Heat Transfer Paper Discussion Blog

Manage your Inventory to Save Money

2010-06-14T10:25:00.000-07:00

Many times small business owners will hear about inventory management and immediately equate that to keeping inventories at low levels to improve cash flow. The “Just in Time” inventory philosophy that many businesses subscribe to has been discussed and expanded upon over the years. While it is important to not carry an excess of inventory which can tie up a company’s cash flow - for the small business owner this essentially mean their own cash flow- it is equally important to buy inventory in the correct size lots in order to maximize efficiencies and buying power.

At TshirtSupplies many times we see customers who order product once a week or every ten days. While on the surface this may seem like a good cash flow strategy it leads to over spending on the cost of the paper and on the freight to get the product to the customer. In some cases, a customer will have an unexpected job which necessitates paying for expedited freight to get the transfer paper to their workshop in short order.

The preceding problem can be eliminated by taking a look at your previous spending pattern with your heat transfer paper supplier, hopefully Tshirtsupplies.com, and seeing just how often you are purchasing your heat transfer paper. For example, if you review your purchases and notice that you ordered 100 sheet of the Jet-Pro SofStretch on average three times per month for the past 3-months, you may want to consider ordering 300 sheets once a month. This way you pay freight and handling charges just once and you avoid any situation where an order needs to be expedited.

Inventory management is a key control area for both large and small businesses. Just as a company can have too much inventory which can eventually lead to cash flow nightmares, it can have too little inventory which can lead to higher freight costs and lost sales. For more small business tips look for our newsletter and see the coupon below which should help our customers who want to try to take advantage of this tip.

Summer Craft Idea Using Heat Transfer Paper

2010-05-19T05:34:00.000-07:00

Summer time is a great time to discover heat transfer paper crafts.On a hot summer day spend some cool time inside with this useful heat transfer paper product craft idea.

Personalized Camp Totes

Summer camp is right around the corner. Kids need a huge tote bag to carry all their things to and from camp every day. You can imagine how many things get lost or misplaced between campers. By using a simple computer program (power point, word, or graphic program), quality heat transfer paper and a large cotton tote bag you be able to customize your own personal camp tote to keep your camper more organized. You can choose to do this heat transfer paper project on your own or suggest it as a camp craft.

Supplies

Computer/Printer

Heat Transfer Paper

Cotton Tote

Heat Source (Iron or Press)

On your computer, design what you want to have on the tote. I would suggest that you somehow include the camper’s name, camp name, group name, or even photo, some type of identification so that totes are easier distinguish between campers. Then you can customize it with fun clip art.

Following the instructions on the heat transfer paper, print your pages on the printer. Cut out your designs and arrange them on the flat cotton tote. Following the instruction on the heat transfer paper for application and using the heat source, iron the design on the tote.

This heat transfer paper craft idea is one of many summer craft ideas using heat transfer paper. Heat transfer paper is fun and easy to use. Use this idea or create your own personalized summer time craft with a heat transfer product.

Linda Dunkelberger is a freelance writer creating heat transfer paper craft ideas for Tshirtsupplies.com. T-ShirtSupplies.com wants to prove to you that we are the best source for your Heat Transfer Paper and Transfer Product. We carry an extensive inventory. Check out us on the web at www.tshirtsupplies.com or on Facebook.

Commonly Asked Iron on Transfer Paper Questions

2010-04-09T06:15:00.000-07:00

Here are the most commonly asked questions about Iron on Transfer Paper:

Q: Can I reuse my iron on transfer paper? I want to use it again or print another design on it. Is this possible?
A: No, you cannot reuse iron on transfer paper. The way this paper works is the heat of the iron melts the paper’s plastic lining, transferring the ink to the fabric. It’s a one-time deal. When done correctly, the plastic transfers from the paper to your t-shirt. Re-create the design and use another piece of iron on transfer paper for the project.

Q: Do I need to trim my iron on transfer paper before use?
A: Yes, you must trim it because any area that isn’t printed on will show up on your t-shirt as white. This isn’t so much of a problem for light colored shirts, but it’s absolutely necessary for dark garments. Trim your iron on transfer paper and you’ll achieve a much more professional result.

Q: How long is my iron on transfer paper good for? I bought it a while ago, can I still achieve the same results as I would with new paper?
A: All iron on transfer paper products have a shelf life, but most will perform as intended up to two years after the initial date of purchase. For more detailed information on your specific brand, consult the instruction sheet or contact the company you purchased it from.

Q: How many times can I wear and wash my t-shirt before it begins to fade?
A: Only a few iron on transfer papers exceed washing standards and few products can hold up to as many as 50 washes before fading. If you follow your transfer paper washing instructions, you can extend the life of your garment and keep your image bright and long lasting.

Q: What type of garment can I use my iron on transfer paper on?
A: Choose a garment that’s made out of 100% cotton or polyester blend fabric and you’ll achieve the best results.

Q: Is it safe to iron over the transferred area after the heat transfer is completed?
A: You may iron over the rest of your shirt or garment, but do NOT iron directly over the transferred area without covering it with a protective covering, pillowcase, or other means of protection. Be careful not to expose the area to high heat!

Always read instruction sheets and go over all details before you begin any project. If you do have questions, consult with an Iron On Transfer Paper specialist before you begin!

Making Your Own T-Shirts is Easy With Iron On Transfer Paper

2010-03-16T04:41:00.001-07:00

If you’ve looked at some of the graphic T-Shirts and basic dresses you see in stores nowadays and thought to yourself, “I could do better”, with the right supplies, you can. It’s easy and fun to make your own printed T’s. Iron on heat transfer paper is the easiest way to make your own unique t-shirt. You’ll be able to transfer original designs to decorate clothing and other fabrics to suit your own fashion tastes. And it’s easier then you think…

Things That You’ll Need: T-shirts are inexpensive—for a basic design, choose a light colored t-shirt. You’ll also need your computer, an iron, and iron on transfer paper compatible with your printer. The iron on transfer paper product you choose should be compatible with either an ink jet or laser printer, depending on which one you have.

Creating the Design: This is completely up to you. Use whatever computer program you’re most comfortable with and find images on the net or scan images into your computer. You can appropriate several images together or create a simple drawing—it’s up to you.

Printing and Ironing: Read and follow all directions and procedures for Iron on Transfer Paper for laser in order to correctly print your design. Once you’re done printing, carefully iron the design onto your t-shirt. It’s that easy!

Tips and Tricks: Remember, the first time you do it the result may not be perfect. There are different types of iron on transfer paper for different colors of t-shirts. Read all instructions carefully and purchase the appropriate transfer paper. Regardless of the color, your t-shirt should be a 100% cotton and tightly woven garment.

The sheen of your design is also something to take into consideration. Would you prefer a glossy or matte finish? Whichever you choose, trim the outline of the iron on transfer paper before application so no background outlines from your design are visible.

The possibilities of iron transfer paper are endless as the medium is so versatile. Experiment with t-shirts and then other projects and crafts. Your results will be excellent if you purchase high quality iron on transfer paper and follow all guidelines for use carefully.

