ACKNOWLEDMENT

We would like to express our deep gratitude to Ms.Srivani ma’am for her
patient guidance, enthusiastic encouragement and useful critiques of this
research work that helped us in making this project. Her interesting way of
teaching also helped us gather useful information.
Finally, we would also like to extend our thanks to our parents and fellow
classmates who helped us out and supported us for making this project.
 INDEX

S. No. TOPICS

1. INTRODUCTION TO HEAT TRANSFER PRINTING

2. TRANSFER PRINTING

3. TYPES OF TRANSFER PRINTING

4. PROCESS OF HEAT TRANSFER PRINTING

5. REQUIREMENTS OF MANUFACTURING A HEAT TRANSFER

6. HEAT PRESSES

7. TYPES OF IMAGE TRANSFERS

8. HEAT TRANSFER PRINTING MACHINERY

9. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

10. USES

11. SUMMARY

12. BIBLIOGRAPHY
 TRANSFER PRINTING

Transfer printing is the term used to describe textile and related printing
processes in which the design is first printed on to a flexible nontextile
substrate and later transferred by a separate process to a textile. It may be
asked why this devious route should be chosen instead of directly printing the
fabric.
The reasons are largely commercial but, on occasion, technical as well and
are based on the following considerations.

1. Designs may be printed and stored on a relatively cheap and non-bulky

substrate such as paper, and printed on to the more expensive textile
with rapid response to sales demand.

2. The production of short-run repeat orders is much easier by transfer

processes than it is by direct printing.

3. The design may be applied to the textile with relatively low skill input and
low reject rates.

4. Stock volume and storage costs are lower when designs are held on
paper rather than on printed textiles.

5. Certain designs and effects can be produced only by the use of transfers
(particularly on garments or garment panels).

6. Many complex designs can be produced more easily and accurately on

paper than on textiles.

7. Most transfer-printing processes enable textile printing to be carried out

using simple, relatively inexpensive equipment with modest space
requirements, without effluent production or any need for washing-off.
 TYPES OF TRANSFER PRINTING

Sublimation Transfer
PRINTING
This method depends on the use of a volatile dye in the printed design. When
the paper is heated the dye is preferentially adsorbed from the vapour phase
by the textile material with which the heated paper is held in contact. This is
commercially the most important of the transfer-printing methods.

Melt Transfer
This method has been used since the 19th century to transfer embroidery
designs to fabric. The design is printed on paper using a waxy ink, and a hot
iron applied to its reverse face presses the paper against the fabric. The ink
melts on to the fabric in contact with it. This was the basis of the first
commercially successful transfer process, known as Star printing, developed
in Italy in the late 1940s. It is used in the so-called ‘hot-split’ transfer papers
extensively used today in garment decoration.
Film Release
This method is similar to melt transfer with the difference that the design is
held in an ink layer which is transferred completely to the textile from a release
paper using heat and pressure. Adhesion forces are developed between the
film and the textile which are stronger than those between the film and the
paper. The method has been developed for the printing of both continuous
web and garment panel units, but is used almost exclusively for the latter
purpose. In commercial importance it is comparable with sublimation transfer
printing.

Wet Transfer
Water-soluble dyes are incorporated into a printing ink which is used to
produce a design on paper. The design is transferred to a moistened textile
using carefully regulated contact pressure. The dye transfers by diffusion
through the aqueous medium. The method is not used to any significant extent
at the present time.
INTRODUCTION TO HEAT TRANSFER PRINTING

The process of transferring images to a large variety of products without

messy inks by-products or screens is possible with Heat Transfer Technology.
The process is fast, it lasts and it is profitable.

In the early days, Heat transfer printing were principally used in the printing of
novelty items, such as polyester tops and t-shirts. Today heat transfer printing
has gained significant importance and favour in several industries - especially
in the apparel industry as an alternative for printing fabric in an agile
manufacturing environment.

Heat transfer printing is clean and environmentally safe, which makes it

appealing in today's health and safety conscience work environments. There
are no suspect liquid by-products. The only by product is paper. Heat Transfer
printing is the primary element in apparel manufacturing operations utilizing
the increasingly popular agile manufacturing. It is the perfect medium for the
demands of today's marketplace - short run and sample production.

This use in agile manufacturing has been made possible through development
and refinement of dye-sublimation printing. With the help of specially
formulated dye-sublimation inks and advances in graphics and software
packages, operators now have greater control and flexibility which results in a
better-quality end product. Now short runs of fabrics or even individual cut
parts can be printed efficiently, quickly, and cost-effectively in response to real
market demand.
PROCESS OF HEAT TRANSFER PRINTING

Heat-transfer is a process of printing on fabrics.

