Working Your Way to Successful Vinyl Printing:

A Comprehensive Guide to Printed HTV

You stumbled here because printed heat transfer vinyl has recently caught your interest. Whether you are someone who’s discovering an outlet for artistic release or a business-minded individual seeking to venture on a profitable business, your drive and willing heart to learn the craftsmanship that goes behind Printed Heat Transfer Vinyl brought you here.

Lucky you! For we’ve curated this guide to Printed Heat Transfer Vinyl only for you. Here, we will walk you through the process; from its advantages, needed supplies and equipment, how to use, heat and cut settings, and even show you its profitability.

Wait no more! Let your adventure with Printed HTV begins…

Heat Transfer Vinyl: Like a friend you’ve known for a long time

         Yes! The idea behind heat transfer vinyl isn’t a new thing. In fact, we’ve known it as a friend from the past. This creative process is just an innovative upgrade on Screen Printing.

         To know better, HTV or Heat Transfer Vinyl is an innovation that enables you to transfer images to any fabric like shirts, blankets, pillowcases, and on the surface of materials like wood and glass. 

As the name suggests, this type of printing uses vinyl as the main material and heat as the primary means of adhering to the designs on any fabric or surface it can be applied.

Equipment & Supplies Needed: Choosing the right companion to a creative journey

Heat Transfer Vinyl is like a dream destination; one must find a suitable ride to reach your desired endpoint. In this case, our goal is to create a successful Printed HTV project and our means are the set of equipment we need.

Hold up. You don’t need to worry whether you’re here mainly because of your passion for arts & crafts or just thinking of establishing a startup business; Heat Transfer Vinyl is a budget-friendly hobby/business.

Dive down to find the essential tool for heat transfer vinyl projects.

1. Heat Transfer Vinyl

First things first! The star of the show of course, is the heat transfer vinyl. This primary material is offered in a wide range of selections: colors, texture, finishes: and even glittery ones! You surely wouldn’t run out of options. I recommend you to check Siser Easyweed for it is easy to cut and weed.

2. T-shirts, Pillowcase & others

What’s a great design if you don’t have something to press onto? For starters, t-shirts are the most common to use. The good thing, though, is that HTV is a fabric-friendly material. It works well with both cotton and polyester. Other stuff like pillowcases, tote bags, and even blankets can be a good option for your first product. When choosing an item, make sure that it is not something that can quickly melt since you will press it with heat. 

3. Vinyl Cutter

The advancement of technology enables the availability of extensive Vinyl Cutters that caters to every scope of production. 

Beginners are encouraged to invest first in user-friendly cutting machines. Finding the right fit for your needs will make this part of the work easy. Some of the considerations you might want to check are listed below:

• Easy-to-use

It will be beneficial if you will start with cutters that are uncomplicated and effortless to use. This will allow you to focus your energy on more complicated parts of the process. The key here is to read the manuals or watch tutorial videos for complete understanding.

• Production Needs

Another aspect to consider is the efficiency of the machine. Is your purpose just for a hobby or for a startup business? You need to match the expected workload to the machine’s capacity so you won’t have to deal with machine problems later.

• Price

One of the most important things to look at is the price of the product. You’ll likely end up buying the machine that fits your pocket. So the best thing here is to create a plan and put an eye on your target vinyl cutter. You may choose to start with the cheaper models since you’re just starting and plan to upgrade at any time in the future.

4. Weeding Tool

The cutting works do not end with the Vinyl Cutter; you will still need a weeding tool. This is a step in cut vinyl production where all the excess vinyl is removed to simply clean and highlight the detail of your printed design.  

5. Heat Press

You have your cleaned-cut vinyl design and a chosen medium. What you need now is your heat source. There are two options here that still rely on your needs. You can have a clothes iron or go for an HTV-specific heat press.

However, you need to know that clothes iron puts your project at risk since it is not really meant for transferring vinyl. But still, there are tips and tricks that you can check to learn how to do it successfully. 

The better option here is to go with a heat press since it is tailored for the exact purpose-transferring vinyl designs through heat & pressure. 

The same consideration on choosing a vinyl cutter is also applicable when purchasing your first heat press. Just make sure that you’re gunning for the machine that suits your needs. 

6. Teflon Cover Sheet

Some heat presses are packaged with Teflon Cover Sheets, but most of the time don’t. Regardless, this necessary piece is inexpensive, so you might want to get it for a better cutout of your design. 

Teflon cover sheets are basically a layer of protection so that the vinyl doesn’t get stuck on the surface of the heat press and avoid the fabric from being seared by intense heat.

Finding the right mix of heat and time and precision cutting are stepping stones to perfecting the art of heat transfer vinyl. Read on and acquaint yourself with these lists of helpful information that will turn your Oh No! to OMG!

 

Setting the proper heat and perfect time

There’s a misconception that the hotter the temperature, the better the outcome it will yield. That is entirely false. So if you don’t want your vinyl to scorch or burn the fabric, you must know that the suitable temperature requirement for sticking the design dramatically depends on the kind of vinyl you opt to use. 