Erica R. is a freelance writer for www.tshirtsupplies.com, a carrier of an extensive inventory of quality iron on heat transfer paper, printer supplies, and heat transfer press machines. Visit our website for more information about Transfer paper for laser provided by t-shirt supplies.

Heat Transfer Paper – Choosing the Right Product

2010-02-24T01:00:00.000-08:00

Projects using heat transfer paper can turn out fabulous if the right product was used, or disastrous if it is not. Heat transfer papers vary with quality and capabilities. Choosing the right heat transfer paper for your project will give you the best results.

When planning your project and compiling your supplies be aware of two specific areas in order to get the best project results.

Color

First, make note of the media that you plan to transfer on. Is the item a light or dark t-shirt or sweatshirt? Is the color of your mousepad, coaster, puzzle or leather item light or dark? The heat transfer paper that you use will depend on whether the item is a light or dark colored item. The heat transfer paper is made specifically for dark or light colors for best results. For best results on t-shirts it is recommended that tight weave, 100% cotton or a cotton/poly blend be used. When considering color, think about whether you want the end result glossy. Choosing matt or glossy sheen heat transfer paper may alter your results. It is suggested that when using a dark color it is best to trim the heat transfer paper before applying it to avoid seeing the background outline.

Equipment

Second, make note of the type of printer equipment that will be used on the project. Are you using a laser or inkjet printer for printing the heat transfer? There are specific heat transfer paper products for inkjet use and for laser printer use. It is recommend that you follow this guideline and not use inkjet heat transfer paper in your laser printer. Both are make specifically for a certain type of printer and both include instructions that should be followed for proper use.

Heat transfer paper is an incredible medium to use. The possibilities for projects, crafts and even t-shirt businesses are endless. Be sure to purchase your heat transfer paper from a professional that supplies a quality heat transfer paper product and follow the guidelines for use. The outcome of your project depends on it.

Linda Dunkelberger is a freelance writer and editor. The article “Heat Transfer Paper – Choosing the Right Product for your Project” discusses the guidelines for color and equipment when choosing inkjet heat transfer paper for your next project.T-Shirt Supplies.com carries an extensive inventory of quality heat transfer paper, printer supplies and heat transfer press machines.

Easy School Spirit Wear with Iron On Heat Transfers

2010-01-27T01:22:00.000-08:00

Create fun and unique school spirit wear with iron on heat transfers. School clubs and special school groups are having fun creating their own school spirit wear using their imagination, a computer printer and a simple heat transfer product. This gives you the ability to design a special club t-shirt or item for your club or special school event in a matter of minutes at a fraction of the cost of customs items.

If time and budget are a factor for school spirit wear, then using iron on heat transfers is an easy solution. Iron on heat transfers are easy to use. This project can be done from start to finish is just a few minutes. Having the heat transfer product on hand saves you time, however, if you do not they are available for purchase with quick delivery times.

Materials

Simple materials needed are t-shirts, computer, iron and an iron on heat transfer product that works best with your computer printer. The heat transfer product should be chosen for either an ink jet or laser printer. For best results there are also iron on heat transfers for dark and light color t-shirts.

Design

Have your spirit wear logo or special design ready to go on the computer program on your choice. You can come up with this by scanning your logo or creating a new logo and script on your own. This is wear your imagination comes in.

Print and Iron On

Now that you have your spirit wear logo or design ready to print, use the instructions on the heat transfer product to make sure that you are printing correctly on the iron on heat transfers. One this is done, follow the instructions for ironing on t shirts. Use the heat transfer product manufacturer’s instructions for best results.

Using iron on heat transfers to create your custom school spirit wear will stand out and get the attention you want. It’s an easy project that needs little planning and quick turnaround. Have fun making your next school spirit wear project with a heat transfer product.

Linda Dunkelberger is a freelance writer and editor.“Easy School Spirit Wear with Iron On Heat Transfers” explains how quickly you can put together school spirit wear using iron on heat transfer product.T-shirtsupplies.com is a leader in the heat transfer product solution industry selling top of the line iron on heat transfer products including Laser & Inkjet Heat Transfer Paper, Specialty Papers, Heat Transfer Vinyl, Heat Transfer Foils and heat transfer press machine accessories at great prices since 2003.

Use Heat Transfer Paper for the Holidays to Create Unique Gifts

2009-12-14T00:51:00.000-08:00

What gift do you get for Grandma or the favorite aunt or the nephew who lives across the country? What do you get for the person who already has everything? When some creativity and individuality goes into a gift, it will be special; especially if it is customized with family or friends’ photos and names. The use of heat transfer paper for the holidays to customize items can create many gifts at a reasonable cost to please almost everyone. One of a kind party favors for a holiday gathering can also be made by using heat transfer paper and other specialized transfer products with festive illustrations, photos and colors.

There are so many fun gifts that can be made using heat transfer paper for the holidays. T-shirts and sweatshirts with family or friend’s pictures emblazoned on the front are a wonderful present to give and receive. In addition to clothing, there are other gift options including mugs, paper cubes, coasters, window art, and bumper stickers. A puzzle to be assembled with a fantastic family photo would be an excellent gift, and could be assembled together at a family gathering. Perhaps multiple puzzles could be made with the photo and handed out as a gift to take home for each member of the family. What grandparent would not love to drink their morning coffee everyday from a mug with their grandchildren’s picture? Unwrapping gifts like these are sure to bring smiles to the recipient’s faces.

Having a holiday party? Be creative with party favors using heat transfer paper for the holidays. Maybe a themed, customized shirt or hat for the occasion, or something for guests to take home with the date of the special event. Perhaps a company holiday celebration with party favors with a company logo, or the group photo from the summer picnic! It could be a mug, a leather key chain or a bumper sticker. Be creative…be funny…be unique…send a message!

Making a gift or favor personal is what makes it special, unlike anything that can be purchased in a store…which hundreds of other people may have. Creativity and customization can make a gift very memorable and loved by any recipient.

Grace Enderlein is a freelance writer and editor.“Use Heat Transfer Paper for the Holidays to Create Unique Gifts” outlines the creative uses of transfer products made up of heat transfer paper for fun gifts.Tshirtsupplies.com supplies an extensive inventory of heat transfer products for the creation of one of a kind items.

T-Shirt Heat Press Uses and Features

2009-10-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

Heat presses use heat and pressure to imprint designs on t-shirts and other items. There are many t-shirt heat press uses, and their features must meet requirements to produce a quality final transfer paper product. Heat press machines need to be high quality, dependable, flexible for multiple uses, and be able to withstand wear and tear. If high volume orders are typical, the type of machine chosen needs to accommodate large orders. Some t-shirt heat press uses are for small quantities, so a machine can be chosen accordingly.

T-shirt heat press uses can include quick turnaround, high volume requests from customers for t-shirts, sweats, and other items. Demands from customers may come in as a last minute need for a special event such as a championship team win, so a heat press must be able to quickly turn out this kind of volume. Small orders can be common as well, for example a family reunion or a small school group or club functions. A lower capacity heat press can be used for this type of request. Customizing items with team names and logos is always a great way to raise team spirit and add cohesiveness.

