Query: heat transfer vs screen printing

Danza

I'm a complete beginner here. and looking for some help and guidance
I have come up with an idea of placing a design onto children duvet covers.
Could you please point out to me the pros and cons of using "heat transfer printing" vs screen printing.

The design i have in mind would want to incorporate up to 6 colours.
When printing onto cotton what kind of detail can be place into the design?
Which type of printing last longer before fading? I'm presuming heat transfer fades quicker, and how long does it last? Does it have problems with cracking?
What is the cost difference (roughly) between the 2 types of printing.
How do the qualities compare.

Thanks in advance

Danza

john_harris

Screen printing is mostly used when producing several items with the same logo or design. It is the process of using ink passed through a screen which is cured onto the garment with a dryer to create the final output. No design is too detailed for screen printing. Heat transfer fades quicker than Screen Printing.

Heat press is often mistaken for screen printing. The difference between the two is that heat press is vinyl material that has been cut and heat applied to the garment vs. inked onto the garment with screen printing. Why use heat press instead of screen printing? Heat press vinyl is a way to create individual shirts quickly with unique designs on each shirt. One of the most common places to find heat pressed vinyl is with names and numbers on the back of ball players Uniforms. We use heat press to produce images on orders that are too small for screenprinting. Come let one of our friendly team members of Ezeeprinting.com help you decide if this is right for you!

Flint54

Not a completely truthful post!

Heat Transfers "INCLUDE" Heat Transfer Vinyl! Heat Transfers also "INCLUDE" Dye Sublimation for Polyester substrates, Ink Jet Transfers for Cotton and Cotton Poly Blends and they also INCLUDE Plastisol Heat Transfers!

With a Quality Produced Plastisol Transfer it is difficult to tell the difference between them and a Screen Printed design. Depending upon the number of colors in the design and if an all white background is needed the transfer may have a bit stiffer hand due to the layers of ink.

Basically the same ink is used in both applications, in the screen print the design is layered and flashed from the back to the front and when done on a transfer sheet the design is layered in reverse so that when transferred onto the item the design is layered correctly.

When you apply the Plastisol Heat Transfer the heat liquifies the ink and the pressure pushes it into the fabric. These transfers when done properly will last the lifetime of the shirt without the problems of being very stiff and cracking/peeling as many did in the past.

There are stock designs in multitudes available and Custom Designs are done by many companies.

For small runs Plastisol Transfers may at many times be very cost effective when compared to screen printing but screen printing is cost effective in larger orders.

Do a search on Custom Heat Transfers and request samples, you may very well be pleasantly surprised.

fwscreener

Hi Flint,

Great post, can you please tell us more, what type of equipment would we need to make the transfers you are talking about, paper etc?

Thanks alot

Robert

Flint54

Unless you are in the screen printing business you will be unable to make your own plastisol transfers. This is a special process that requires specialized equipment so you will need to search for companies that provide this transfer, there are many good ones out there. Pro-World, Insta Graphics, First Edition, Art Brands are a few that come to mind but there are many others. These transfers are made for all different substrates so contact one of the companies with your specifics.

Dye Sublimation and Ink Jet transfers are something that most small shops/home businesses can get into. All it takes are printers with the proper ink (one for each kind of ink), special transfer paper and heat presses. Dye Sub MUST be transferred to polyester, either fabric or a special coating placed on many products such as mugs, tiles, plaques, hardboard, water bottles, aluminum, ornaments and a bunch of other products. Ink Jet transfers/ink will be used on cotton Ts etc.

Here are a few links:

http://www.cobraink.com

http://www.johnsonplastics.com

http://www.dyesub.org

http://tbiz101forum.com

fwscreener

Hi Flint,

Sorry for not responding, just got busy with work. Thank you for the information and links.

Robert

cherokeeimages

You are asking good questions....Screen printing cost a lot more to get done or do yourself over Heat Transfer...Before (a couple years ago) heat transfer couldn't do cottons and sublimation was the only answer unless you wanted to use just plain ink jet ink. Well, those were old days before #369 ink...Today, Printer Buddy #369 ink is the only way to go when printing on cottons. It is very detailed and will last without fading if you only do what the manufacturer suggests. You can call the manufacturer at 971-998-6336 or go to www.cherokeelaser.com.

nametags

The big issue here in my opinion, is the ability to print on dark fabrics, and the process's of printing white's. No matter what vehicle you use; DTG, printer paper, etc.

A system we looked at, "The Magic Touch", looks nice, but, to print on darks or to print white on darks, it's a 3 step process, which raises the cost of the transfer considerably. And if you get them out of line, you're out the paper and the garment.

Believe it or not, the Brother GT541 salesman said, "just take on jobs that don't do white, or talk them into not printing white in their designs''. HOW STUPID CAN YOU EXPECT US TO BE!! I laughed at him,,,,,. WHen I asked him, "How do you convince a school, whose colors are red, white, and gray, NOT TO USE WHITE in their designs. He had no reply,,,