Screen Printed Transfer Inks: Goof Proof vs Polytrans Plastisol Ink Formulas
Sep/110
White backed in black - Polytrans screen printed transfer
Our Goof Proof® and Polytrans screen printed transfer products use the same ink and paper but offer different application techniques. Both products can be used on cotton, polyester and cotton/polyester blend apparel. Both our numbers and names can be applied using either technique.
Goof Proof® is made for speed! It uses a higher temperature (365º) at a faster application time – just 4 seconds. This is our number one top selling product!
Polytrans uses a lower temperature (340º) for a longer application (10 seconds).
Use Polytrans when:
• A fabric is sensitive to heat such as some polyester
• Doing a multi-color transfer and the background outline color is darker than the foreground color
Using the low temperature technique, the color stays brighter in this situation as shown in the photo.
Custom Transfers with Bling – Metallic, Glitter or Foil?
Aug/110
Is your customer looking to brighten the look of their printed apparel? If so, there are three different custom transfer options available.
The most durable and least expensive is our Goof Proof® in metallic silver ink. Plastisol, screen printed metallic ink transfers do have flecks of metal for some sparkle, but it is the most subtle “bling” of the three. It is the best choice for athletic or school items that need to be durable for constant wear.
The second option is glitter. This has a lot of shine and is probably preferred by females. It is still very durable since it is a screen printed ink. Cheer and dance teams seem to love the glitter as it meets both needs – it adds sparkle and is still durable.
The third option is foil. This is actually a 2 step process as you need both a transfer and the foil product to put over it. This is the look desirable for fashion items and is great because you can choose to foil just a portion of the print giving a 2 texture look at just a 1 color price. However, this is the least durable of the three but by using it with the metallic silver ink, in time if the foil does flake off, you still have a very durable metallic silver print on the shirt.
Metallic ink, glitter ink and heat transfer foil options for when you want to add bling to your screen printed apparel
Tips for Screen Printing Custom Artwork: Tip 4 – Detail Guidelines
Aug/110
Many questions arise when it comes to custom artwork for screen printed transfers and the amount of detail that is able to be printed. The guidelines are different than that of other printed materials such as our digital Cad-Printz™ transfers or other process printed jobs like brochures, business cards or flyers. The biggest difference for screen printed transfers is line thickness and show-thru thickness.
Line Thickness
Line thickness varies depending on which type of ink you would like your transfers printed with:
- Our recommended line thickness for Hot Split, Goof Proof®, Polytrans and Elasti Prints® is .012″ thick for printed areas.
- Our recommended line thickness for Reflective and Glitter is .025″ thick for printed areas.
- Our recommended line thickness for non-Puff colors is .012″ thick for printed areas (This may need increased if printed next to a Puff color. Be aware that Puff ink will increase the printed line thickness. A line that is .023″ will puff up to become .05″ in the applied transfer.)
To test the line thickness in your artwork files, try doing the following:
1. Create a line in your file and make it a different color than your artwork.
2. Set the thickness of the line to .012″.
3. Now move the line around, setting it over top of any artwork that may have thin areas of color. All of your artwork should be at least as thick as that line whether it be text, outlines or objects.
4. Delete the line when you have finished checking your file.
Any portion of artwork that is less than the recommended thickness is not guaranteed to be printed.
Make sure your line thickness meets the minimum requirements for the ink formula you choose.
Show-thru Thickness
Show-thru areas are any area in your design that has no ink but is surrounded by ink. These areas need to be as thick as the following guidelines:
- Our recommended show-thru thickness for all screen printed ink formulas is .04″ thick for show-thru areas except for Puff.
- Puff show-thru thickness should be .1″ thick.
To test the show-thru thickness in your artwork files, try doing the following:
1. Create a line in your file and make it a different color than your artwork.
2. Set the thickness of the line to .045″.
3. Now move the line around, setting it over top of any small non-printing areas. All non-printing reas need to be open at least as wide as that line.