The features of a t-shirt heat press should accommodate the varying sizes of apparel and images needed. Heat presses have different heating area sizes, so choose one which fits the type of work typically done, available from small to large. Open and close features control energy use and prevent items from overheating. Pressure gauges help control and maintain the correct pressure, even if items vary in thickness from thin t-shirts to heavy sweatpants. Heat foam, and Teflon pads and sheets are optional heat press accessories which protect the garment from scorching, and the heat press platen from ink buildup. Use the type of heat press with features and accessories that work best for the job.

Grace Enderlein is a freelance writer and editor. “T-Shirt Heat Press Uses and Features” notes that heat presses have different features that can accommodate varying types of transfer jobs. Tshirtsupplies.com sells an extensive line of T-Shirt Heat Pressheat transfer products at competitive prices with outstanding customer service.

Use the Correct Transfer Paper for Inkjets and Laser Printers for Great Results

2009-10-06T23:14:00.001-07:00

There are countless ways to express creativity using heat transfer products to put images and words on many items. However, there are different products which are used to achieve the best results. Choose the correct heat transfer paper depending on the type of printer being used, and choose from the variety of transfer products for what fabric or item is being printed.

Whether printing in great volume, for example t-shirts for a large company picnic, or just printing a small quantity, perhaps hats for a family reunion; the type of heat transfer paper chosen depends on the type of printer, inkjet or laser. Anyone with either type of printer can have amazing results for custom printing on many items. Transfer papers for inkjets are used in any inkjet printer, and any images can be easily transferred onto t-shirts, uniforms, caps, and more. Customize artwork, clipart and messages for creative items for schools, teams, families and friends. Simply choose inkjet transfer paper for inkjet printers or laser printer papers for laser printers for successful image transfers.

There are many items that accept transfers, but it is also important to be mindful of their fabric content or material when choosing the type of inkjet transfer paper or laser transfer paper. There are paper options for the classic cotton or cotton/polyester blend shirt or sweatshirt, but heat transfer products have expanded to include specialized paper for synthetic fabrics including spandex and polyester. The particular type should be chosen accordingly.

There are also specialized heat transfer products for printing on mugs, puzzles, mousepads and even leather. Transfer papers for inkjets and laser printers are also chosen for the color of the item on which the image will be printed, light or dark. Transfer papers for inkjet or laser are also offered with different finishes and effects such as holograms, glitter, reflective and metallic. Fantastic gifts, team items, company and school event giveaways are created with transfer papers for inkjet and laser printers, with many optional finishes.

Grace Enderlein is a freelance writer and editor.“Use the Correct Transfer Paper for Inkjets and Laser Printers for Great Results” notes the need to use the right kind of heat transfer paper for best results. Tshirtsupplies.com is an excellent source of heat transfer paper and supplies with an extensive inventory and outstanding customer service.

Creative Uses of Iron on Heat Transfer Paper

2009-07-23T06:20:00.000-07:00

There are many uses for iron on heat transfer paper, and using creativity makes the final product one of a kind. Images and messages can be applied to t-shirts, sweatshirts, mouse pads, coffee mugs, puzzles, and more for group or family events, or even for the creation of a craft just for fun. There are thousands of stock images to choose from, but creating an image makes it even more exceptional.

To make a unique gift, team, or group item, iron on heat transfer paper can be used on multiple articles. A family reunion can have t-shirts with a family name and picture, or a business retreat or meeting can give away a custom coffee mug with the company logo. Field days and fairs at a school can use multicolored t-shirts or sweatshirts with team names to group the children. A special party favor could be a puzzle or mouse pad with fun images and the guest of honor’s name and the party date. Custom details make a gathering more memorable, and add to any festivity.

If coming up with a custom image is a challenge, there are stock art and typefaces available; however, creating images that are unique to an individual is very out of the ordinary. Customized artwork, graphics, or the creative use of word art put on any item with iron on heat transfer paper makes a fabulous final product. Being clever and using humor for an expression or inside joke, unique to a group or individual, can make a huge hit. Creativity is the key for a fantastic final product.

There are many experienced source available for heat transfer paper and supplies including light and dark transfer paper, heat transfer vinyl and foils, laser printer supplies, specialty papers, and heat press supplies today. They offer outstanding customer service with high quality products, on time delivery, and competitive pricing.

Grace Enderlein is a freelance writer and editor. “Creative Uses of Iron On Heat Transfer Paper” notes some examples of creative items that can be crafted using transfer paper and supplies from Tshirtsupplies.com.

Heat Transfer Product: How to Use Heat Transfer Machines and Heat Transfer Paper

2009-05-26T01:01:00.000-07:00

Images can be applied to many items including t-shirts, sweatshirts, mouse pads, coffee mugs, puzzles, and more, using transfer products. Stock images are used as well as custom images to make creative, one of a kind pictures and messages on various items. The finished products are an excellent customized gift, fund raiser piece, or retail item. The type and use of heat transfer machines and paper depends on the item to which the image is being transferred.

The type of heat transfer machines and heat transfer paper used varies with the item and its characteristics. For example, 100% cotton or cotton/polyester blends are recommended for use with most transfer products, and have individual instructions for the process; however, there are specialized heat transfer products and directions for use on synthetic fabric blends. When transferring an image to a non-fabric item, like a mug or a mouse pad, a transfer product specifically for these types of surfaces must be used.

When using heat transfer machines and heat transfer paper, the procedures for transfer also depend on the item. The process is always a mix of heat and pressure, and the combination of time applied to those two things. Instructions must be followed carefully for successful image transfer onto the product. In general, a preheated heat press is set to a determined temperature. The press is then set to the instructed pressure: low, medium, or high. The transfer paper is placed on the item and positioned on the press, and pressed for the determined amount of time. When it is removed from the press, it will be either hot or cold peeled; once more, according to the guidelines.

Tshirtsupplies.com carries a huge selection of heat transfer products including heat transfer press machines; laser and inkjet transfer paper for light and dark items, and transfer accessories. They are an experienced retailer and wholesaler with excellent product quality and pricing, and outstanding customer service.

Heat Transfer Product: How to Use Heat Transfer Machines and Heat Transfer Paper

2009-05-22T05:19:00.000-07:00

Save Money by Investing in Printer Supplies

2009-05-20T06:32:00.000-07:00

ImageStix® ’s semi-gloss surface produces a brighter, sharper image no matter want your design. No additional paper treatment is necessary and stickers are water-safe and sun friendly. Unlike other stickers, ImageStix® can be removed and reused – we have test samples that have been removed hundreds of times. There are so many cool things you can create with ImageStix® ®. Image the possibilities! Think car stickers, window stickers, promotional pieces, etc.

Did you know you can use ImageStix® to create your own custom bumper stickers?

