the fuzzy material that pennants are often made of. Twill gives the look of applique, but it must be cut with a laser or sewn to avoid fraying. Vinyl is available in almost any color and pattern imaginable as well, including neons, glitter, camo, leopard print, and countless others. As far as brands go, Chemica is an excellent provider of all things vinyl. Their products are easy to cut, weed, and apply while looking great on the finished product.
As you can see a vinyl cutter and heat transfer vinyl can give a decoration shop significant flexibility for printing low-run, single-color designs. The equipment investment is low when compared to the potential profit of the finished products. If you get a lot of requests for custom names, numbers, and one color designs that can easily be vectorized, then you should probably consider adding heat transfer vinyl to your decoration mix. It is just another decoration method that helps satisfy your customer’s wants and needs and makes you the one-stop-shop they are looking for.
