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duracotton@printingaffordable.com |
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Instructions are important for two reasons:
1.
to identify specifically the benefits of a DuraCotton heat pressed fabric
2. to identify how to achieve each of the benefits By AutoART definition:
ZERO Hand - after pressing and cooling, there should be ZERO feel to the transfer
area - it should feel the same as unpressed 100% cotton. Additionally, the
transfer area should be without crackling (noise) when crumbled in your
hand. Traditional transfers, like the original DuraCotton, make all sorts
of noise when crumbled.
ZERO Cutting - the polymer of DuraCotton paper is virtually invisible in most lights
(particularly natural sunlight). You should not be able to see the polymer
rectangle on a shirt - as such, there is no need to cut around the image
before pressing. It may be possible under some indoor light and / or under
specific angled views to see the polymer.
TRANSFER COTTON:*
AutoART DuraCotton for virtually ALL color laser printers
and copiers:
a) NON FUSER OIL Copiers / Laser Printers (Current Models), b) OIL-Based
Copiers / Laser Printers (older, discontinued models)
Note: Results may vary by
equipment, methods and operators. Test before commencing
production.
Please appreciate your need to test and adjust for your particular heat
press and operator.
1. Do NOT pre-heat the fabric. Significantly
better color when simply pressed - without pre-heating. A 'one - two' second pre-heat may
be required if the fabric is loaded with moisture or wrinkled. Be sure to
test to confirm best results.
2. Heat Press at 390-400 F/ 195 -
205 C degrees, for 12-15 seconds, 3/4 pressure, manual
press.
It is very likely that you can reduce the time by increasing pressure (air
presses). Note: GeoKnight / Lancer presses run very hot - reduce temp 10 -
15 F degrees.
3. Open heat press, delay 1.5 seconds and
peel.
Ideally there will be a
light-colored silhouette (shadow) of the image remaining on the peeled
paper. It may take a few peels to get this right. Presses report temperature inaccurately - if the paper is sticking and not
releasing smoothly, increase your temperature by 5 F / 2 C degrees and try
again. Too low temperature may show up as a rough surface
requiring a '2 - 3' second Teflon (c) overlay, excessive toner left on
paper, stretching of cotton during peel.
If there is toner on paper, then reduce the toner density of your printer
(see printer manual) - test with 10, 20, 30, 40% reductions. KonicaMinolta
2300, 2400 series printers - we recommend testing reduced toner
density settings.
One user's findings: "I had my press set for 405 but I had a heat sensor gun to check actual temp
and it was 398. I did notice also that the temp varies from one spot to
the other on the heat plate from 5 to 10 degrees."
4. The resulting image transfer is excellent- ZERO Hand, ZERO Cutting
It may be possible to see the edge of the paper on the shirt.
Simply stretch image north - south and east - west. Edging will disappear.
5. Hand may be rough - fix with overlay with Teflon (c) for 2 - 3 seconds,
HOT / fast peel.
6. Cotton fibrillation (cotton fluff) will likely occur 3 - 4 wash mark. It
disappears with another 2 - 3 washes; image remains strong.
1) I did not say ZERO Cracking when stretched.
We pressed using shirts from Gildan. We used a Gildan Ultra Cotton
Heavyweight (bought in Canada) and a Gildan Activewear Heavyweight Cotton
(bought in the US). These products DIFFER! The Canadian product stretched
just a bit, the American did significantly. For ZERO Cracking, you must
use a tight knit 100% cotton - this is important otherwise you may have
some cracking. Interesting enough, even when experienced heavy cracking
(stretchy polycotton) during stretching, pulling in the two
directions virtually eliminated the cracking after the Teflon step had taken place. (we used Jerzees Heavyweight Blend
50% Cotton / 50% Polycotton - bought in the US).
2) I am human. I make mistakes. There are times when peeling a shirt there is
too much toner on the paper. DO NOT THROW AWAY the
shirt. Overlay with Teflon and press 5 - 10 seconds, as above. The resulting image
will be near perfect. Obviously it is better to reduce the toner density.
3) Everyone's press is different. Everyone presses and peels slightly
differently. It is important to take the above 'experiences' and test with
your press and operator(s). Settings and methods will likely be different.
4) Wash as per the instructions on the t-shirt. Do NOT use BLEACH
5) We tested images printed with the basic (no adjustments) print driver
settings. We printed images with the toner reduced - maybe 30% - on other
images. The reduction was made in the print driver settings (see toner
density in printer manual). The reduced toner images resulted in better
color, 'less cracking' and more money in your pocket! We recommend testing
using standard toner settings and reduced toner settings. To increase
toner vibrancy, test with increased toner saturation in the printer driver
/ graphics software.
NOTE 1 : Heat press equipment varies significantly. AutoART has
recommended 12 or more seconds, 390-400 F / 195 - 205 C degrees
or more, 3/4 pressure. In fact, some users are having to use
405 F / 208 C, 14 - 15 seconds, heavy pressure to compensate for
inaccurate temperatures, cold spots on the press platinum, ... in order to
achieve ZERO Hand. Please test thoroughly. Your press may
require even more or perhaps less time, temperature and pressure for
optimum press results.
NOTE 2 : DuraCotton papers are very
demanding in the heat press industry. The more time, temperature,
you press with - the better the results. You can easily press for
one minute without concerns regarding your image. You have tested
and identified the optimum settings - then you press and peel
leaving huge amounts of toner on the paper. What happened?
- chances are your heat press thermostat turned off the heat element, the
upper platinum cooled a few degrees. That loss in temperature was
significant - the press was not hot enough for the transfer to work.
The solution is easy - take your heat press temperature up another 5 F / 3
C degrees and increase the pressure.
NOTE 3 : If you are lighter weight person, try standing on a 6 - 8 inch high box to
take your weight above the heat press. This will make it much easier
for you to press, and also to use sufficiently pressure to insure excellent wash results.
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