ImageStix® ® is unlike any other paper and requires only your imagination and your printer. You can design a custom bumper sticker for your school, your class, for a fundraiser, to advertise a special event, political campaigns or just for fun. I love the idea of creating a special bumper sticker that is unique. The best part of use ImageStix® ® for bumper stickers is that it is removable and leaves behind no residue.

Did you know you could use ImageStix® ® to create colorful book labels?

It is great thing to share books with friends, neighbors and children. Use ImageStix® ® to label your own personal library or if you’re a teacher or Librarian you can label an entire collection of books. Design a personal or organizational insignia and using the sticker paper, ImageStix® ®, print out label squares to be place on the inside cover of the books. They’ll never be misplaced again.

Did you know you could use ImageStix® to make CD labels?

Making your own music or photo CD’s? Create colorful stickers to place of the crystal box. You’ll be able to put photos, lyrics, or personal designs. It’ll be easy to reposition them to get the right fit because it can be removed and reused.

Did you know you can use ImageStix® to start a business making specialty stickers?

If you have the idea and the designs you can create stickers to market to a special group. There are opportunities to sell stickers at car shows, dog shows, sports tournaments and online. Like other business opportunities with heat transfer paper, ImageStix® gives you the opportunity to create quality stickers to sell.
ImageStix® is a great addition to your heat transfer paper, business – it will require no additional equipment and you can offer a new product line. The project uses and opportunities are endless just like heat transfer paper products. Heat transfer paper products allow you to design unique items for personal use or for resale use, and so will ImageStix®. It just can’t get any easier to use paper and your imagination!

Linda Dunkelberger is a freelance writer and editor creating project ideas for Tshirtsupplies.com. ImageStix® is available through Tshirtsupplies.com. The article “Did You Know You Could Use ImageStix®?” gives project ideas for the cools uses of ImageStix® a heat transfer paper.

How To Start A T-Shirt Business

2009-03-06T05:01:00.000-08:00

No matter what you’ve heard, it’s not going to be easy starting a tshirt business online, but you can have a wonderful home business if you succeed. You will need a solid plan, hard work, and a little investment money. There are already thousands of shops and websites selling designer tshirts. Many T-Shirt companies will print and create the T-Shirts for you, so lots of people have been able to start their own T-Shirt business without having to invest any money in equipment. This has lead to millions of T-Shirt websites online and extremely stiff competition for customers. Having said that, if you are willing to spend the, make the effort, and invest some money, you can still make money in this business.
To make your business a success, you will need to plan carefully. As with most businesses, you will need a business plan. If this is your first business, it will benefit you to start with the closest SBDC (Small Business Development Center). http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/sbdc/index.html The mission of the SBDCs is as follows:

The Office of Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) provides management assistance to current and prospective small business owners. SBDCs offer one-stop assistance to individuals and small businesses by providing a wide variety of information and guidance in central and easily accessible branch locations. The program is a cooperative effort of the private sector, the educational community and federal, state and local governments and is an integral component of Entrepreneurial Development's network of training and counseling services.

In addition to the SBDCs you can also consult with and EDC (Economic Development Councils) in your state. The mission of the EDCs is to promote economic growth throughout the region through real estate development programs, business incentives and more. Here you can qualify for excellent state loans.
When you are ready to incorporate, you can consult with a lawyer to decide what type of company you should set up, and there are even some discount websites which will take care of incorporating you, provide you with your corporate stamp and your corporate books. One site like this is http://www.legalzoom.com/. You can also check with your local Score office for details on how to start a business in your city or state.
Get labels made. There are many companies making different kinds of labels. You can then sew them into your t-shirts or hire another company or employees to do it for you. Be sure to leave the care labels in the t-shirts.
Focus. Many successful tshirt company owners suggest choosing just one subject/theme to market in the beginning. Then you can start adding other subjects/themes later when you are established. Choose a subject/theme that you already know about, and like to blog about. After doing that, it will be much easier to determine who your target audience is. As you get to know your target audience, you will help you market and also create interesting designs just for them. You also need to keep up-to-date with trends about your subject/theme as they change regularly.
Start Slowly
Invest in a website only after you have first tried the business with a third party website that makes the T-Shirts for you. This way you can decide if the business is right for you without investing or taking a big risk. Once you're confident the business is right for you, then you can upgrade to making your own tshirts and owning your own website. The reason you will not want to stay with your initial third party site include:·

You will not make as much profit since they do the majority of the work
You will have to follow their rules
Many times you will not be allowed to have access to the email addresses of your customers
You will not own the designs you create

When you are ready to invest in your own equipment be prepared to spend about $1000 on a heat transfer press or $10,000 on a digital printer that works with garments.

Market by using the Internet

Do search optimization on your website by using keywords in page titles and meta page descriptions. Make sure pages are short with one central theme, linking to more pages.
Use other websites to bring you traffic by submitting your site to their directories or having them write about your website
Find targeted content directories like T-ShirtCountdown.com, and T-ShirtLinks.com to list your t-shirt designs on
Use eBAY, Facebook, MySpace and blogs to promote your website

Advice for Tshirt Businesses

2009-03-06T04:48:00.000-08:00

Promote your business with buttons and stickers, and in each order add your business card and a coupon for further shopping discounts. Remind people to tell their friends about you.
Personalize your designs.
The more colors used, the more expensive the tshirts. Most screen printers charge in the $10-$40 range for every different color used.
The most popular tshirt materials are American Apparel, Fruit Of the Loom and Hanes. Be careful when printing on colored TShirts as colors may not always work the same on different brands.
Use the web and the phone to streamline your business. Order your blank shirts, wait a few days until they ship, and pay for them a month later online.
Shamelessly promote yourself and give out free products.
Use an accounting program like PeachTree or Quickbooks to keep accounts sorted out. Make sure every transaction (sales, purchasing, spending, etc.) goes through your account, so you can see how well you're doing by looking at your bank statement.
Remember that Tshirts are used by companies, politicians, organizations, schools, and individuals. Think of good ways to put your business name in front of them.
Put your website URL in your email signature that is attached to every email you send out. Also put it on your business cards (check freebusinesscards.com), stationary, and all other company promotions.
Use targeted online advertising like Google adwords to reach potential buyers in your target market.
Write a press release about your new business and promote it online in free press release directories, local papers, and anywhere else you think it might be published.
The software you will need at the most basic includes Corel, Photoshop, clip-art subscriptions, and a laser printer. In addition, you will want to invest in digital printers, silk screen printers, dryers, and burning units. They require a lot of practice to get a quality product.
Purchase a few books on printing, order a few product catalogues, before making an initial investment.

