Heat Transfers for Polyester Fabric
When creating custom heat transfers for polyester fabric, it is important to select an ink formula which is compatible. Polyester fabric is a synthetic material made from Polyethylene Terephthalate. The fabrics are woven or knitted from polyester yarn. Many of these types of Polyester fabrics are made into T-shirts such as performance wear as well as hats, blankets and bags. Traditional screen printed plastisol transfers will not adhere to polyester fabric. In order to make the plastisol or water base ink stick, a chemical additive must be used. This additive can be either screen printed or applied as a powder before the ink passes through the drying process.
Heat Transfers for Polyester Fabric
Heat transfers for polyester fabric are typically applied at a lower temperature than screen printed plastisol transfers for cotton fabric. The correct time and temperature depends on several factors including fabric color, type of polyester fabric (example polyester t-shirt or polyester tote bag). When applying a heat transfers to a black polyester t-shirt, you may find the need to lower the temperature in decrease the dwell time due to the fact that black fabric retains more heat. It is important to have both a physical bond as well as a chemical bond. This happens when you combine the correct amount of pressure (physical) and the correct application heat temperature which is creates the chemical bonding process.
Heat Transfers for Polyester Fabric
Using heat transfers for polyester fabric you will find the opacity is much better than a traditional screen print of the same design. There is little to no dye migration of the pigments bleeding through the ink which is contrary to using direct screen printing inks on polyester. We recommend using our Polyester Athletic Formula transfers for both 100% polyester fabrics as well as blended cotton and polyester fabric. It’s always a good idea to confirm your fabric type from the garment or bag manufacturer before applying the transfer. BestHeatTransfers.com produces custom heat transfers for polyester fabric.