The design is transferred from the paper to the fabric using heat and pressure.
First, the art work is printed with special ink on wax paper i.e. the application of
design on the paper.
Second, the design is transferred to the fabric by using heat along with a heat
press; similar to an iron. Heat triggers this special ink to create an adhesive on
the opposite side of the wax paper, the ink sticks to the fabric; the wax paper is
peeled away and the design remains.
Transfer printing has become more popular over the years because full color
images can be printed on fabrics. This process lets you print full color images
on garments. It is an easy process and can take 3–5 minutes to make one
item.
One of the most prominent advantages is that the printing process is shifted
into two locations. There is less likelihood of the products being damaged by
ink spills or general messiness of the printing shop.
Irregular, rather than flat, surfaces are easier to handle with a transfer than by
rigging a screen to form around these contours.
If there are problems that emerge in the printing process, they can be
corrected without losing any of the shirts, or products, that are to be printed. T-
shirt printers can work in small studios with transferrable images brought from
another source.
A TRANSFER SET
A transfer set is a succession of ink layers, chemically similar or different, that
are first applied on a substrate and then transferred through heat onto a fabric.

WHY IS IT DONE?
In case a design has to be applied on different types of substrates
In case a design has to be repeated in different times and in a limited
quantity
It allows to get a definition which is really close to the “graphic” printing
one
It helps optimizing stocks of ready-made garments
It allows to make decorations where direct printing cannot be done

TRANSFER PREPERATION

SUBSTRATES
COMPOSITION
CONDITIONS
CLASSIFICATION

SUBTRATES
The substrate should have the following features:
High stability to heat
High stability to the inks being used
High release capacity
The Transfer must not be damaged during the release
COMPOSITION
Adhesive
Anti-bleeding barrier
Background white
Graphic
Protection layer

THERE ARE FOUR COMPONENTS OF A HEAT TRANSFER PROCESS: -

1. TEMPERATURE

2. TIME

3. PRESSURE

4. SNOW TRANS
>TEMPERATURE<

350º F is the industry standard. Too much heat will cause the papers to
become brittle and tear. Too little heat will cause poor adhesion and
poor wash ability.
>TIME<
The amount of time necessary to complete the transfer is generally
about 10 to 30 seconds. The time varies with different thicknesses and
different transfer presses. Essentially, enough time is needed for the
plastisol inks to heat up, soften, and work their way into the fabric. If the
original printing process over cured the transfer or printed an ink layer
that is too thin, the ink will not be able to melt and sink into the weave of
the fabric. The image will merely stick to the surface of the garment or
the object without actually creating a bond. It will easily crack off or peel.

>PRESSURE<
Enough pressure is needed to drive the softened plastisol ink into the
garment’s weave. Pressure should be monitored carefully. Too little
pressure will result in poor adhesion and a short life for the printed
image on the garment. It is safer to apply too much pressure than to
apply too little.

>SNOW TRANS<
Snow Trans is a product created by Standard Screen Supply to assist in
the transfer process. The flakes of Snow Trans are sprinkled on the
garment over the entire area on which the transfer will be placed. It
intensifies the bond between the garment and the plastisol ink. Snow
Trans can compensate for an over cured transfer print that may not have
enough adhesive ability to fully bond with the garment.
CLASSIFICATION

TRANSFER WITH PLASTISOL INKS

TRANSFER WITH WATER-BASED INKS
TRANSFER WITH SOLVENT-BASED INKS
TRANSFER FOR SPECIAL EFFECTS
Heat transfer is the process by which a special release paper is screen printed
for transfer to a garment through the use of the heat press. A regular plastisol
ink is usually used.

There are both cold-peel processes and hot-peel processes.

Cold-Peel Process Hot-Peel Process

Plastisols are transferred Several inks, including flock,

nylon, and metallic inks, require a
from the printed transfer paper
higher temperature to ensure a
to the garment at 300ºF proper transfer. Hot peel will
transfer the inks at about 400ºF

