Toner transfer

► 1. General questions
► 2. Technical problems

1. General questions

What is toner transfer suitable for?

With this technology you could print custom designs on cotton t-shirts and other textiles, as well as hard objects. With the right printer and transfer paper, in addition to photos, even white and direct metallic colors can be printed. This technology is excellent for small-volume, custom printing for smaller stores and unique gift webshops.

What machines and tools are needed for toner transfer printing on cotton t-shirts and hard objects?

You will need a laser printer, the right type of transfer paper and a heat press. As for printers we recommend our Uninet white toner printers, which provide the widest range of use, or melyek a our OKI white toner printer. Both of witch provide unique solution with white toner, so that you could print on even colored objects. 

You will need special type of transfer papers for these types of printers. We offer solutions for various types of raw materials and printing needs, which you can find in our webshop at the Transfer papers category.

You can iron the printed transfer paper onto the surface of the object with a heat press machine. You can also find heat presses in our webshop.

How durable is the print quality of iron-on transfer papers?  

Printed t-shirts are machine washable, but – depending on the washing machine settings and the number of washes – the print will fade over time, which is a normal process. In many cases, this typically happens after a long time, approx. 40-50 wash cycles. The print is also durable on hard objects, but they are tactile. 

What is the difference between toner transfer and the sublimation technique?

With sublimation technology the print isn't tactile, because it is embedded in the surface of the object, therefore it provides a more durable and vibrant solution. The main advantage of toner transfer over sublimation is the wider range of objects that can be printed. Unlike in sublimation, the objects don't need to be pretreated with special varnish, and due to white printing – which isn't possible with sublimation – even colored objects could be printed on. With toner transfer, almost any hard object – such as wooden boards, paper bags, candles, glass trophys and ceramic objects – and even cotton textiles could be printed on – unlike with sublimation. Another advantage of toner transfer is that even metallic colors could be printed with certain transfer papers. 

Which transfer paper should I choose for cotton T-shirts?

It depends on whether you are printing a colored or white T-shirt, an entire photo or an image/text/logo with transparent background. We have different solutions for each.

What kind of heat press should I choose for toner transfer technology?

It is important to note that special transfer papers for T-shirts are more sensitive to the quality of the heat press, they require even pressure and heat distribution. Only high-quality heat presses guarantee durable and high-quality print. Therefore we recommend our SD Pro or Galaxy heat presses over SD Basic. Galaxy heat presses have a higher quality heating plate, with perfectly even pressure and heat distribution.

Is it necessary to perform maintenance or clean the print head in Uninet or OKI printers?

No, as these are not inkjet printers, but use toners. There is no maintenance required, just replace the consumables indicated by the printer after a while.

2. Technical problems

Small defects occur when peeling off at the end of ironing.

If you notice that small printed pieces remain on the paper when peeling it off, the pressure is not adequate or the heat treatment time is too short. If you have increased the pressure and the problem is not solved, the quality of the heat press is not adequate. When purchasing the system, we recommend the Galaxy and other SD Pro heat presses, which guarantee good quality.

Paper jam

Carefully pull the paper out of the fuser without touching the roller.

Black or other colored spots appear on the print.

Color toners have smeared the fuser roller. It typically occurs after a paper jam. Printing a few sheets of blank copy paper can clear the stains.

After ironing together Forever No-Cut A and B paper, small defects appear when pulled apart.

Imperfect ironing of A and B papers could be due to poor quality of the heat press, which cannot provide even pressure and heat distribution. When purchasing the system, we recommend the Galaxy and other SD Pro heat presses, which guarantee good quality.

The print on the printed T-shirt started to peel off after the first wash.

For durable prints, it is critical to use a high-quality heat press and correct pressure and temperature settings according to the instructions. It is possible that the pressure was too low, which prevented the adhesive layer of the transfer paper from bonding properly with the textile fibers.