Things to Consider for your T-Shirt Business

2009-03-06T04:36:00.000-08:00

If you're ready to start a tshirt business, you should consider the following:
Shop around to purchase the lowest priced, best quality tshirts – shop around on the internet at places like Shirt Champ. Also look for blank canvas tote bags, baseball caps, jackets, sweatshirts, pillow casings, dog coats, and more at wholesale prices.
Look for great transfer designs or design your own. There are thousands of designs to choose from and lots of categories to choose from at sites like this one: Art Brands. It is nice to offer your clients a selection of quality transfers. You should also provide them with instructions if they want to use their own transfer design.
You will need a merchant account. You can start with your local bank, or you can sign up for PayPal, or shop for the best prices online at sites like Authorize.net, Paypal, merchantexpress.com, Goemerchant.com and more.
You will need a website and hosting. There are several ways to approach this. You can set up a wordpress blog with a custom interface quickly and very cheaply, but if you want to sell online, you will have to set up a shopping cart and a payment gateway like Authorize.net or PayPal. We highly recommend hostmysite.com and GoDaddy.com, which have affordable and scalable hosting packages.
You need a marketing plan. Part of the plan will be to get your site to rank well on search engines, run pay per click advertising, and use social sites to market on the internet. You can find great discussions about marketing your tshirt company on the tshirt forums here: http://www.t-shirtforums.com/t-shirt-marketing/t7533.html. Another part of your marketing plan will be to find local churches, sports teams, companies and other groups who will purchase bulk tshirt orders. In order to do this you will want your website to have a good local presence on Google maps, Yahoo local and MSN Live.
You may want to sign up with a "call center" to take phone orders 24 hours a day- 7 days a week. You can start with a service like OneBox.com which routes all your calls from an 888 number to your cell phone, and work your way up to a fully staffed call center like http://www.goacanow.com/. At that point, you'll never have to speak with a customer! The call center will know everything about your product, to include wholesale prices, quantity discount rates, etc... They will even charge your customers credit card - you won't have to do a thing! Big orders typically come by phone so you better have someone in place to answer it when it rings.
There are really two ways to run the business. You can outsource all your tshirt production to a place like CafePress.com or you can make an investment in equipment and use your basement or garage to set up shop. You will need to purchase a Heatpress Transfer Machine that is at least 16" x 20" in order to create large items such as t-shirts and jackets. The transfer press is heavy duty and equipped with an automatic timer that lets you know when the shirts are done. Take a look at the presses at http://www.hotronix.com/.

Spring Crafts using a Transfer Product

2009-02-23T04:18:00.000-08:00

When we think of spring, we think of bright, colorful flowers against crisp, fresh backgrounds. That will be my inspiration for using a heat transfer product for my spring crafts. A heat transfer product is the perfect choice because of its versatility allowing me to customize my project to exactly what I want.

Crisp White Throw Pillow with Colorful Floral Print using a Heat Transfer Product
This addition will definitely bring spring into your room. The materials needed:
• crisp white cotton fabric & pillow form
• heat transfer product & inkjet color printer and iron
• colorful digital flower photo or clip art

Choose the size of your throw pillow and simply sew the cotton fabric to fit your pillow form. Now you have your pillow cover ready for the application of your heat transfer product. Create a digital photo or clip art of a bright flower. I choose a chartreuse zinnia to go with my brown sofa. Using the heat transfer product and an inkjet color printer, print the photo onto the transfer product paper. Finally, using the instructions for the heat transfer product, iron the zinnia onto the pillow cover. It’s that easy to create a beautiful throw pillow using a flower photo and a transfer product.

Crisp White T-shirts with Colorful Heat Transfer Product Art
Be ready to stand out in a crowd! The materials needed:

• crisp white cotton/poly T-shirt
• heat transfer product - Glitter FlexWear™
• cutting tool & iron

This is a simple craft that will make a bright spring showing. Plan out your design on paper to be later transferred onto a transfer product backing. A great idea for spring is to individually cut flower pedals of a large daisy type flower using the bright glitter choices of a transfer product. You can choose shamrocks, suns or any fun design for your shirt. Place the pieces on the shirt and using the transfer product instructions press the design on. What a great simple t-shirt for spring!

Bio: Linda Dunkelberger is a freelance writer and editor creating project ideas for Tshirtsupplies.com. T-shirt Supplies is a Pennsylvania based company selling top of the line heat transfer products including Laser & Inkjet Heat Transfer Paper, Specialty Papers, Heat Transfer Vinyl, Heat Transfer Foils and heat transfer press machine accessories at great prices since 2003.

Do the new fibers work well for heat transfers?

2009-02-13T07:18:00.001-08:00

Bamboo, hemp and organic cotton are environmentally preferable fibbers for shirts and other garments. They tend to cost more or even significantly more than typical cotton T-Shirt’s.

We at tshirtsupplies.com purchased a few shirts and found that the fibers were more loosely bound. Our hot peel products were a little more difficult to peel, but worked acceptably. The warm and cold peels worked well, particularly the JET-PRO® SS. Because of the price we recommend a trial with both the right size art and the transfer paper.
There were no noticeable differences in wash characteristics in the limited testing.

Black organic cotton t-shirts, colored using pigments rather than dyes, were tested with the opaque transfer papers for both laser and ink jet printing. Both JET-OPAQUE®II and LASER 1 OPAQUE® worked well with no migration of the pigment into the white layer. Our process matched our directions for heat, time and pressure.

Backer Paper on Heat Transfer Paper Sometimes Becomes Tinted Yellow

2008-12-15T23:41:00.000-08:00

Why is the backer paper on my laser heat transfer tinted yellow?

With some laser printers the yellow toner migrates through the heat transfer coating and leaves the base paper with a yellow image. This can also occur with magenta as the predominant color that migrates. Which colors will migrate is laser printer/copier specific. More often all four colors leave a slight tint on the base sheet. When it is all four colors or isn't too strong it is usually not noticed or commented on. Although the printer/copier causes this to occur it is because of the heat in the transfer process that the color is driven into the base paper.

Most of the time the yellow and pink are not a problem in the finished garment. If the color on the garment is correct ignore any color on the base paper. If the color is not deep enough, gradually increase the color density. This is done with adjustments to the color with the printer driver and computer software. Since this condition is specific to each printer/copier it will occur reproducibly and once the corrective conditions are identified they can be duplicated for all prints.

Another possibility is yellow or any other color appearing outside the image area. This is known as toner scatter and can be any color including black. This is more likely to affect the appearance of the image on the garment, because white areas will have some color. This can be addressed with new cartridges if this is a new problem. Another possibility is to use a product that resists the toner scatter. TECHNI-PRINT® 4.0 was created to resist toner scatter.

Mike Matosky has worked with heat transfer products for more than 10 years, and this article is written in response to questions directed to www.tshirtsupplies.com, "Your Source for Heat-Transfer Supplies" about achieving true colors using heat transfer paper.

Hot New Personalized Christmas Gift Ideas Using Heat Transfer Paper

2008-11-19T03:23:00.000-08:00

Need a personalized gift for the special people on your Christmas list this year? It’s the most creative way to gift a special present and help with our holiday spending this year. With the exciting new heat transfer paper products available the possibilities are endless. I‘ve been thinking about items that anyone would love to receive that will not only be personalized but will also be useful. See if any of these easy ideas will help you get started.

