Thermal transfer requirements for paper

Most of the most widely used thermosetting inks can be made with good quality cold stripping effect. If you want to make a transfer that can be hot-peeled or cold-peelable, add a hot-separation additive to an ordinary plastisol ink, or buy a hot-stripping special ink. Many ink companies have produced common multi-screen inks that can be used for hot and cold release printing. They are actually very similar. Thermo-Solid Read More Ink

The less transparent ink (for dark shirts) is not very good for making the transfer, because the ink has a higher density and a relatively lower stretching force. Do not print polyester shirts with poor transparency and low permeability inks. Because when the transfer paper is stored for a long time, the anti-penetrant agent does not allow the transfer pattern to be smoothly released from the paper. The vast majority of ink companies produce very low transfer inks. It is very important to use high-deposition inks for printing. Therefore, it is best not to dilute the inks. Instead, the inks in the package are used directly. If the ink is too thick (usually plastisol ink is like this), add a little thinner to it, so that the ink is easy to use. It is important not to completely cure the transfer. I will talk about this in the "How to Transfer" section.

Paper

Thermal transfer requires special paper. Most companies that specialize in screen printing offer such papers. They are highly stable and do not shrink when dried by a dryer. Good transfer paper is very stable and the ink on it does not penetrate. This kind of paper is called high quality "impervious paper." Vendors often package the following types of papers with other distinguished names:

T-75 was widely used more than 20 years ago. It is very stable and has a good release, and it is well suited for cold release printing. It can be used as a raw material for cold stripping and thermal separation. If it requires a dual-use transfer product, it is the best choice.

T-55 is slightly higher in density than T-75 and is designed for thermal transfer printing. Because the plasticizer content of the hot-separated varieties is high, the shelf-life will be shortened if T-75 is used as the raw material. Although some traders recommend using T-55 as the raw material for both types of transfer, you will find that when cold stripping is used, the ink on the T-55 is not completely separated.

There are many other professional papers, but I personally think that the above two kinds of paper have been the main industry raw materials.

Wire mesh

Because the ink film will be separated during transfer, it is necessary to print a thick layer of ink. This can be done using a coarse mesh screen with a thick formwork device. It is recommended to use monofilament mesh of 74T to 86T for monochrome prints, and 110T to 156 (45-61cm) for more complex prints. If a finer screen is used, the deposited ink will be insufficient. (This article focuses on the basic pattern design and does not involve the four-color plate transfer.) The template should have sufficient thickness. For clear contour edges and thick stencils, it is best to use a capillary straight film. The thickness of the film is at least 40 microns, and it is better if it is 70-80 microns. Expose the screen to an image (inverted reading), and if you want to maintain its accuracy, you need to re-photograph it as an inverted photopolymer.

Art work

Works of art for thermal separation transfer should avoid too much dense color (in addition to a black colored outline), the black outline will separate when transferred (as the rest of the color), and will lose the opacity . The underlying color can be presented through the black surface. Keep artistic designs as tight as possible and leave room for paper shrinkage. For printing some of the more detailed figures, try to wrap the entire pattern on a pure white or pure transparent layer.