A Digital Printing Network
Solutions Opaque
We have this material but have only used it a couple of times and then on spandex type garments. It worked well but when we tried to use it on a 100% cotton shirt we had some issues with adhesion. Might have been a heat or pressure issue. Also it seemed to be harder to weed than most other material. Does anyone have settings that work well with this material on non spandex/nylon materials? We'd love to use this for everything due to the softer feel but I know every heat transfer has its place. Thanks.
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Roland R. Irish III on -
Check the manufacturers' 'specs' on the material, I haven't used it-I use Specialty Materials and Stahls films, but each one has a particular fabric it is made to stick to. And 100% cotton is the WORST material to try and heatseal on. Only a few films are MADE for it. Heat and pressure have nothing to do with it-it's the material itself. The bulk of your heatseal materials are made to adhere to the nylon/poly/synthetic fibers, not to cotton. Cotton is organic and doesn't bond well with
synthetics so most attempts to stick to it are going to fail. Even screenprinting inks have to have a softener/additive blended in to bond onto 100% cotton shirts.
-
Permalink Reply by Lucas Crossley on -
Solutions Opaque uses a universal adhesive called STX2 ( get it). It literally will stick to just about everything. Heat application instructions can be found on Stahls websites. Generallynit should be around 305 F for 5 seconds. How old is your sample? ALL rolled goods have a shelf life. It could be beyond that date. Your Stahls rep would be happy to get you another sample. It's a great product nit is tricky to weed complex cuts but the hand and stretch are. It is a Stahls product.
-
Permalink Reply by Roland R. Irish III on
-
The Cad Color Solutions Opaque according to the chart from Stahls is good on everything BUT 100% cotton-just looked it up. So if that's the material Ken is using, of all the different types from Stahl's he grabbed the wrong one for cotton.
-
Permalink Reply by Lucas Crossley on
-
Description—
For use with solvent, eco solvent or thermo-resin print and cut systems and is specially formulated to work
on dark colored garments.
Recommended Fabrics
100% pre-shrunk Cotton
100% polyester
Poly/cotton blends
Lycra®/ Spandex blends
Woven nylon
Nylon knits
Nylon meshes - micro, tricot,
mini, reversible
Polyester knits
Polyester mesh
Poly/foam & cotton caps
Satin
Cordura®
This is taken directly from the heat application instructions which can be dowloaded here:
http://www.stahls.com/stahls/09/pdf/techsheets/CAD-Color-SOLUTIONS-...
The point is that it should definatley "stick" to Cotton. I've heat applied thousands of these to Cotton with no adhesion issues unless the product is old.
The ONLY potential issues with qualit are dye migration on certain Poly clours like black and red or if your cotton is not preshrunk then your transfer can shrink with the shirt when its washed leaving it looking wrinkled. This can be corrected with another quick heat application.
-
Permalink Reply by Roland R. Irish III on
-
Aha! Looking back at the chart, the solutions opaque is NOT Recommended for 100% cotton but IS recommended for 100% PRESHRUNK cotton...
Ken, which type of cotton shirt are you using?
And another tip from a 30+ years screenprinter-if you use 'off the shelf retail store teeshirts' (Kohls, Wallyworld, BJ, whatever) those 'retail' shirts have been treated with 'brighteners' to keep them looking clean and bright on the store shelves and racks in florescent lighting...and this 'treatment' repels inks, adhesives, etc. if you don't know about it. Normal tee's bought from a wholesaler (Sanmar, Alpha, Broder, etc.) are made for printing and do not have this brightener added. If you must use 'store bought' shirts, like customer supplied, then they have to be WASHED first with bare minimum detergent and NO dryer sheets or additives.
-
Permalink Reply by Lucas Crossley on
-
Roland -
Great suggestions!
We're lucky to have such a great place for people to share thier knowledge.
As an FYI I was one of the first people in North America to use this product. I did all the testing and launched it for sale with Stahls Canada over 4 years ago. I have lots of experience with Solutions and Roland print cut devices.
What I'm trying to say is that in all my experience I have never had a problem with adhesion and Solutions Opaque with Cotton preshrunk or not.
The only known issue with adhesion is related to the age of the product.
If there is any chance the sample is greater than two years old then that is the reason its not sticking. If' you've had it for a year or more then there's a good chance that's the problem. ALL printable rolled goods have a shelf life.
You can eliminate that as a problem by requesting a new sample. If you're in Canada I can help you. Just reply to the thread and let me know.
Good Luck!
-
Permalink Reply by Ken Wagner on -
We always use the pre-shrunk cotton. Nice tip about the store bought shirts. We buy from wholesalers but do occasionally have a customer supply the shirt. I'll be sure to add the stipulation about washing before we'll do this again.
We have had this material for only a few months so unless it was sitting in a warehouse before we got it I'd say it's okay. Thanks for the offer Lucas but we are in the US.
-
Permalink Reply by Lucas Crossley on
-
You can check with Imprintables Warehouse or Stahls' ID to get samples in the U.S.
Cheers!
-
Permalink Reply by Kevin Hirata on -
Hi Ken,
Is it that the transfer is separating from the garment, or is it prunig/wrinkling? We have never had a problem with the adhesive on Solutions Opaque failing, however we have had problems with the transfer wrinkling. For 100% cotton shirts, pre-shrunk or not, we use Quick Print. The transfers hold up well in the wash, and we have yet to have problems with the adhesive.
Weeding Opaque can be difficult. The edges of the design tend to curl. To combat this, you can try a couple of things. First, instead of doing a print then cut, try cutting first, then printing. To set this up, under Cut Controls select cut only, then check the box to "Return to Origin After Cut". The VC will cut your design then return the material to its point of origin. Then you can do a print only.
Second, you can try reverse weeding your design. Mask your design first, then weed. The mask holds everything together, and stops the Opaque from curling.
Hope this helps.
© 2012 Created by Adam Yukish.
