Graphics with Dark T-Shirt transfer

[Bill_F]

Just picked up some Avery Dark T-shirt transfer paper. Never used the stuff before and it's kind of expensive. Can anybody give me some tips on how to do this thing so I don't waste a bunch of paper.

Thanks,
Bill

[Bill_F]

Just read my first post on this subject again and thought that people might not have a clue what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the same kind of transfer paper that Charlie's has been using at Moosapotamus.

http://www.moosapotamus.com/squarefuzz/squarefuzz.htm

Anyway, any tips that might reduce my learning curve would be appreciated.

Bill

[gez]

I haven't got round to using this stuff yet, but there's plenty in the archives (or should be - I've pasted a lot of it into notepad!).  Try there?  Sorry I can't be much more help.

[gez]

To save you the bother here's what I've got so far.  No idea who said what (appologies to everyone concerned - though by the look of it it's all Moose's stuff) but there you go...

"You don't have to reverse your image. Just print it as-is, trim it to size, peel the backing off, lay it down on the box face-up, cover it with a piece of the included protective paper, iron it down for about a minute or so, and you're done. After it cools down, I usually spray on a few coats of lacquer for extra protection.

As for the ironing-on, I use the temperature setting that's recommended in the instructions that come with it. I found that I get the best results ironing for about 1 to 2 minutes. More than that and it starts to get so soft that the pressure of the iron will start to smear it. Other than that, it's a lot like ironing on PnP Blue. Keep everything clean, smooth and dust free, and you should be fine.

A blank sheet of the transfer material is white to begin with, just like a sheet of paper. It's actually a very thin film of opaque white plastic with a paper backing. You print your image onto it, trim it to size, peel off the paper backing, lay it down on your box face up, cover it with the protective paper that comes with it, and iron it down.

I've gotten good results from both a photo printer and an ink jet printer. Have not tried it in a laser printer.

I have only used this method on UNPAINTED Hammond boxes.

I don't know what king of paint anyone else uses. But, in my experience, if you take a hot iron to a painted enclosure you'll end up with a burnt, sticky, disappointing mess. So, all I do is iron my design onto the unpainted box, sand the sides a little, and spray with a few coats of lacquer - done.

Just make sure you get the kind that's made for ironing onto DARK colored fabric. Not the kind that you have to print a reversed image and put it face down on whatever you're ironing to.

I use ONLY the stuff that's made especially for ironing on to DARK colored fabric. Not the regular stuff that you have to reverse your image to print it out, then trim it and lay it down face down to iron it.

The stuff that's made for dark fabric has a backing on it that you peel off after its printed. Then, you lat it down face up, cover with the protective tissue paper that comes with it, and iron it down. I use the recommended temperature setting, and iron for no more than about two minutes, a little less for small boxes and maybe a little more for larger boxes. It just takes a couple trys to get the feel. If you iron for too long, the transfer material gets too soft and will start to smear/smudge from the pressure of the iron.

I tried ironing on to a spray painted surface once and got a burnt, sticky mess. Now, I only iron on to plain, unfinished hammond die-cast aluminum boxes. For preparation, all I do is sand the surface smooth. Sometimes those boxes have a bit of texture to them that will come through the iron-on transfer material.

After the box cools down, I sand the sides and spray it with a few coats of lacquer. That's it."

[Bill_F]

Gez. Thank you so much!

I've always wanted to try this stuff. But living down here in Ashford (Kent not Middlesex) I could never find it. Of course you can't find anything here.  :cry: But the town is starting to grow finally. Hey we even have our own cinema now, and just a few days ago a PC World opened up! I went over to check it out and they had the Avery dark t-shirt paper. Hopefully I can try it out in the next few weeks or so and I'll report back on what I discovered.

Thanks again for posting all this info for me.

Bill

[gez]

It's probably an idea to give it a trial run on some metal sheeting.  B&Q sell various types (well, my local one does) and a lot cheaper than Maplins...

PS If any of you tube heads out there are reading this, could you go over to Ampage (repairs & maintainance) and give me some advice about my vibro champ...I'm feeling very, very saaaaad... :cry:

[Marcus Dahl]

Rustolium sells BBQ grill paint. Put it on and bake it per instructions, and you should be able to apply an iron on transfer to that with no problems.

