Can I Use Digital Heat Transfers On Black Tee Shirts?
Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 8:42 am
Standard computer generated inkjet and laser transfers are not going to work on black or dark shirts. There are some made for dark garments but they are not high quality. Check out this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN9qXUavoxU
The problem is that ordinary home and office computer printers do not print white ink. Without white ink the image will not show up properly on the garment. And the inks or toners used in these printers do not have any opacity and therefore soak right into the dark tee shirt fabric upon transferring. So standard heat transfers for light colored garments will not work on black or dark shirts. You would have to look for a heat transfer made specifically for dark garments and there are many available today.
I do not sell any heat transferred tee shirts myself, except for Thermo Film from Stahls. There are a lot of commercial grade papers available on the market today. But because I do not work with them commercially, I don’t really know which one to recommend to you for best results. If you are just making them for friends and family, then I have achieved very good results with the readily available Avery papers for white shirts. The limitations are pointed out in the videos. But they do last a long time when made with a heat press and the color and quality is pretty good. Ultimately custom made plastisol heat transfers are the best for starting a business with heat transfers.
Read the articles in this section of my website to learn more about heat transfers and working with them.
http://www.catspitproductionsllc.com/sc ... icles.html
Good luck and feel free to ask questions anytime!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN9qXUavoxU
The problem is that ordinary home and office computer printers do not print white ink. Without white ink the image will not show up properly on the garment. And the inks or toners used in these printers do not have any opacity and therefore soak right into the dark tee shirt fabric upon transferring. So standard heat transfers for light colored garments will not work on black or dark shirts. You would have to look for a heat transfer made specifically for dark garments and there are many available today.
I do not sell any heat transferred tee shirts myself, except for Thermo Film from Stahls. There are a lot of commercial grade papers available on the market today. But because I do not work with them commercially, I don’t really know which one to recommend to you for best results. If you are just making them for friends and family, then I have achieved very good results with the readily available Avery papers for white shirts. The limitations are pointed out in the videos. But they do last a long time when made with a heat press and the color and quality is pretty good. Ultimately custom made plastisol heat transfers are the best for starting a business with heat transfers.
Read the articles in this section of my website to learn more about heat transfers and working with them.
http://www.catspitproductionsllc.com/sc ... icles.html
Good luck and feel free to ask questions anytime!