Basic Guide to Using Heat Transfer Ink— The Right Way!

When your company and product inventory grow, you’ll need the most effective and dependable printing solutions available to keep track of everything. Standard inkjet and laser printers will not be able to handle the load at this stage. Heat transfer printers and heat transfer ink have several benefits that can help the business run smoothly.

Heat Transfer Printing— What it is?

Heat is used to transfer an image from wax to an object or clothing in heat-transfer printing. They are also known as thermal printing or thermal-transfer printing. Thermal printing methods use pre-printed pictures on a single wax sheet or layer wax dye onto an item to create printed-on-the-fly images. Alternative printing methods may be replaced or supplemented with heat-transfer printing.

This printing method can be used to produce an image by layering wax dye onto an item or clothing or with pre-painted images on a wax sheet.

Heat Transfer Ink— Its Benefits

Heat transfer water-based ink can print high-resolution prints quickly and are much sturdier and more long-lasting than regular ink prints. It can withstand numerous environmental conditions— it won’t get fade away in sunlight or become vague after contact with oils or exposure to extreme temperatures.

Businesses can colour code inventory and add more customization to labels using transfer printing without having to worry about fading issues over the years.

Heat Transfer— Common Mistakes to Avoid

Heat presses are excellent tools for applying designs to clothing, footwear, mugs, and other advertising materials quickly and easily. Even though the procedure is easy, applying heat transfers requires some practice. Here are some of the most popular heat transfer blunders, along with tips on how to prevent them.

Mistake #1: Bent, Improper or Backward Heat Transfers

A misplaced transfer is one of the most common and annoying mistakes made with heat transfers. Your image can get crooked, off-center, backward, or upside-down. It’s annoying and frustrating because you know the error was caused by human error which could have been avoided. When creating transfers, the image must be mirrored in order to print correctly or else the heat transfer water-based ink can get distorted. Load your substrate correctly to prevent a crooked print.

This entails aligning the tag with the back of the shirt and straightening out the coating in the case of a shirt. Clear overlays with grids or laser grid systems will assist you in positioning your heat transfer in the correct position and straight on your clothing. To avoid moving your substrate during the transfer, slowly lower the heat press and apply plenty of pressure.

Mistake #2: Prints that Wash or Peel Away

Your heat transfer should stick to your substrate so that it remains in place after you peel away the overlay layer. Even after multiple washes, a well-bonded transfer should stay intact. The reason behind heat transfer getting peeled away with the transfer paper or washed away can be many.

Firstly, ensure you choose the right type of substrate for heat transfer— heat transfer differs from material to material. Secondly, to warm the substrate pre-press it and let the moisture get evaporated which might hinder the bonding process. At last, apply enough pressure to stick your image; printers usually focus on specific time and temperature to apply for a transfer; however, it fails to put enough pressure to stick the image properly.

Final Words—

Heat transfers are a great, efficient and easy way to put graphics to numerous substrates. It is always recommended to thoroughly go through the manufacturer’s recommendations before using the heat transfers, and your press. Moreover, it is very important to choose the right heat transfer ink to get quality prints at competitive pricing.

At DAS Waterbase Ink, you can get all the ink essentials needed to keep your transfer printing operations run smoothly.