4. Delete the line when you have finished checking your file.
Show-thru thickness is important so the artwork will not close up once it is printed and applied to the garment. This applies to any non-printing area including the open spaces within text.
Make sure your show-thru thickness meets the minimum requirements for the ink formula you choose.
Following these guidelines will help you with the amount of detail you can have in your screen printed designs.
We Can Print Custom Transfers in Any Color!
Aug/110
A customer orders a custom printed shirt but they want the ink color to match an outfit they have—so what do you do?
Answer: No Problem! Our screen printed transfers ink colors can be mixed to match any color you desire.
We stock 63 ink colors (plastisol). But if you don’t see what you need, we can always do a color match to the desired color for a small color match fee. You can either provide us a Pantone® color (Pantone® is a standardized system for colors, often called PMS or Pantone Matching System) or send us an item that you want matched.
Use Transfer Express' Easy Prints® Color Selector to choose ink colors for screen printed transfers.
If you want to see what colors we stock, we offer an approximated online color chart (there is some variance due to the variance in colors on computer monitors), a list of the Pantone corresponding numbers that can be used if you own a Pantone chart, or a color selector specific to Transfer Express can be ordered.
Decorator Converts Home Into Shop, Showroom & Tiki Bar
Jul/110
When most decorators want to entertain a client, they might take them out to a nice local restaurant. But Tim Hoffman, owner, Hoffman Embroidery, had a better idea. He built a tiki bar.
After paying big rent at the Annapolis Mall in Annapolis, Maryland, for years, Hoffman and his partner decided they’d had enough of that. So the embroiderer, who lives in a three-level house, gutted 1,000 feet on the first floor and built his shop, a showroom, and an outdoor tiki bar instead. It’s now home to his one singlehead, one four-head, and two two-head embroidery machines and two Stahls’ Hotronix heat transfer presses.
The tiki bar garnered media attention from a local newspaper The Capital, Annapolis, Md., November 13, 2010 issue and March/April 2011 issue of Stitches magazine where it was the cover story.
“It looks just like a tiki bar you’d see on the beach in the British Virgin Islands,” says Hoffman. “We have water in the back yard. It’s enclosed in the wintertime so we can use it year-round.”
Although Hoffman doesn’t sell drinks, it’s used for entertaining clients and friends for all kinds of occasions. “It looks like a real bar, and we have mixed drinks,” he notes. “We throw big neighborhood parties and watch all the big sporting events. It’s a perfect man cave.”
In addition to offering embroidery, Hoffman also is a regular customer of Transfer Express. When he gets multi-color print jobs, he has found transfers the best way to go. “When we get an eight-color job for a dark shirt, if you screen print it, that’s eight screens plus a white underbase. When it’s a left-chest size design for 100 shirts, the only cost-effective way to do it is using Transfer Express CAD-PRINTZ™.”
“We’ve used them for a multitude of orders, and they have always done a great job with outstanding service at a price that is affordable,” says Hoffman. “We also get quick turnaround. We’re glad to have them on our team.”
Owner Tim Hoffman and production manager Amy Lynn Hall sit on a stool in the outdoor tiki bar that is used to entertain clients throughout the year. Hoffman built it at the same time he transformed the first floor of his three-story house into his shop and showroom.
Vector vs Raster Art: Which is Best for Transfers?
Jun/110
Vector vs Raster Art:
There are basically two different types of art – vector and raster (bitmap/jpg). Both are useful depending on your end use.
Raster art is made up of tiny boxes known as pixels. An example of a raster image is a digital photograph. Typically, rasterized files end with file extensions such as .jpg, .tif, .bmp, .gif, and .png. One of the most common mistakes made with raster art has to do with scaling (sizing) a rasterized image larger. Since raster art is resolution dependent, you can scale smaller, but you shouldn’t scale larger. This is because there are only so many pixels in the image. Raster images are measured by their dpi (dots per [linear] inch). A crisp, high resolution image will be around 300 pixels per inch. When scaling larger, the same amount of pixels remain, but over a larger area. Therefore, if you scale a high resolution (300 dpi) photo twice the size, you now only have 150 pixels per inch, which is half the resolution previously. When scaling larger, the pixels per inch decreases, which in turn makes the resolution decrease. This creates the distorted and pixilated look.
