Pre-Press Apparel
For a flawless print, pre-press your garment
before applying vinyl. Heating up the garment before pressing it helps release
moisture and eliminates wrinkles. When you press the platen down, it is normal
to see steam seep out of the edges of the heat
press. The trick is to press until the steam no longer is visible, usually
about 5-10 seconds. Sometimes heavier materials, like 100% cotton hoodies, need
to be pressed longer to expel all moisture. This being said, some synthetic
materials, like nylon, might not need any pre-pressing.
Straighten
up your Design
One of the most common mistakes when heat pressing is having the artwork go
on crooked. Without lasers or rulers, it can be tricky to confidently line
artwork up. Some foolproof ways to ensure straight artwork is to simply fold
the shirt down the middle, so both sleeves are touching. Crease the shirt so
you can see the line running vertically down the middle of the shirt. This
ensures your art is in the right area and helps with left and right chest prints.
Some printers also use the three finger rule. This is laying three fingers
(usually two inches) directly under the collar of the shirt for the art
placement.
By far the best way to straighten up your
design is to make sure the garment is laying straight on the heat press in the
first place. A trick is to line the shirt's tag up with the backbone of the
heat press, ensuring there is an equal amount of space between the sleeves and
the platen. Make sure you are not stretching the garment, which can cause skewing
issues.
Maintain your
Press
The number one way to ensure you're printing
pristine pieces of artwork every time is to make sure your heat press is
operating at full strength. The rule of thumb is to check your press'
temperature and pressure accuracy every six months. You can test the
temperature with Thermolabels. Make sure to test
all areas of the platen for consistent temperature. Cold spots in your press
could mean application problems. To test the pressure, hang a piece of paper
off the edges of your heat press and press it with a low-medium pressure. Pull
the paper and ensure that all corners have similar resistance.
