Cold Peel Heat Transfers – Are there any advantages?

Cold Peel heat transfers, does anyone ever use them? If anyone has ever used a custom heat transfer, they probably only know of one type of transfer known as the Hot Peel or Hot Split transfer. But until recently, new heat transfer products have been introduced offering a Cold Peel heat transfer application.

In the beginning, there was only Cold Peel heat transfers. These transfers were known as Litho Transfers. Litho transfers later developed a bad reputation due to poor quality inks, which caused the transfers to crack and peel off the shirt.

The Hot Peel transfer was introduced as a new and improved solution using Plastisol inks which were applied and peeled off the paper when hot. This took quite a bit of getting used to as the paper had to be removed so fast, that if the ink cooled even for a second, the transfer would be ruined.

After later improvements, the hot peel transfers were printed on a coated release paper, which helped solve the problem of the ink sticking to the paper, if not peeled fast enough.

The Cold peel transfer was still being used for the benefits of printing high-resolution images. By peeling cold, the images printed on the paper were able to completely stick to the under-base ink, allowing for a full transfer of the color to the under-base.

Re-introducing Cold Peel in 2017… Now, cold peel transfers are completely new again. With the introduction of digital printing along with new ink technologies, the cold peel transfer has some very “Clear” advantages.

Cold Peel heat transfers such as Aqua Color HD from BestHeatTransfers.com are printed on a clear film carrier sheet. One of the advantages of the Film transfer – vs- Paper heat transfers are you can actually see the complete image while laying it on top of the t-shirt of fabric.

This allows you to precisely lay the image to be transferred and see exactly how and where it is applied to. No more accidentally printing images upside down, crooked and misaligned or noticing a defect after the shirt is transferred.

Cold Peel film heat transfers greatly reduce the visibility of the “paper mark” which is especially noticeable on 100% polyester garments such as moisture wicking or performance shirts.

The cold peel transfers are applied at a much cooler temperature due to the properties of the film as well as the ink system. Most 100% polyester fabrics can be applied between 250°F and 295°F. By allowing the transfer to cool completely, the images easily transfers and releases from the film with little or no marks or indents in your fabric.

Cold Peel film transfers allow you to “Print and Go”. The press operator can line up and print much faster when the task is placing, printing and setting the shirt aside.

You can stack the shirts up and then peel the film carrier off when your counting the shirts to place in the box or adding hang tags. Cold peel transfers are really perfect for printing promotional items such as tote bags or duffle bags.

Sometimes printing non-standard substrates such is bags don’t allow enough time to position and peel the transfer, making a cold peel transfer a much better solution.

The cold peel transfer is very new user friendly. A new operator can start right “out of the gate” printing without worrying about a misprint due to not peeling the transfer off fast enough or possibly getting their hands or fingers burned while reaching over a hot platen to peel the transfer away.

Cold peel transfers have a matte finish, unlike hot peel transfers, which can tend to look like a shiny rubber patch sometimes. The transfers are very soft to the touch and feel much lighter to wear than traditional hot peel transfers.

Screen-printed custom heat transfers such as Aqua Color HD can be purchased in small quantities and allows users to print with unlimited colors. They are both fashionable, versatile and durable allowing you to print on many types of fabrics and substrates. For more information, visit BestHeatTransfers.com.