When zoomed in on raster artwork, you can see the pixels that create the image.
Vector art, on the other hand, is not resolution dependent. You can scale it larger or smaller and it will still look the same. Vector art can be used on a golf ball or the same art can be used on a billboard and either one will look clear. This type of art uses mathematical formulas to create the artwork. There are no pixels involved. Instead, it uses points and curves to create shapes. This type of artwork is created in applications such as CorelDraw and Adobe Illustrator, which can have file extensions such as .cdr, .ai, and .eps.
When zoomed in on vector artwork, lines and curves are smooth.
How does this all fit in to our transfers?
Rasterized artwork is fine for our CAD-PRINTZ™ digital transfers as long as it is high resolution at full size (300 dpi or higher). Also for our digital transfers, vector artwork is perfectly acceptable as well.
If you are interested in our screen printed transfers, the printing process differs some. In this case, you can send us raster artwork, however, it will only be used as a guide from which the artwork will be recreated. Vector art is preferred for screen printing.
What do you need to print custom T-shirts and apparel?
Jun/117
We are in the planning stages for the 2012 custom transfer Idea Book™ and offerings and need your feedback. We want to help you to continue to have success selling custom apparel.
Is there clip art, colors, or a layout category you think we are missing?
Would you want additional number styles or colors?
Any problem applications we can help you solve?
Just leave us a comment below and we will look into implementing it!
Give us your feedback and ideas!
How To Outfit An All Star Uniform
Jun/112
Baseball All Star teams are forming and these teams will need uniforms. Start with the front of the uniform and dress them like pros! An entire layout category is dedicated to these players in our Easy Prints® collection. Many of these teams will want two or more colors on the print and our online design tool, Easy View™ can show your customers what the print will look like in two colors on their shirt. All Star teams frequently also add a number to the front of the uniform under the logo, especially script with tails layouts. If doing teen uniforms, our 4” numbers are perfect. For smaller youth, use 2.5” or 3” numbers ordered through our Express Names program. If using 2.5” numbers you can fit 10 digits in one strip, and for 3” numbers you can fit 8.
The All Stars will want to be recognized so be sure so to be sure to add an Express Name above the number on the back. The 2.5” size is best for teen uniforms and the 2” size is perfect for younger teams. The number under the name can be ordered in two colors to match the uniform front, and with Easy Prints® numbers it is one application in just 4 seconds. For teen uniforms, an 8” number can be used and for smaller sizes use a 6” number.
If your team has a sponsor this can be added to the sleeve. Add this as well as a cap size print for your team caps to the front logo and create a gang sheet – all three logos are printed on one sheet for a great cost savings.
Add an American flag to the other sleeve and your All Star is ready to play!
All Stars layout QAS-2 with front number
Transfer Extreme and Memorial Day
May/110
Transfer Extreme Layout USA-10 America is Great
We’re a patriotic bunch, here at STAHLS’ Transfer Express. Flags are waving, banners are soaring, and Lenny Schiavone just cooked a whole bunch of hot dogs for us to kick off the Memorial Day Weekend!
Meanwhile, we’re still celebrating the launch of our latest product offering, Transfer Extreme, and its introductory collection of patriotic screen-printed transfers. Since it hit the wires on Wednesday, May 25th, each of our 10 Americana stock designs has been flying off the shelves. (Looks like we’ll have to keep printing!)
