Heat Transfer Paper Project - DIY

Nowadays, DIY(do it yourself) is quite popular in our daily life. Because it’s very fun and easy and also it can waste of your money. Well, transfer paper DIY project is quite important for you to know. So, this week, I’m sharing a pretty simple project, a Label transfer method. I started with this table runner.

To do this you’ll need: Your runner (or anything you want to print on), some heat transfer paper, and a printer. I also used scissors and a piece of cardstock.

First you need to cut your heat transfer paper to the size of a sheet of paper. I had cardstock on hand, so I used it as a template and cut with scissors. You could also use a mat and cut it 8 1/2 x 11. Either way works great.

Now put the cut piece of transfer paper in your printer – you’ll want it so that the plastic side will receive the ink.

Print your image in reverse, and be careful not to touch the ink. It will stay wet until the next step.

Carefully lay it down on the fabric where you want the graphic and iron it down. Make sure your iron is set on NO steam. I ironed about 60 seconds to make sure everything was in place.

After you’re ironed down, put the runner on a hard surface (like a table) and use something to burnish down the paper even more. I did it with and without this step – it really does make a big difference! Just rub, rub, rub and make sure that you’ve went over all of the graphic.

Then peel off the paper – and you’re done! The ironing makes the paper grab to the fabric, so it’ll be a bit like peeling off tape.

TUTORIAL : DIY HEAT TRANSFER DECAL PAPER

There are a heap of different embellishing methods out there though did you know you can make your own custom, professional-looking, easy to use decals at home with no expensive outlays, time-consuming crafting or specialty equipment?

All you need is some waterslide decal paper and a printer (plus a cute design of course!).

Waterslide decal paper comes with a white or clear carrier film and is compatible with either inkjet or laser printers so be sure to purchase the type of paper best suited to your particular project.

Let’s get started…

1.    Gather your supplies

1.    Heat transfer decal paper 2. Printer 3. Clear acrylic sealer 4. Item to embellish

2.    Print off your design

3.    Spray with a light coat of clear aealer

4.    Trim closely with your design

5.    Immerce in luckwarm water for 45seconds

6.    Remove backing paper and position on your object

7.    Use a soft cloth to remove excess water and smooth any air bubbles then set aside to dry

Yes, those are my ugly kitchen tiles you can see beneath the plates. I will get around to making over my kitchen one day!

I really love the professional finish, ease and graphic flexibility of this method. Anything you can design you can use as an embellishment, and waterslide decals can be applied to all kinds of substrates (glass, timber, metal etc.).  The possibilities are vast and, for a DIY-aholic like me, embarrassingly exciting!

Tutorial: Heat Transfer Paper

As we all know, it’s very fun and interesting if you have known the methods of how to use heat transfer paper to make your own design. So, today I want to introduce how to use haet transfer paper to make a t-shirt with your own design.

So here's what you'll need to get started:

1.  T-shirt - preferably cotton or a cotton/poly blend

2.  Heat transfer vinyl.  I like the Siser Easy Weed heat transfer vinyl they carry, they offer coupons fairly often, shipping is free over $75, and if you order early they ship it out the same day.  

3.  Iron 

4.  Cricut or other electric die-cutting machine and the image(s) you want to cut.

Choose a picture that you want to print, cut it out in paper first to make sure the sizing is right. Another thing is heat transfer vinyl has two sides: one shiny and one matte. Make sure you place the vinyl on the mat SHINY SIDE DOWN. When you have the vinyl in front of you, it's very easy to see which side is the shiny and which is the matte.

Once your image is cut, you will need to do some weeding. In this case, I'm removing the eyes, nose and bow on the skull.  I'll also remove the inside of some of the letters in Keagan's name (the e, a's, and g).You will also need to remove all of the excess vinyl around the edge of the image. All that you want left is what is going to be placed on your shirt.

Now you're ready for the heat! Here's the shirt all lined up on the press. This step isn't really necessary for one layer designs like this, but I like the thought of protecting the shirt and design a bit:

I had already set the temperature (based on what the vinyl manufactuer recommended) on the press earlier, so it was hot and ready to go. When the time is up, remove the paper protector and carefully peel away the clear carrier sheet. It is hot so be careful! If you find that some of the vinyl is sticking to the carrier and lifting away from the shirt, carefully place it back down and re-press for a few more seconds.

Now, transfer a t-shirt with your own design is finished. Hope you will be like it and to make it by yourself.

Heat Press Transfer Paper Types

Heat press transfer comes in numerous paper types to suit the imprint method used, and the product the imprint is transferred to. Heat transfer paper is a special kind of paper used to make custom images. It was first invented for making patterns or graphics to be transferred to special items. Traditional heat transfers are screen printed, but modern transfers can be printed by inkjets and laser printers using special papers. The basic function of all heat transfer papers is to "transfer" the printed image onto an item by use of heat and pressure.
Such as small items like plastics, toys, packages, clothes, aprons, mouse pads and jigsaw puzzles. It can also used for large sized items such as construction materials and electric appliance.

Inkjet Printed Transfer Papers

Inkjet transfer papers are printed with special inkjet "sublimation" inks. Sublimation transfers the ink from the paper to the item when ink is heated into a gaseous state. Sublimation transfers produce a very soft imprint feel on fabric, but are also used to imprint specially-coated hard goods such as mugs, and other decorative, promotional, and utility items. Both warm and cold-peel sublimation methods can be used depending on the item being imprinted. Sublimation transfers can only be applied to polyester-coated surfaces, or garments with a high polyester content. Since the ink is transferred as a gas, the imprint penetrates the polyester much like a dye, and is quite permanent.

Heat Transfer Paper Used for Garment
As long as the garment industry is concerned, it makes custom images onto T-shirts, dresses, pants and many other kinds of clothes much more fashionable and richer in styles.

People design custom images with various colors and apply them onto transfer paper to make the image better in looking. A heat press can then transfer the image onto clothing, canvas, or other surface. Transfer paper is generally used in creating iron-ons. Except for the ordinary pictures, hotfix rhinestone motifs can be used for garment decoration using heat transfer paper.

Laser Printed Transfer Papers

Laser printed transfers can also be printed with standard inkjet printers, and contain a special protective coating that is transferred along with the imprint. This type of transfer is used mainly for cloth goods, and produces a bright imprint with a transparent, filmy coating.

Transfer Paper Tips

Transfer paper, like any paper, should be kept in humidity-controlled environments when not in use. Humid or very dry conditions can cause paper to swell or shrink, affecting print quality and application performance. Purchase transfer paper that suits your particular or preferred printing method, and test all papers for suitability before using for customer jobs.