How To Make Screen Print Heat Transfers

Heat transfers are a popular method for printing images. There are many different brands and techniques, so we do not want to leave out the major article!

Heat transfers are able to be transferred onto many different surfaces, including paper, canvas, film, and even plastic. Due to this versatility, it can be tricky to know which one to use.

Set up your heat press

When setting up your heat press, make sure to:

Set up your heat press on the center of the ironing surface. This will prevent your iron from slipping and/or rolling off the iron. Make sure to check your settings often to make sure they are operating as desired!

This will prevent your iron from slipping and/or rolling off the iron. Make sure to check your settings well and don’t let go of the trigger until you want to make a print!

Make sure to have enough paper for your print and no more! If you have too much material, some of it will be wasted when you press down on the heated object.

Heat transfer material settings

how to make screen print heat transfers

Heat transfer material settings allow you to change the heat transfer material type or settings for your screen print transfers. There are three main settings:

Bar tab – This is the default setting. This means that the paper will be placed on a series of curved, raised bars. These bars determine which side of the paper is exposed and which side is internal.

This is the default setting. This means that the paper will be placed on a series of curved, raised bars. These bars determine which side of the paper is exposed and which internal portion is concealed.

These concealed areas are where your design or pattern goes! You would do this if you wanted some padding around an area or wanted to save time by not having to design each area separately.

Pick your heat transfer material

how to make screen print heat transfers

Heat transfer material comes in many textures and sizes. There are large, thick heat transfer sheets that take time to iron onto objects. There are more-dense heat transfer material packets that can be rolled or folded to create a thinner, more discreet cover for an object.

While there are some very useful things you can do with just a little heat transfer material, it must be the right kind of material! Most professional screen printers use a glue-based thermal paper as their backing. This allows for easy and reliable coverage and oversprinking of the print.

Not all glueaska prints require a thermal paper cover.

Place your image on the heat transfer material

how to make screen print heat transfers

When the heat transfer material is hot, you can start to transfer your image. You can do this either by dabbing the material with a paper towel to let it dry or by using the provided brush.

Both methods take a little practice, but eventually you will get the hang of it. Once you do, you will be able to make many different shapes and sizes of transfers!

To get started, take your first pass at dabbing the material with the provided paper towel or brush. If it doesn’t look like something went on and touched together well, try a different brand of heat transferMaterial and/or thickness of the paper towel or brush.

Set your image upright

how to make screen print heat transfers

When transferring heat transfers, it is important to set the image upright before drying. This allows the heat to set properly and removes any chance of hot steam escaping during heating.

If the image is already flipped over, then this must be done again. To do this, measure from the bottom edge of the transfer to the top edge of the next layer. Then, slide them apart and dry!

Drying either by standing or sitting on a dry surface will cause collapse and possibly breakage. If doing a project with lots of layers, this may be unnecessary- just one speciality layer per project!

Mixing up how you lay your images can also help with easily removing them. For example, using double-sided tape or soft fur/cashmere wool Kosovo could help protect more layers from wetness and sunlight.

Press your heat press together using the correct settings

how to make screen print heat transfers

When printing on heat, it is important that the temperature of the heat press is correct. When printing on an archival thermal paper, the temperature must be 200-250°F (95-115°C).

If you do not have a thermal paper, then remember that Plasticase and Epson Perfection are two alternatives for printing on heat. Both work, but they are not universal.

Despite their differences, both Plasticase and Epson Perfection work well together to create matching pieces. Just keep in mind that each one has a slightly different profile for design reasons.

Other tips for making good prints include using a neutral density filter (ND) eyeglass lens as your heat source, and using a fast setting heat gun or iron.

Wash and dry your garment with the heat transfer on it

how to make screen print heat transfers

When you take your heat transfer off, remember to dry it completely! The printer will not function if water gets into the system.

To do a simple white heat transfer, lay the garment flat and then turn a cool-dry oven pan over it to place the heat. Let it sit for several minutes until warm.

To do a colored print, cut out the pattern first, then lay the garment flat and turn a cool-dry oven pan over it to place the heat. Let it sit for several minutes until warm.

Remember: When doing a white or colored thermal image transfer, you need blackness as contrast as possible between what is showing and what is hiding.

Apply heat transfer adhesive to the back of your image

how to make screen print heat transfers

Once your image is transferred to the shape, let it cool for a few minutes then press the heat transfer tape down.

Now try heating and letting it cool again before pulling away! That method will also let you make several transfers.

If you want to do more than one, try mixing up your adhesive. Some use clear contact paper, while others use thermal paper. Make sure to check your labels for safety features such as breakers that turn off when cold, and heat resistant caution tape!

Labeling is very important so that people can tell what image they have on their plate.

Leave a Comment