Rapid plastisol transfers in the garage...

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tomwalker55
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Dec 31, 2013 5:44 am

Rapid plastisol transfers in the garage...

Post by tomwalker55 »

OK - Here goes: I am looking to bang out a large number of designs, with a few transfers each. This is how I will test market a PILE of new designs.

'In the garage' means no washout - we will simply toss the screens. The idea is to test market and if something sells then we'll get a company to make piles of transfers. (I do that already on our popular designs.) We are not going to set up a shop to give this a go...

We are very short on equipment and short on cash so we want to make do. Here is the 'formula' I am thinking of - and feedback is most welcome!

- Do one color sheets only to start with
- gel cure using the heat press - set the press to about 260 - 280, put the sheet in a purpose made tray and hold the tray under the heat plate for an exact time
- use vinyl from my plotter melted into mesh for the stencils (this works well for shirts, by the way - no emulsion, exposure, no washout.) Screens = made fast.
- do very fast stretching with wood frames, staples and tape, as these only have to hold up for a dozen sheets and will get thrown out

I am NOT an experienced screen printer and do not have a shop - but I will have an experienced helper. (My helper is someone who has done a bunch of screen printing. but they don't have experience making transfers...)

SO - Specific nudges about technique are welcome, and whether to use powder or get a premixed ink, what paper is great, etc and even what mesh/blade to use would be really appreciated! Worst case, I have seen some vids of folks doing this and we'll just go do it, use powder as a default and start it up. But would love to hear from folks who have done this...

Thanks