[Bill_F]

Thanks all for your replies. One thing I haven't seen that I was hoping to find out was the ironing technique. Is it like PNP letting it sit for awhile then moving it around? Do you apply a lot of pressure or just lightly iron over it?

Charlie you out there? Anybody else that has actually used the stuff?

Thanks
Bill

[moosapotamus]

Howdy

I use a slightly "lighter" ironing technique with the t-shirt stuff than I do with PnP. The t-shirt stuff doesn't seem to need nearly as much time & heat. Plus, a Hammond box is a much bigger heat sink than a piece of copper clad. I keep the iron moving, not too much pressure (as it gets hot, it starts to soften up). In my experience, more than two minutes is too long. I find that if I give a little extra attention to the edges, the center takes care of itself.

~ Charlie

[Bill_F]

Howdy

I use a slightly "lighter" ironing technique with the t-shirt stuff than I do with PnP. The t-shirt stuff doesn't seem to need nearly as much time & heat. Plus, a Hammond box is a much bigger heat sink than a piece of copper clad. I keep the iron moving, not too much pressure (as it gets hot, it starts to soften up). In my experience, more than two minutes is too long. I find that if I give a little extra attention to the edges, the center takes care of itself.

~ Charlie

Thanks Charlie

[Bill_F]

Hey Charlie, can I ask you one more question. Do you drill your box first or after ironing on the transfer?

Thanks,
Bill

[Thomas P.]

Hi!

I'm not Charlie, but since I first tired this I never used anything else!
I always drill the hole before ironing it since I'm afraid of damaging the print. Afterward I cut the holes out with a sharp knife.
To give you another tip: I size the layout a few milimeters smaller in each direction. This is good since you can now take care of the edges.

[Bill_F]

I size the layout a few milimeters smaller in each direction. This is good since you can now take care of the edges.

Thanks Tomboy,

Could you tell me a little more about what you mean by taking care of the edges.

Bill

[bobbletrox]

http://www.moosapotamus.com/squarefuzz/squarefuzz.htm

That is an amazing looking box!  I wonder if using anti-aliased text or no anti-aliasing makes a difference.

[Dan N]

Unlike Tomboy, I size a tad large. The heat lets the plastic go over the edge. If there is a spot or two not down to the metal, I put the protective paper on top and touch it briefly with the iron.

There's on thing I don't totally get yet. The proctective paper has maybe some kind of wax in it. When I'm finished with my transfer, there are darker areas where the wax has come out of the paper. The splochy look goes away when I spray on the clear coat.

The only box that did not come out well was a BB sized box. I did the sides first, then when I did the top I got a lot of bubbles. I wonder if all the heating of the sides oxidized the top? Maybe if I had cleaned it better I could have avoided the trouble.

I bought the first pack of transfer at an office depot type store for $15. Now I have found it for $10 at a department store. Good to shop around!

[Thomas P.]

There's on thing I don't totally get yet. The proctective paper has maybe some kind of wax in it. When I'm finished with my transfer, there are darker areas where the wax has come out of the paper. The splochy look goes away when I spray on the clear coat.

This is exactly the problem I have. And I think your right - it's because of the silicon (or whatever) paper. Maybe I should try some backingpaper next time - it's christmas and there's laying a lot around these days :wink:

[Mike Nichting]

I wouldn't let the iron "SIT" on the transfer but keep it moving and continue to check your progress.  I use paint shop pro and have the sizes for different boxes saved so that when I print a design it is the exact size I need and I don't waste ink or paper.

I tried and tried untill I got the size right and I always pre print my artwork on regular paper before I use the transfer paper.

 I think if you wrap it over the sides and do the sides first you might create an air pocket on the top layer. Always work from the top down so that you work all of the air out as you go.

 Trim the edges with a sharp razor blade or knife and be very careful because the transfer is easy to rip. When I saY TRIM THE EDGES i MEAN IF THEY HANG OVER THE SIDES AND YOU DON'T WANT IT TO.
Sorry my caps lock was on :-)

I tried to post some pics of my artwork but Yahoo wouldn't let them download for some reason.

Best of luck~!!

Mike N.