Impressions - Digital Decorator - Fall 2020 - 17

A digital heat transfer is ideal for branding
reusable/washable face masks.

Photo reproduction, double exposure and faux embroidery are just a
few design concepts that are perfect for using a digital heat transfer.
Money-Saving Solutions

Digital heat transfers can be applied on a wide variety of materials.
They are compatible with cotton, cotton/polyester blends, polyester, nylon - virtually any substrate to which a heat transfer can
be applied.
For example, whether we like it or not, personal protection equipment (PPE) is here to stay for a while. Digital transfers are ideal
for branding reusable/washable face masks. No matter if the order consists of 12 or 120,000 pieces, digital products will not only
fulfill your needs, but also could save money and increase profits
in the long run.
Another way to increase profits and reduce costs is to gang up
images on a sheet. This is done quite a bit with screen-printed
transfers. Let's say you're working on a 50-T-shirt order with a 12"
x 12" full-front, center-chest design. You can take the image for
the front and shrink it to 2.5" x 2.5" and incorporate the smaller graphic into the production run. Once complete, the smaller
transfer can be used on face masks, caps or maybe even another
location on the garment.
Fall is just around the corner and in most places, cold weather
is inevitable. Luckily, there's no shortage of new and fresh outerwear to be decorated. What better way to brand outerwear than a
transfer that's versatile in all aspects? Jackets, gloves, headwear and
scarves are good examples of items to embellish with digital heat
transfers. Just make sure to use the best-suited transfer for the job.

Digital-Transfer Library

Inkjet Digital Transfers: This media is a cheap and easy way to
decorate a garment. These heat transfers are ideal for one-off shirt
orders and the do-it-yourself (DIY ) crafter. This process is as easy
as printing your design on transfer paper and applying it onto a
garment with a heat press.
You will find that transfer papers for this application are specifiA Supplement to i m p r e s s i o n s

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cally made for light or dark garments. The paper for light garments
is designed for shirts that don't need as much opacity, and the paper
for dark shirts is designed for shirts that need a more opaque look
to the graphic once applied to the garment.
Although easy to produce, this product isn't the most durable
transfer on the market. It will crack if stretched and, when washed,
the image can fade.
Self-Weeding/White-Toner Digital Transfers: This type of
heat transfer is designed for small production runs. Self-weeding
digital heat transfers are perfect when you want to use unlimited
colors and graphics that also have small line weights in the art.
Once the artwork is ready, print the image on the desired media. You don't necessarily need to use the white-toner option. This
function is designed for darker garments but also can be used for
light garments.
This product consists of a two-part system. The paper/films come
in sheet form. Fuse sheet A (color print with or without white-toner
backer sheet) with sheet B (polymer/adhesive sheet) using your heat
press, then peel, and the transfer will be ready to apply to a garment.
HTV Digital Transfers: Digital heat-transfer vinyl (HTV ) is
one of the most well-known media types for digital heat transfers.
This product is used for small production runs and is fairly easy
to produce.
You'll need a digital printer and cutter or a unit that prints and
cuts. This media can come in sheet or roll form. Simply prepare the
graphic and cut lines, and send to the printer/cutter. Once finished,
weed, apply the carrier sheet and apply the transfer to your substrate.
Digitally Printed Sublimated Transfers: Sublimation is a widely used application in the textile-imaging market. A sublimation
heat transfer has to be applied to a light-colored, 100% polyester
garment; a light-colored garment with high polyester content; or
a light-colored, polyester-coated substrate.
You can achieve a high-definition graphic with this process. This
type of transfer works well for short or long production runs. It can
be applied to piece goods or onto a finished garment.
Fall 2020 * 17

10/9/20 9:37 AM

Impressions - Digital Decorator - Fall 2020

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