Guides
How to apply and verify a heat-transfer graphic on a garment
How to apply a heat-transfer graphic and verify it covers cut settings, weeding, placement, press time, peel temperature, and wash tests that decide release.
What to take away
- Apply and verify in one pass. Set the press from the sheet that shipped with the film, press a sample on the most heat-sensitive blank, then hold the run until that sample passes a wash test.
- Typical cut PU film presses at 305-320 F (150-160 C), medium pressure, 10-15 seconds, warm peel. Confirm every figure on the sheet inside the roll.
- Verify with one washed sample and one unwashed control, washed at 40 C for 60 minutes and tumble dried low.
- Record press, platen, pad, indicated temperature, pressure method, dwell, peel mode and operator on the job sheet before the first production piece.
Typical settings and peel temperatures
The ranges below are typical planning numbers for common cut films. The sheet inside the roll governs, and a trial on your own blank governs over both.
| Cut film | Platen temperature | Pressure | Dwell | Peel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PU film, Siser EasyWeed class | 305-320 F (150-160 C) | medium, even contact | 10-15 s | warm |
| Flock | 320-330 F (160-165 C) | medium to firm | 15-20 s | hot or warm |
| Glitter | 320-330 F (160-165 C) | firm | 15-20 s | cold |
| Reflective | 300-310 F (150-155 C) | medium | 10-15 s | cold |
| Foil | 300-320 F (150-160 C) | medium | 10-15 s | cold |
| Printable transfer | 300-320 F (150-160 C) | medium to firm | 10-15 s | cold |
Do not carry settings from the last job. Cotton and polyester take up heat at different rates, so one gauge reading can give two different bonds.
Blank weight shifts pressure as well. A 400 GSM fleece hoodie absorbs platen force differently from a 150 GSM tee, so record grams per square meter against the setting instead of trusting feel.
Sublimated polyester is the common failure. Dye moves into a partly bonded adhesive and returns days later as a color shift at the edge. Garment blank problems covers that fault along with scorching and shrinkage checks.
Cut film is one class of transfer. Printable transfers, screen printed transfers and sublimation use different inks and adhesives, and direct to garment printing on the same blank is a separate process with its own controls.
Prepare the blank, the file and the cutter
Inspect every garment before it reaches the platen. Reject oil marks, dye spots, heavy creases, scorch and fabric damage, because each one weakens the bond.
Garment Pre-Press Inspection
- Moisture present
- Contamination on surface
- Lint on fabric
- Seams in contact zone
- Zippers in contact zone
- Pockets in contact zone
- Labels and drawcords
- Thick joins
- Cut a test shape with a corner, a small counter and a narrow line.
- Weed the test before cutting production. The transferable layer should lift cleanly and the carrier should stay whole.
- Load only the decorated panel on the platen. Move the collar, zip, pocket and drawcord clear of the contact zone.
- Measure the weeded graphic on the carrier and compare it element by element with the approved proof.
Keep one garment unprocessed as the unwashed control for the wash test. Label the cut with the job code before it can be mixed with another order.
Cutters in the Graphtec CE7000 or Roland GS-24 class hold force and speed per material, so change one value at a time and rerun the same shape. Our guide to cutting, weeding and placement walks through the rest of the setup before the press opens.
Example: 24 black polyester tees that failed at the edge
A shop pressed 24 black sublimated polyester tees in two-color cut film using settings from an earlier cotton job: 320 F, medium pressure, 10 seconds, warm peel. The first-off looked correct.
Three days later the white layer had picked up a pink cast along the edges, and the corners lifted after one wash. Two faults had stacked.
The dwell was set for cotton, so the adhesive never fully flowed into the polyester. The blank was also sublimation dyed, so dye moved into the partly bonded adhesive.
Failure Cause and Fix
- Cotton dwell setting used on polyester
- Adhesive never fully flowed
- Sublimation dye moved into adhesive
- Pink cast and lifted corners
- Lower temperature held longer
- Barrier layer under film
- Wash test before remaining 23
The fix was 280 F for 20 seconds with a barrier layer under the film, proved on one garment before the remaining 23 were pressed. The wash test released the run, not the look of the first-off.
The traveler gained a line for garment fiber and dye method, written before the press is set.
Wash test and release
Wash results shift with the room as well as the press. A damp shop can pass a wash test that fails in a dry one, so read heat and humidity effects on transfer durability before writing the spec.
Hold the pressed sample for the interval on the product sheet, then wash it alongside an unwashed control. A typical in-house test runs a 60 minute cycle at 40 C, then a low tumble dry.
Inspect the washed sample for lifting, cracking, edge change, color shift, staining, migration and hand. Measure the garment again for shrinkage.
Published textile test methods from ASTM Committee D13 give you a defensible way to compare washed and unwashed samples, so the result holds up when a buyer asks.
Record the run
Keep these fields on the job sheet and traveler:
- Job code, artwork revision, blank supplier, style, fiber and dye method.
- Transfer product, color, batch and storage status.
- Cutter model, blade, force, speed and cutting strip condition.
- Press, platen, pad, indicated temperature, pressure method, dwell, peel mode and operator.
- Sample code, wash test result, date and approver.
This record lets you requalify the job when a blank, film or press changes. The traceable 48-shirt run plan shows the same fields laid out for a short order.
