Frequently Asked Questions for Digital HeatFX

Can I buy direct from you?

Yes, we have a digital paper wholesale site at www.digitalheatfx.com  or you can contact a local reseller. If you do not currently have a supplier, please see our reseller list for a referral or contact us.

How do I order your products?

You can order on our site or contact a local reseller.

What if my reseller doesn’t carry a material I need or the size I want?

If your local reseller does not stock a particular product you need, you can still order any item that we carry. Either set up an online account with Digital HeatFX or  contact your reseller for pricing and size availability.

May I apply to become a reseller?

If you are interested in becoming a reseller, contact us at  info@digitalheatfx.com and we will send a questionnaire regarding the nature of your business to help us determine how well we can partner.

What are the qualifications to be a reseller?

We take many things into consideration when approving new reseller. Among other qualifiers, we look at the number of distributors already in the area and the amount of material you expect to purchase.

What if I have a question not answered here or need further assistance?

We offer customer and technical support for all users of our material. If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions, please contact us at info@digitalheatfx.com

Technical Questions

Plotter Cut Films

Which side of the material should face up when I feed it into the plotter?

On most materials, the rule of thumb is to load the material into the cutter so the beginning edge comes over the top of the roll, not from the bottom.

The material is not sticking to the garment, what do I do?

Most of the time this is caused when there is not enough pressure while heat pressing. Please check the instructions for the particular material, as this differs with each product. Make sure to heat press the garment flat before pressing on the material to press out any moisture or wrinkles.

Also, make sure that there are no seams underneath or beside where you are pressing your design. This will cause an uneven pressing surface and affect the quality of the adhesion.
If you have done everything correct and are pressing at the correct time, temperature, pressure, and peeling at the right temperature and are still experiencing this issue, here are a few simple steps:

• First, smooth the design back down. Repress for 50% of the original press time.
• Take a cloth and rub the carrier above the design for 5-7 seconds, especially around the edges.
• Peel off the carrier from a different corner when it has reached the specified peel temperature

The material is not weeding right, what do I do?

Most of the time, this has to do with how the material was cut. Before plotting your design, perform test cuts and adjust blade depth and speed accordingly.
If the blade is not connecting the lines in the design, the blade offset degree should be adjusted on the plotter to make the edges of the design join properly.

How do I determine the correct blade depth for the plotter?

A good cut is when the blade comes completely through the material and makes a faint score on the carrier. If it is cutting into the carrier deep enough to be felt on the other side, lessen the depth and do another test cut. If it is not cutting deep enough to weed easily, increase the blade down force and test again.

What degree of blades should I use for different materials?

A 45 degree blade works best for most of our materials.

Printable Materials

There are bands of white going horizontally through the printed design. What should I do?

This is referred to as ‘banding’. This problem is generally caused by clogged or dirty print heads. Check your printer manual for instructions on how to do a head cleaning. If you have performed the most powerful cleaning possible and are still having banding issues, contact your printer manufacturer.

There is a great deal of color shift in the printed design. What should I do?

Either one of the print heads is completely clogged or one color is out of ink. If all of your ink levels are good, you may need to perform a head cleaning on your printer. If your ink is full and a cleaning does not help contact your printer manufacturer.

There are tiny dots and squiggles of white on the printed design. What should I do?

This problem is caused when there is dust on the printing surface. Keep your printable materials covered while storing to prevent dust build-up on the outside edges. We recommend wiping off the first few feet before printing to avoid this issue.

What color profiles are recommended for your materials?

If you are using a Roland VersaCAMM with VersaWorks software, there is a profile on ROLANDS Website or Graphtec Website. If you are using a different printer or software, contact the machine manufacturer for more information.

Using your inkjet printer or color laser copier/printer to create great-looking heat transfer prints.

A full color transfer printer might be sitting right on your desk! Almost everyone who owns a computer has an inkjet printer—or thanks to the lower costs of color laser technology, a color laser printer or copier. You can use either of these printers to quickly and easily decorate a wide variety of items including: T-shirts, sweat shirts, jackets, mouse pads, puzzles, note pads, magnetic signs, craft items, bumper stickers, cling-on vinyl decals, and window signs. All of these items make great add-on sales to people who are already coming into your business. Here’s a basic run-down of what you need to know and the supplies you need to buy to get started.

Types of Transfers

You can make full color or photo transfers using inkjet printers as well as color laser copiers and printers (CLC/P). Color laser copiers and printers are the same in many ways.

Inkjet printers use water-soluble, pigment-based ink, while CLC/P uses toner.

Digital Transfer Advantages

• Small investment—if you already own an inkjet printer and a heat press
• Great for one-offs or making samples
• While you wait service is possible
• High profit margins for you!

You can apply these images on a whole range of substrates made from cotton, polyester and even nylon, and the hand is incredibly soft, especially with a color laser copier/printer. While the hand is slightly stiffer than that of screen printing, it does soften even more with washing. As far as durability, digital transfers don’t provide quite the life that screen printing does, but it should still be plenty to satisfy most customers, with CLC/P offering better durability than inkjet.

