Heat transfer vinyl, or HTV, is an increasingly popular pressing material for small décor and fashion businesses. One specific aspect of the HTV world, T-shirt printing, covers an especially broad swath of small businesses.
If you operate your own, you want your HTV to look incredible and last for years. So when you start to notice your shirts peeling, or a customer calls you up complaining, you want to take every step possible to address it. Here are some common reasons your heat transfer vinyl is peeling and ways to fix it. Inkjet Printable Htv
First, don’t mix vinyls with incompatible apparel fabrics. To promote the best press possible, respective vinyl products optimally match certain materials. For instance, nylon vinyl goes with nylon fabric, while stretchy spandex requires accommodating spandex-ready vinyl.
For cotton or polyester, your options are wider, though you still need to check what works before pressing. If you sync fabric and vinyl well, you won’t deal with peeling often.
Also, peeling may result from improper layering technique. Among other HTV layering tips, you must not apply HTV over any specialty vinyl. Glitter, for one, is an ineffective base for application and causes vinyl to peel off after a wash—or even before. Specialty vinyls are also distinctly meant for display, so you shouldn’t even consider layering on top of them. Instead, precisely cut your designs so that it only appears that there’s an underlying specialty layer, even though there isn’t. Overall, you end up with a more secure product.
Another reason your heat transfer vinyl is peeling involves your pressing temperature. When you inadvertently set your heat press to the wrong temperature, you either don’t melt the vinyl onto the fabric appropriately, or you damage the adhesive. Making sure your settings match the manufacturer recommendations quickly sets things to rights, though.
When you apply HTV with an iron, you’re more likely to run into temperature irregularities. Because your pressing surface is smaller than a heat press and you can’t always apply even heating, peeling may occur in spots.
Printable Htv For Dark Fabrics If you pay attention to these reasons your heat transfer vinyl is peeling, you’re sure to skirt common durability issues and foster your small business’s reputation.