Cuttable heat transfer films
Cuttable heat transfer films: general questions, technical problems
► 1. General questions
► 2. Technical problems
1. General questions
What are cuttable heat transfer films suitable for?
For labeling and decorating T-shirts, tops, jerseys and other textile products. They are single-color roll films that can be cut with a cutting plotter and ironed onto the textile surface with a heat press. You can find several brands and hundreds of colors and special surfaces (such as gold, reflective, carbon, camouflage... etc.) in our range of films.
How durable are cuttable heat transfer films?
They make an industrial quality, machine-washable surface on the textile. There are even types that can be washed at up to 95 degrees.
What kind of heat press is needed?
Any good quality flat heat press will do. Our range includes SD Basic, SD Pro and Galaxy heat presses.
Can I use a regular iron?
It might work for a single sample or hobby, but the result will not last long. We definitely do not recommend it for sale or larger quantities because an iron has to be pressed manually and cannot provide consistent pressure like a heat press.
Should I cut the colored foil or the carrier foil?
The colored foil layer must be cut, the excess must be removed from the transparent carrier foil, and then the pattern facing down must be ironed onto the textile with the heat press. After that, the carrier foil must be peeled off and the product is ready.
What are the available types of cuttable foils?
Flex, flock and special colors. Flex is a flexible thin film that is available in many colors. Flock is a thicker material with a velvety feel, making a tactile soft layer on the textile. Special surfaces and thin films are not one color, but special colors, e.g. panther pattern, hologram, mirror, glitter, camouflage and many others. There are also tactilely thick "puff" and leather-effect surfaces. So there are countless colors and surfaces available for advertising decoration, workwear or fashion clothing!
2. Technical problems
The foil peels off the T-shirt.
The pressure, temperature, or time was not set appropriately. If you set the ironing time according to the instructions, then the heat press' heating plate might have not heated to the correct value, or the pressure needs to be increased.
Parts of very small inscriptions, such as accents, are lost during weeding or cutting.
It is possible that the brand and type of film you are using has too weak an adhesive between the cuttable film and the carrier film. There are special types for this purpose, for example Promaflex Sharpness but only in some colors. If you need a different color, reduce the cutting speed of the cutting plotter and adjust the knife pressure very precisely.
Ironing failed or old foil needs to be removed from the T-shirt.
There are flex foil removal liquids for this purpose, which can be applied to the ironed surface to dissolve the glue and peel the foil off the T-shirt.