Are you having an issue with your heat transfer vinyl peeling off after washing your recently printed t-shirts? The fix is easy and only takes a minute or two to get the results you want.
Heat Press Temperature
It is likely that your heat transfer vinyl is peeling off due to the temperature of your heat press. So all you need to do is increase the temperature 5°F to 10°F.
For heat transfer vinyl to work correctly, it must be “melted” into the fabric. The initial test to see if you are accomplishing this is to run your hand across the transfer after pressing. If you feel the edge of the vinyl, your press isn’t hot enough.
After performing the feel test, if you do feel an edge up the temperature on your heat press by 5°F and press it again. Do the feel test one more time and if you still feel the edge, it may be another issue.
Heat Press Pressure
The next step would be to increase the pressure on your heat press. Most vinyl manufacturers recommend a medium to high pressure. Again do this in increments to get the adjustment just right. The reason behind small changes in pressure is based on the fabric you are using.
If you are using 100% polyester shirts, you need to be careful with how much pressure is used. Polyester is very susceptible to press marks. Press marks will be very noticeable to customers and will give the shirt an unprofessional look.
You can read more about avoiding or removing press marks in this article: Eliminate Heat Press Lines On Your T-Shirts.
Conclusion
As with all t-shirt printing, it is a learning process, and the more you print, the better you will get at the process. The best advice I can give is to record your settings for each job in a journal so you can look back to see what worked and what didn’t.
Read more about heat transfer vinyl in this article, What Is Heat Transfer Vinyl?