Christmas Gifts for Kids using Heat Transfer Paper

First on my list are gifts for my kids and with their help a few for their friends. The heat transfer paper that caught my attention for these projects for the holidays are the Glitter FlexWear™, the Glow in the Dark FlexWear™ and the Flock FlexWear™. Any item that helps my kids keep track of their possessions is useful.

Personalized Pillow Cases – I love the idea using heat transfer paper for pillowcases to take to sleepover parties when it’s a bit hard to keep track of your pillow after the pillow fights. Imagine using Glow in the Dark FlexWear™ designs with not only their name but a personalized design to help them identify it in the dark. It’s not only great to do this for your own kids but also they can help create special designs for their friends. What a great gift!

Personalized Sleeping Bag Cover or Overnight Totes – I must have sleepovers on my mind, but knowing how often this is occurring in my house makes me believe that kids really need personalized items once they leave the house or it may not come back. Using Glitter FlexWear™ or Flock FlexWear™ heat transfer paper personalizing these special totes make it easy for your kids to stay organized.

Christmas Gifts for Teachers using Heat Transfer Paper

• Personalized Large Storage Crock or Large Mug – I’m sure that teachers have collections of various mugs that they have received over the years. Using heat transfer paper for hard surfaces you can create not a similar drinking mug but a useful labeled vessel for storing items like paint brushes, Popsicle sticks, and colored pencils, something that is specialized to your child’s classroom activities. In our classroom every child must check-in their lunch choices by picking a color coded stick for each lunch choice and placing it in an envelope. Now our teacher has a specially labeled “lunch choice” crock that helps keep things organized. It works great and the teachers really appreciated it.

Christmas Gifts for Grandparents using Heat Transfer Paper

• “Green” Grocery Totes – With everyone being more conscience of the environment that we are leaving to our children, let us help by doing our part. Grandparents will love having a special designed tote from their Grandchildren using heat transfer paper that they personalized. A large washable cotton tote with a design created with heat transfer paper that can be used to carry groceries, knitting, reading materials or any items with come in very useful. I’m sure it’s one that won’t be left behind.

Having created a personalized Christmas gift using hot new heat transfer paper products will not only help your Christmas spending budget but it will also be a big hit for any of your special people on your list. There are so many possibilities, be creative and have fun using heat transfer paper on your next project.

Author "Linda Dunkelberger" is a freelance writer and editor creating project ideas for Tshirtsupplies.com. T-shirt Supplies is a Pennsylvania based company selling top of the line heat transfer products including Laser & Inkjet Heat Transfer Paper, Specialty Papers, Heat Transfer Vinyl, Heat Transfer Foils and heat transfer press machine accessories at great prices since 2003.

Create personalized gift and craft items with Heat Transfer Paper.

2008-10-28T06:26:00.000-07:00

Let’s get creative. Now that you have used heat transfer paper to create fun and unique t-shirt designs, let’s think outside the box.
You can create one of a kind items that make great gifts for student groups, teachers, customers, volunteer groups, birthday attendees, employees, volunteer staffs, family and friends. Turn your ideas into exciting projects and fundraisers for Brownie and Cub pack groups, preschools, school, church and youth groups. Plan for birthday party activities.
The possibilities to create personalized projects are endless. Some great ideas are to add your own art work and images , special designs or drawing to reusable green grocery bags, cooking and art aprons, custom handbags, mouse pads, coasters, caps, t-shirts, school binders, sweatshirts, mugs, plates, tile trivets and picture frames.
For the holidays, use specialized heat transfer vinyl/films for creative personal Christmas stockings and Santa hats. Christmas ball ornaments can even be personalized with hard surface heat transfer paper.
If you’re a quilter or quilting group , imagine creating individual squares each sending out a special message to your gift recipient. It will be a one of a kind creation.
There are so many great ideas and we want to help make it easy for you. Our future plans include adding an image gallery to help you insert templates into your personal designs. We also want to hear about your ideas. We soon hope to show some of your finished projects to help inspire others and to share ideas. Look for a gift and craft contest in the future.
Linda

Back Print Guide

2008-10-28T05:57:00.000-07:00

Of all the support emails and calls we receive, I think one of the most frequent has to deal with the variety of backprinting on the heat transfer papers and why? Luckily, it is one of the easiest questions to answer, but we realize it does take time to draft an email or dial the phone, which of course would be unnecessary if we provide a quick backprint guide for your review. So, here is a link to a downloadable .pdf that contains the backprint options for the papers available on T-ShirtSupplies.com. Click Here

We have posted a few answers to this question on T-ShirtForums.com, but want to try and sum it up in a quick blog post.

Basically, there are only a handful of heat transfer paper manufactures in the US and WorldWide (maybe a future blog post, interested, leave a comment?), and they all create their products in Master Rolls of paper each being a very large size and quite unusable until they are converted into the sheet sizes that we all expect (8.5x11, 11x17, A3, A4, etc.) Up until this point, the paper that is coated with the chemicals that make these papers work are the same according the individual manufacturers formula, of course each manufacturer keeps their respective formula(s) a trade secret.

Now comes the tricky part that causes so much confusion in the marketplace! Most of these manufacturers use a distribution network to get their products into your hands, or rather heat presses. The distributors, more often then not, use a different naming convention, ergo IronAll may be used by a handful of distributors while MiraCool, Translucent, etc. are used by others. However, they are the same product. What does this have to do with the backprint?

Well, it goes along with the same concept. Some distributors have the ability to purchase product in the aforementioned Master Rolls and others choose to purchase product that is already converted/sheeted. This, too, adds another confusing layer of complexity because it enables the back of the paper to be customized with “brandable” backprinting an additional nuance that can make the product different in appearance from a sheet that comes from the same manufacturing facility.

What does this mean? It may mean you are buying the same paper from different sources, even if it is in the form of sample packs it adds to your cost of acquiring the product(s.) At T-ShirtSupplies.com, we will gladly tell you what product comes from a specific manufacturer or make every attempt to make sure you are not buying the same product under another name. Also, we would like to mention that over 90% of our heat transfer products are produced by Neenah, definitely amongst the top in the industry based on quality, safety (environmentally, etc.), consistency, etc.

In the meantime, we are working to avoid any confusion with our products. We will not deliver an alternate product using the same name, or intentionally confuse anyone. If you have any confusion, drop us a line and we will be more then glad to explain the process in more detail.

Regards,
Mike @ T-ShirtSupplies.com
http://www.tshirtsupplies.com/
"Your Source for Heat-Transfer Supplies"

Is Iron On Heat Transfer Paper Right for Your Project?

2008-10-01T05:24:00.000-07:00

Iron heat transfer paper can be used to apply any custom graphics and text to fabric. There are different types of heat transfer paper depending on the color of the fabric and the type of printer being used.

Iron on heat transfer paper can be used for applying custom graphics and text to t-shirts, sweatshirts and other fabric items. You can be as creative as you want by using a scanner or digital camera to capture and manipulate images, graphics, or logos, and transfer them to fabric using iron on heat transfer paper. It is simple to print multiple colors and intricate designs, and you can easily customize the output. Iron on heat transfer paper is great for small or large jobs.