Transfer Extreme Layout USA-1
Transfer Extreme is really special to us. We enlisted the help of industry-renowned graphics expert, Dane Clement, to create trendy, edgy designs that truly display American Pride. These were screen-printed with plastisol inks using our new, innovative, simulated 4-color process printing method. This provides beautiful graphics, intricate designs, and full, vibrant colors. The image quality is comparable to direct screen-printing, digital printing, or litho. However, the finished product gives you a very soft hand (not plastic-y like those other guys), and it applies in only 4 seconds! Plus, it’s great for both light and dark fabrics; for cotton, polyester, and cotton/polyester material.
Transfer Extreme Layout USA-9
Dane created designs that are ideal for all ages, but will especially appeal to the alternative looks that teens and young adults love. Just in time for Memorial Day, they’re perfect for summertime fashion and your customers’ 4th of July Independence Day celebrations.
Transfer Extreme Layout USA-4
Please check out the designs when you have a moment, if you haven’t already. We’d love to hear your feedback about them at info@transferexpress.com. Tell us how you like and how you’re using them, or if you have any special stories such as from a U.S. Veteran. Also, please share with us what designs you’d like to see us produce for you in the future!
In the meantime, I hope your family, like mine, will be struttin’ their stuff this Memorial Day Weekend wearing Transfer Extreme designs!
Transfer Extreme Layout USA-11
Celebrate Your Patriotism And Your Independence From Boring Transfers! – Today is “Decoration Day” with our new product, Transfer Extreme!
May/110
Transfer Extreme™ Layout USA-7
STAHLS’ Transfer Express® is well-known throughout the industry as being the industry leader in providing its customers with custom transfers. We set the bar with our one-day shipping of our Easy Prints® screen-printed transfers using our Idea Book™ catalog of thousands of available designs, layouts, and clipart. We’re also established as an innovative company, constantly employing new technologies and adding new products to our ever-expanding collection. Most recently, this has included CAD-PRINTZ™ digital transfers, Foil, Glow-In-The-Dark, and non-apparel Banners, Stickers, Wall Graphics, and Window Clings.
Today, we are proud to announce the introduction of our newest product. Transfer Extreme™ is a transfer that is screen-printed with plastisol inks using an inventive simulated 4-color printing process. The end result gives your customer a beautifully screen-printed graphic, allowing for extremely intricate designs and vibrant colors. The image quality is very comparable to that of digital transfers, but with the much softer hand of screen-printing.
Other transfer companies offering similar products are forced to deliver you a very hard, heavy graphic in order to deliver similar image quality. Or, they have to sacrifice the quality in order to provide a softer hand. Transfer Extreme provides both quality and soft feel, AND is VERY easy to apply: 4 seconds! Using one of STAHLS’ Hotronix® heat presses set on 365 degrees, Transfer Extreme applies in just 4 seconds. [Transfer Extreme Application Instructions] You can screen-print 4 colors in just 4 seconds! (Well, actually, it’s MORE than 4 colors, but who’s counting?!) Transfer Extreme applies to cotton, polyester, and cotton/polyester material, and works on both light and dark fabric.
Layouts USA-9 and USA-7
Just in time for Memorial Day, in preparation for your customers’ 4th of July Independence Day celebrations, and in advance of the 10th anniversary of 9-11-01, we are offering Transfer Extreme in the form of patriotic/Americana-themed stock transfers. There are 10 fabulous designs for you to choose from, available in the form of individual packs of 10 transfers for just $20. Or, if you can’t make up your mind, there are 2 separate variety packs available containing 2 of each of 5 of the designs.
Transfer Extreme™ Layout USA-1
The designs are patriotic, yet edgy, and are perfect for your customers’ summertime fashion. Try putting them on zipper hoods or burnout tees for the alternative look the teens love!
Transfer Extreme™ Layout USA-11
Transfer Extreme™ Layout USA-5
STAHLS’ Transfer Express is very excited about this fantastic new product, and we are sure that you will be, too. With more to come in the future, today please give your customers the opportunity to celebrate America with Transfer Extreme!
Transfer Extreme™ layout USA-8