Here are the standard heat settings of the ordinary heat transfer vinyl by Siser. Printing this chart will help you not forget the temperature and time requirements for each type of vinyl. 

Heat Transfer Vinyl Temperature Settings:

Vinyl	Temperature	Time	Peel	Pressure
X Vinyl Soft PU	302F/150C	10 – 15 Sec.	Hot	Medium
Adhesive	275F / 135C	5 Sec.	Hot / Cold	Medium
Deco  Foil	275F / 135C	10 Sec.	Cold	Medium
Electric	305F/150C	10 – 15 Sec.	Hot / Cold	Medium
Flex Foil	302F / 150C	8 – 12 Sec.	Hot / Warm	Medium
Stretch	305F / 150C	15 Sec.	Warm	Medium
Glitter	302F / 150C	8 – 12 Sec.	Hot / Warm	Medium
Holoshine Flex	302F/150C	8-12 Sec.	Hot/Warm	Medium
Hologram	302F/150C	8-12 Sec	Hot/Warm	Medium
Pearshine	302F/150C	15 Sec.	Hot/Warm	Medium
Brick PU	302F/150C	20 Sec.	Cold	Medium-Firm
Reflective	302C/150F	1st – 2 Sec. 2nd – 10 Sec.	Hot	Medium
Metallic	302F/150C	8-12 Sec	Hot/Warm	Medium
Carbon Flex	302F/150C	8-12 Sec	Hot/Warm	Medium
Puff PU	302F/150C	8-12 Sec	Hot/Warm	Medium
Light/Heat Sensitive	302F/150C	8-12 Sec	Hot/Warm	Medium
Glow in The Dark	302F/150C	8-12 Sec	Hot/Warm	Medium
Hair Line	302F/150C	8-12 Sec	Hot/Warm	Medium
Chameleon	302F/150C	8-12 Sec	Hot/Warm	Medium
Flack	302F/150F	8-12Sec.	Hot/Warm	Medium

 

 

Cutting with precision and accuracy

         Making the perfect cut is everything when it comes to printed HTV, so you need to make sure that you know the best cut settings that suit the type of vinyl you used for your project. So below is the standard cut settings based on Silhouette Cameo. 

 

Now that you’ve got the means to make your first HTV production rolling, you are now ready to focus on learning the specific application process.

Learning How to Use Heat Transfer Vinyl 

         Doing the actual transferring is both an exciting and a nervous procedure for most starters. But as we’ve ensured you at the beginning of this journey, there’s no need for you to doubt yourself, for we got your back on this one. This easy-to-learn guide will teach you how to create your first heat transfer vinyl seamlessly.

 

1. Plan your Cut File

The initial step is to create your cut file, the pattern or sketch you intend to cut into the vinyl. You can use the free cutting software that comes with the vinyl cutter.

You have the option to create your design or look for free cut files. If you want some high-quality designs, there are websites that you can check for that.

2. Scale your Design

The next step to do is to decide on the size of your design. You can use a ruler or other measurement tools to have an idea of the scale of your vinyl. 

Once you’ve identified your desired size, you can adjust the scale of your cut file.

3. Mirror your Design

This small step is crucial to the outcome of your printing. You must never forget to mirror or horizontally flip your design because you print it on the backside of the vinyl. So when you transfer it on the surface, it will look just right.

4. Prepare your Vinyl Cutter

You’ve got your cut file ready; the next step is to prep your cutting machine. This part can be tricky, especially if you’re not yet familiar with which side of the HTV to use. In most vinyl cutters, the vinyl is feed dull-side-up. But for accurate information, you need to check the instruction of the machine. 

5. Adjust Cut Settings

Just two more steps before the heat transfer, but before that, you need to make sure that the cut settings are well set. Again, for an accurate result, check the instructions that came along with the machine. You may also want to perform a test cut to check if your design is rightfully placed. 

6. Cut and Weed 

After checking and confirming that your design is good to go comes the moment of truth! Let the vinyl cutter do its job and marvel at how well you’ve done. Finally, remove the excess vinyl from your design. Once finished, you are ready for the final moment!

7. Press Your Design

You’re almost there! You’re just an inch away from completing your first heat transfer vinyl production. Here’s the sequence of steps that you need to do. 

• Place your garment on the base part of the heat press.
• Carefully place the design on the preferred spot, then cover with one Teflon sheet. 
• Set the machine’s heat and time settings depending on the kind of vinyl material used. At the end of this blog, you can check the standard heat and time requirements for HTV products.
• Lock the heat press and wait for the timer to goes off.
• Open the heat press and let the shirt cool for a moment.
• Slowly take off the plastic and check if the vinyl successfully adheres to the surface of the garment. 

If it does, then it’s time to celebrate! Congratulations! You’ve successfully ventured into this creative and money-making venture.

Printed Heat Transfer Vinyl is more than just a creative expression nor a mere business opportunity. 

This enterprise represents the bold passion of people like you to pursue the things that will lead happiness and satisfaction to their lives. This is your first step toward a fruitful journey in the vinyl printing and we are more than happy to be with you.