Digital images can be transferred to light or dark fabric by printing an image on transfer paper and ironing it onto your fabric. Iron on transfer paper for white t-shirts is different than paper for dark t-shirts. If you are creating an image for a black or dark blue t-shirt, be sure to get the version of transfer paper for dark fabric for the images to transfer well.

Depending on the type of printer, you must choose the correct type of transfer paper in order to successfully print images on the fabric. Most t-shirt transfer paper is for inkjet printers. However, if you have a laser printer, there is iron on heat transfer paper available specifically for laser printers. It is recommended that you do not use the inkjet transfer papers in your laser printer. For best results, the fabrics must have at least 50% cotton content. Instructions must be followed carefully to achieve optimal results.

Many distributors and manufacturers carry a large selection of heat transfer products and supplies. They carry everything needed for heat transfer including inkjet and laser heat transfer papers for light and dark applications, heat transfer vinyl and foils, laser printer supplies, specialty papers, and heat press supplies.

Bio: Grace Enderlein is a freelance writer and editor for www.tshirtsupplies.com. “Is Iron On Heat Transfer Paper Right for Your Project?” is about the uses of heat transfer paper for applying custom images to fabric. Tshirtsupplies.com offers heat transfer supplies.

Iron On Dark Transfer Paper

2008-08-29T04:41:00.000-07:00

Tshirtsupplies.com offers heat transfer supply products used to decorate clothing and other goods. They are an established retailer and wholesaler with an extensive inventory of heat transfer paper and supplies, including iron on dark transfer paper.

Iron on dark transfer paper can be used with either Inkjet or Laser printers for producing quick, inexpensive photo quality prints transferred on to your garment in a matter of minutes via a heat press or iron. If you have a dark garment, and want to apply a design quickly, you will need dark heat transfer paper. This method of garment creation is relatively durable, however after many washings, the image may begin cracking or fading. It is often the ideal heat transfer paper for small quantities of garments, which need personalization, or can be used for realistic photo applications. It is relatively easy to use and works well if instructions are followed.

To eliminate having a box around your design, especially on dark fabrics, it is important to cut the paper around the design. You can use dark transfer paper to decorate t-shirts, sweatshirts, mouse pads, coasters, puzzles and leather goods. Of course, you can also use a laser cutter machine for the most professional look and quality.

Another great way to decorate dark fabrics is by applying a vinyl film. Heat Transfer Vinyl makes an excellent transfer which will last longer than most garments without cracking, peeling, or fading. It is best used for adding names and numbers on sports uniforms. It is easy to use, but applying more than 3 colors with intricate details can be labor intensive. As with the dark transfer paper, this is best used with a laser cutter.

Tshirtsupplies.com is a very good source of information about using dark heat transfer paper and vinyl foils. They also offer sample packs at a discounted price so that customers can test their products to see which works best for their requirements. Their heat transfer papers include products for light and dark fabrics, and options for inkjet or laser printers, fuser oil and non-fuser oil printers. Their heat transfer vinyl films include many unique and eye-catching images. They offer wonderful customer support for all their products, and have a large inventory in stock.

If you have any questions, please check out t-shirtsupplies.com's FAQ or contact them via the website.

Double Green Line Transfer Paper

2008-03-12T22:46:00.000-07:00

If you are using heat transfer paper on white cotton, one of your best bets is to use a Double Green Line Heat Transfer Paper. The results will be crisp, clear colors which hold up well when washed and dried according to the instructions.

The color retention is impressive and will not diminish when applied to the cotton substrate. The end product will retain their original color with very little bleeding. The reason for this is the chemical composition of the Double Green Line Transfer Paper. This warm peel heat transfer paper produces a slight sheen on the image because the ink remains in the polymer of the transfer paper, rather than squeezed between the transfer paper and the cotton.

This special Double Green Line heat transfer paper is the result of many years of constant testing and improvements by the leading manufacturer in the industry. With all the testing and quality control measures in place, you can always be assured of producing consistent results.

As always, T-Shirt Supplies’ Double Green Line product line represents premium quality heat transfer paper for inkjet printers. The most effective method for applying the transfer to the cotton substrate is with a heat press. Set the press at 385° and press for 20 seconds. It is that simple to make your custom item!

Double Green Line inkjet heat transfer paper is highly recommended for desktop inkjet and wide format inkjet printers. The product can be sheet fed or roll fed. Double Green Line is highly recommended for heat press in order to achieve optimal results.

In addition to the traditional use on t-shirts, Double Green Line inkjet heat transfer paper also produces excellent results on sweatshirts, mouse pads, puzzles, leather and many other substrates.
As with many of our products, many people tend to experiment to find new applications along with some tips and tricks. Some of our customers suggest using sublimation inks to print on the Green Line heat transfer paper for cotton shirts because the colors appear even brighter. If you have any useful tips or tricks, please forward to info@t-shirtsupplies.com and we will enter you into one of our upcoming contest for a chance to win some free transfer paper.

Current T-shirt Design Contests Assembled

2008-02-29T00:47:00.000-08:00

At any given time on the internet, there seem to be hundreds of t-shirt design contests occurring. If you are looking for a contest and love to design tshirts, we’ve collected several current tshirt design contests for you to participate in. The following six contests have great prizes or great exposure, and we know you’ll want to participate:

Firefox 3 T-Shirt Contest – Join the Launch!
http://www.spreadfirefox.com/tcontest

Design a Tshirt at TeeTonic
http://www.teetonic.com/

The Cool Tshirt Contest - $1000 prize!
http://www.karmaloop.com/tshirt-signup.asp

ScribeTee - $500 prize!
http://www.shirtcity.com/shop/us/sc4/contest/contest_entry_new.php?PHPSESSID=866fcdb3eef5e224d6560a3ec5766a42&PHPSESSID=866fcdb3eef5e224d6560a3ec5766a42

Win Shirt of the Day, Shirt of the Week & Shirt of the Month! Up to $3,500 prize!
http://www.designbyhumans.com/

Design Software Never Ending Tshirt Design Contest - you could win £250!
http://splittheatom.com/designashirt/index.asp

Remember that when you are ready to take your design and put it on an actual tshirt, T-shirtsupplies.com has all the supplies you will need to create the perfect wearable art or wearable slogan.

T-shirt Supplies is backed by the Market Leader in the heat transfer industry which means that we can offer you great products at terrific prices. We are the best place to buy laser and inkjet heat transfer paper, laser transfer paper, and dark transfer paper. Check out our tip section and our specials pages for terrific deals.

When you visit our website, remember to bookmark us because we will soon be offering vinyl transfers, tshirts, and other material supplies necessary for your tshirt design needs. Most importantly, remember to wear your creations and show the world your creative talents. Not only can you make an impact as you walk down the street, you can win valuable prizes every month!

Instructions for Heat Transfer Fabric Care

2008-01-03T11:03:00.001-08:00

When you are ready to wash your garment, turn it inside out so that other garments do not rub against it in the wash. Wash the garment in cold water using a mild detergent, and do not add bleach!

