When you are doing Singapore shirt printing, the heat transfer method is one way you can achieve this. The heat press is a special tool that will allow you to press images onto a t-shirt. It can be used with appliques and iron-on transfers. It works like your household iron but there is more consistent pressure and heat so you get a higher-quality result.
The first thing you need to do is choose your transfer, which can be a pre-printed one or one that you need to print out. Some of them that you can use include:
- Laser copier/print transfers—they are translucent and you can use a printer with special transfer paper or a laser copier.
- Inkjet transfers—they are also translucent and work best on light-colored or white t-shirts. You can use special transfer paper and inkjet printers for these transfers for tshirt printing but not a laser printer.
- Preprinted transfers—these are opaque and best for color t-shirts.
If you are using a transfer that needs to be printed, make sure that you reverse it by using an image editing program. Print on the film side of the paper. Once it is printed, trim it if needed but this is usually only needed for pre-printed images.
Now it is time to set up your heat press for your Singapore shirt printing. Once it is open, move the heat plate away from the silicone pad. While it heats up, keep it open and adjust the temperature. Follow the instructions on the transfer paper to make sure the temperature is correct.
Most of the time for tshirt printing, the temperature is 350-375 degrees. You will also need to adjust the pressure according to the thickness of the t-shirt. Generally, it will be medium to high pressure. Set the timer according to the type of transfer you are using. For example, with inkjet transfers, it would be 14-18 seconds.
Put your t-shirt on the plate, making sure that the side you want to be printed is facing up. Put the transfer face down on the T-shirt where you want it. The transfer paper has to be inside the printing area. Once it is where you want it, close the press and clamp the press shut. Push the start button and when the timer goes off, push the start button again to stop the press.
Open the press and remove the t-shirt, peeling the paper off the fabric gently while the paper is still hot. If you want to put a transfer on the other side of the same t-shirt, make sure that you put a piece of cardboard inside the t-shirt so you don’t reheat the first transfer.
Conclusion
This is one of the best methods to use if you want to print several t-shirts or have a business for custom printing. Some of the machines are portable so you can set them up at fairs or other venues. This is one of the popular ways to get a quality finished printed t-shirt.