Equipment Essentials

For as little as $2,500 to $5,000 you can purchase everything you need to get started, including a heat press, cutter and transfer paper. Inkjet printers start at around $100 and can cost $1,600 for a 24-inch desktop Epson, while color laser printers start at around $200 and go to $3,000 and up. Some decorators bypass the equipment purchase altogether by having retailers such as Office Depot copy their color laser copy transfers.

Whichever type of equipment you purchase, you don’t have to load it with a transfer-making specific toner or inkjet cartridge, which means you, can use the device for all its traditional tasks such as paper printing and copying.

Choose the Right Paper for the Right Garment

There are different papers made for different types of applications. You'll want to make sure the paper you are using is suitable for the job at hand. For example, is the shirt light or dark, or cotton or polyester or a specialty fabric? It’s important to choose the right type of paper for the job. For instance, if you put the wrong paper in your color laser copier/printer, it could get jammed in the equipment. Even if the ill-chosen paper does make it through the equipment, the results won’t look acceptable. For instance, if you tried to use a paper intended for lights on a dark substrate, the image would look muted. If you put inkjet paper in a color laser copier or printer, the image will wash off quickly.

Ink-JET WT from Digital HeatFX

For Light or White Color Shirts—100% Cotton or 50/50 Poly/Cotton

INK-JET Dark For Dark Colored Shirts

Laser Paper or Color Laser Copier (CLC)

Our Laser paper offers the maximum in color vibrancy and durability for a CLC paper. It also rates "excellent" in wash ability. It’s recommended for application on all kinds of white or light colored textiles. Light colored 100% cotton, polyester and 50/50 cotton-poly t-shirts. It also works on light colored fleece wear, mouse pads, puzzles and canvas bags. For dark colored garments, use our Laser Dark products.  Some of the recommended copiers for use with papers include: Canon 500, 550, 700, 800; Ricoh NC5006, 5106, 5206; Kodak 1550-1565. See our tech sheets for more systems

The output device you plan to use will direct you to the type of paper you will use, then on the type of substrate you’re decorating; and finally, whether the substrate is light or dark.

Heat Application Tips
Most transfers take about 10 to 20 seconds to print, and around 15 to 30 seconds to heat seal to the substrate. In all, figure one to two minutes of production time per unit, which includes time for loading the item on the press, printing the transfer, applying it, and peeling it off. (Most transfers are a hot peel, although some can be peeled hot or cold.) For larger orders, you can speed up production time by printing out one- or two-dozen transfers at a time. Then, while you’re applying those images, you can be printing the next round of transfers.

Transfer Troubleshooting
One problem that arises with digital transfers is that a design may bleed after the first wash, especially with inkjet paper. Here are some tips to keep your designs looking as good as possible for as long as possible:

• Leave about a quarter of an inch of border around the film rather than trimming right up to the design. This helps seal in the ink fully, thus reducing bleeding.
• Some decorators increase image resolution (dots per inch), which saturates the transfer with ink, whether you’re using CLC/P or inkjet. Avoid saturation by maxing out resolution at 720 dpi.
• Wait at least 24 hours — ideally 48 hours — after you've decorated the item before washing it.

Never to use bleach on the item, avoid dry-cleaning it; and don’t let the shirt sit in the washer or dryer.

Explore the many options available to either add services to your existing business or start up a new business.

Many people run successful full-time businesses that are built entirely around heat-applied graphics. If you have a business model that would benefit from the ability to offer custom printed T-shirts, getting started is as easy as owning a heat press, a cutter and digital transfer papers.

Benefits include:

• It’s easy to do
• Short learning curve
• It can be done in small spaces
• Low start up investment
• No environmental concerns
• High profit margins possible

Why heat applied digital transfer papers as printing?

• Offer your customers low quantities—one shirt no problem!
• Offer your customers fast service—while you wait service
• Low costs for you, high profit margins
• Anyone can do it—easy to train employees
• Can be combined with other decorating methods
• You only need to stock a limited quantity of T-shirts in selected colors and sizes and personalize them at any time. There is no preprinted inventory, which allows for more flexibility and cash flow.
• Printing with heat applied graphics is cost effective for producing as little as one garment.
• You can heat press designs on various locations on the garment, such as over the shoulder or wrap around prints.
• You can use the heat press to apply custom labels or tag garments.
• You can easily expand your offerings beyond T-shirts by using the same heat printing processes on mouse pads, tote bags, caps, mugs, umbrellas, and much more.

Digital transfers

Using an inkjet, laser or eco-solvent printer/cutter, you can output full color digital transfers and heat apply them to an enormous number of substrates. This option provides terrific flexibility and lets you quickly and easily apply photo realistic images on all types of apparel. Color copier laser (CLC) transfers are created using toner (on a color laser printer or copier) and produce great-looking graphics, although there’s the potential for machine maintenance. Inkjet printers use water-based inks and are a less-expensive option to get started with. If you own a printer/cutter, such as a VersaCamm, there are print/cut materials available for textile decoration.

Product Tech Sheets

All documents are in PDF format. If you do not have adobe acrobat reader you can download it directly from Adobe by visiting their website at http://get.adobe.com/reader/

Please click here for our instruction sheet section.