As soon as the machine cycle ends, remove the garment from the wash and allow to air dry. Do not use the dyer. Your image will stay clear and bright if you follow these instructions.

Instructions for Applying Iron-on Transfer to Fabric

2008-01-03T11:02:00.000-08:00

You can use either a commercial heat press or a home iron to apply your iron-on transfer image to the fabric.

If you have access to a commercial heat press, preheat the press to 325° Fahrenheit. First press the fabric smooth for a few seconds. This will also remove any moisture. Allow to cool. Next, place the transfer face down in the desired position and press using light to medium pressure for 10 seconds. Gently rub the transfer for a couple of seconds with a soft cloth and peel the transfer backing.

If you are going to use a hand iron to apply the transfer to the fabric, you must also preheat the iron to its highest temperature setting for at least 8 minutes. Do not use steam.

Place a pillowcase over the surface (ironing board) you will use for ironing. Do not use a bare ironing board, wood, glass, or metal surface for ironing. Iron the pillowcase flat so that there are no wrinkles.

Now, put the fabric on top of the pillowcase and iron that smooth too. Let the fabric cool before placing the heat transfer on top.Place the image to be transferred face down on the garment in the desired position.

Set on the fabric so that it does not move while being transferred. Firmly press the iron on the transfer for 15-20 seconds in several areas, making sure to cover the entire transfer in this process. It is important that you press straight down for this step and lift up the iron completely when repositioning to do another area. When you are satisfied that the transfer will not move, begin using a circular motion and light pressure. Evenly heat the transfer for another 15-20 seconds. Remove the iron and gently rub the hot transfer with a soft, clean cloth for 5-10 seconds.

Printing Instructions for Designing Iron On Heat Transfers

2008-01-03T11:01:00.000-08:00

Remember that everything will be reversed when you apply the heat transfer to the cloth. For that reason, especially if you are working with text, select 'Mirror', 'Flip', or 'Reverse' in your graphics application, so that the image will be printed backwards. If there is no text in your image, you may not have to reverse your image.

Now you are ready to test on a plain piece of paper. Place an pencil mark on the paper and insert it into the printer. This will show you which side of the paper prints. Next, print your image on that sheet of paper. If you are satisfied with the way your image looks, insert a single sheet of iron on transfer paper into your printer. You will be able to tell which side to print on because one side is blank (that is the side to print on), and one side has text or lines.

It is important to get a clear image, so you must go into your printer options and select the highest dpi setting. There may even be pre-set settings in your printer. Here are a few popular printer manufacturers with the selected setting:

CANON: T-shirt transfers.
EPSON: High quality glossy paper or special coated paper
HEWLETT-PACKARD: High quality glossy paper.
Lexmark: T-shirt transfers.

Next you need to set the paper thickness lever on your printer for standard paper.

Now you may print your iron on transfer image.

After you remove the iron on transfer sheet from your printer, allow the ink to dry. Do not handle the iron on transfer paper while the ink is drying.

Always Test Heat Transfer Paper

2008-01-03T10:59:00.000-08:00

It is always a good idea to test, especially if you are doing a large project. With normal heat transfer paper, remember that any part of your image which is blank, white, or lightly colored will allow the color of the fabric you print on to show through. Try an opaque or dark fabric heat transfer paper if you don't want the fabric color to show through!

Some injet inks such as Epson Durabright may react with the heat transfer paper, causing a green cast or other color shift after the heat is applied. It is best to test before starting a large project.

Heat Transfer Paper Properties

2008-01-03T10:54:00.000-08:00

(Inverse Relationship in Paper Qualities)

In the world of heat transfer paper, no heat transfer paper is the answer to every individual’s needs. Many of the properties of heat transfer papers have inverse relationships with one another, let me explain. Some key components that consumers tend to look at with heat transfer paper are wash-ability, color vibrancy and “hand” (how soft the transfer feels on the garment.)

Color Vibrancy (how the colors “pop” if you will) and “hand” are inversely related. This is to say that as you get a better hand with a heat transfer product you tend to lose some color vibrancy because in order for the chemist to make the sheet transfer softer to a garment, they basically need to lay down a “thinner” top coat of chemical compound on the heat transfer sheet. It stands to reason, that if there is less top coat on the sheet then of course the sheet is going to have trouble holding as much ink as a sheet that perhaps doesn’t possess the same soft hand.

Think about what I am saying here, why do inkjet heat transfer products for dark fabrics always look so colorful and bright? The answer to the preceding question is actually quite simple; to put an image onto a dark fabric, an opaque layer needs to be laid down so the colors don’t blend into the fabric. In creating heat transfer papers with this opaque layer, such as T-ShirtSupplies’ JetWear® Dark, the sheet has to be thicker because of this opaque layer thus the hand on a dark transfer sheet is never great but the color vibrancy is outstanding. The colors “pop” because they are laid down against a pure white background thus enhancing their brightness.

For light fabrics, T-ShirtSupplies’ JetWear® Hot-Peel product has a good hand but excellent color vibrancy. Conversely, T-ShirtSupplies’ Jet-Pro® SofStretch™ product has a great hand; however, it doesn’t have quite the color retention of the JetWear® Hot-Peel product.

The lesson to be learned from all this is that the consumer needs to understand what they are trying to achieve with a particular garment before choosing a heat transfer paper. If you want a soft transfer that becomes part of the garment, Jet-Pro® SofStretch™ is your choice; however, if you want a good hand with great colors on a light garment then JetWear® Hot-Peel is the paper for you. Of course, if you’re going onto a dark garment with an inkjet printer, JetWear® Dark is the finest paper in the industry for this application.

Basic Instructions for Transferring your Iron on Transfer Image

2007-12-03T08:06:00.000-08:00

You can use your computer to create a graphic design, and then with your ink jet printer and either an iron or heat press, transfer the image to fabric, clothing, wood and most porous surfaces. It is easy, inexpensive and fun.
Need a group shirt, a unique gift, or want to express yourself? Anyone with a computer and ink jet printer can try this. All you do is put the paper into the printer and print. Then iron the heat press image onto cotton or cotton/poly fabrics. The heat press paper transfers best onto 100% cotton or cotton/poly blends or 100% polyester. You can use it on silk or nylon, but remember that a hot iron may shrink the actual fabric, so you need to be very careful. Another tip for fabrics which shrink, like cotton, rayon, hemp, etc, is to pre-shrink before applying transfers.
After you have applied the transfer, your garment is washable and your transfer is permanent. You can make t-shirts, hats, picture quilts, or team uniforms. Be creative!
Steps for transferring your iron on transfer image

Using an ink jet printer, print your image.
Let the ink printed on the iron-on transfer dry thoroughly before handling.
Trim away any un-printed paper around your image that you do not want to transfer.
Transfer your image onto your fabric using either a hand iron or commercial heat press. Easy!

Do you want to start a t-shirt business? Consider purchasing a heat transfer press machines to save you time and do a better job.