The adhesion of the ink to the fabric can be made more permanent by
sprinkling SNOW TRANS flakes onto the printed transfer before heat pressing.
REQUIREMENTS OF MANUFACTURING A
HEAT TRANSFER
A. Appropriate ink (Plastisol for silkscreen; lithography ink can also be used in
connection with Plastisol for adherence)
B. Release paper on which the image is printed
C. A carefully controlled process
Transfer paper is a smooth finish paper. Using a smooth paper permits the
application of a finer and more exacting image. Since the paper is smooth, the
image will copy without the imperfections caused by a textured surface. Also,
the printing process itself requires less ink, since there is no need to
compensate for the roughness of the surface. A thinner surface of ink is
possible. Blank transfer papers can be bought from a variety of sources.
Since the paper is smooth and nonporous, less application pressure is needed
to apply the ink. The ink will rest on the surface rather than need to be pushed
down into the crevices of a surface. Squeegee operation can be gentler, and
there is less wear on the screen itself.
While printing on transfer paper, one concern is the avoidance of a layer
picking up a previous layer while printing. The paper is designed to release the
ink onto another surface and sometimes in printing subsequent layers, the
screen will pick up bits of the previous layer. If this happens, reduce the
pressure on the surface of the screen in subsequent passes, and use slightly
less ink. Also, passing the squeegee at a slightly slower speed will help
eliminate this problem.
The plastisol inks used in the transfer process must be heat cured after
printing. They will remain in a “wet” or uncombined state until the curing
process sets them on the paper. The plastisol inks should be cured just
enough for the ink to remain stable until it is finally transferred to the garment
or product. Care must be taken to prevent the ink from being overcured on the
transfer paper. Overcuring plastisol tends to create a shortened shelf life and
poor washability on garments.
Testing for the appropriate amount of curing can be done by peeling a small
section of the ink from the paper and rolling it into a ball. It should have a
stickiness and elasticity rather than crumbling and breaking apart. To correct
overcuring, it is simpler to modify the amount of time given to the curing
process than to alter the curing temperature.
 Properly cured transfer sheets will tend to stick together when placed face to
face. The inks are still “active” and ready for transferring from the paper to the
garment or object. When printing plastisol’s for garment transfer, the inks
should be thick enough so that when they are heat transferred they will not
sink completely into the weave of the fabric and allow the fabric pattern to
show through the transfer image. Also, a too thin layer of plastisol tends to
wash very poorly. The image breaks up, and flakes of the ink separate from
the garment.
Transfer papers will shrink when they are subjected to the heat of the curing
process. The amount of shrinkage needs to be calculated to avoid poor
registration with subsequent layers of colour. Each printed layer is cured as it
is printed. A stable transfer paper will shrink predictably and consistently.
It is necessary to evaluate and compensate for this shrinkage. A simple
means of compensating for this shrinkage uses the shrunken paper as a
guide. Print and cure a single colour. Use that printed image as a guide when
setting up for subsequent colour layers. All these layers will then be in perfect
registration. The paper only shrinks once.
The curing of multiple layers of plastisol requires sensitivity to the different
layers. In a four-colour print, the first layer will go through the curing process
four times. The under layers of a print should be as minimally cured as
possible to compensate for the repeated curing. Overcuring will tend to make
the plastisol inks brittle and easy to peel off after the transfer process has
been done.
 HEAT PRESSES

PURPOSE OF HEAT PRESS

A heat press is the machine that presses a transfer onto an imprint able
substrate. Using high temperatures and heavy pressures for a certain amount
of time, the transfer is permanently embedded into the product.
Heat presses are recommended for professional and satisfying results simply
because standard laminating devices and home hand irons cannot get even
near the temperatures required for a reliable transfer.
Sublimation without a heat press is like a broken pencil – pointless. There are
many types and sizes to choose from depending upon your products and
since sublimation requires precise temperature and pressure, it’s imperative
that you invest in a good quality unit.
The flat (flat platen) press is available as a clam-shell style or a swing-sway
style. The clam-shell version opens and closes like a clam, where the bottom
platen is stationary and the top platen moves up and down. The swing-away
press opens by lifting up the top platen, but then will move sideways
completely out of the way for ease of placement and removal of transferred
products. This process is done mainly under a temperature of 1500-1900C at
2-3 bar pressure, and with different time according to the quality of the product
mainly from 5 sec- 60 sec.

The following are some of the far more common items often heat pressed. The
list by no means ends here.
T-Shirts
Caps
Ceramic Plates
Ceramic Tiles
Mugs
Wood / Metals
 TYPES OF IMAGE TRANSFERS

1. COMPUTER TRANSFER
2. COLOR COPIER TRANSFER
3. SUPPLIER TRANSFER

1. COMPUTER TRANSFERS
Computer transfers have become very popular over the past few years
because of high quality printers, excellent transfer papers & inks and low-cost
hardware. The most common computer-generated transfers are:
Ink Jet Transfers.
There are 2 major types of transfers produced with ink jet printers. The first is
a wax-based transfer paper used in tandem with plain ink-jet ink cartridges.
The second is sublimation ink-jet cartridges used in tandem with plain ink-jet
paper. With the first type, the ink-jet wax based "T-Shirt transfer paper" is
passed through the ink-jet printer and then placed onto a fabric-based item
and heat pressed. These papers will work with almost all ink jet printers but
not with laser-jet. Ink-jet transfers are semi- translucent, so the fabric color will
show through the design. This is why it is recommended to only use light
colored garments or fabrics with these transfers. The second type of ink-jet
transfers produced by sublimation ink-jet cartridges for making sublimation
transfers is currently only available for certain Epson ink-jet printers. This is an
extremely popular and dominant transfer method in the industry. Sublimation
inks have proven to be one of the highest quality methods of making custom
sublimation transfers with near off-set quality and strength. There is an
excellent availability of a wide range of imprintable products for sublimation
inks on the market today. Many of the company links below specialize in
sublimation transfer inks & supplies.
2. COLOR COPIER TRANSFER
Color copier transfers are produced using a special color copier transfer
paper. After copying the image onto the paper, it is simply heat pressed to the
material. This medium is successful for fabric-based items. Standard color
copier transfers will not act like sublimation transfers, or apply onto the same
type of items sublimation works with. There is however a glazing, or post-
curing / baking process that works with a specialty paper that helps color copy
transfers stay applied to items such as mugs without being easily scraped off.
There is also a special paper available for paper memo cubes which allows
the cubes to be fanned (not stuck to one another) after heat pressing with a
patented cube press.

3. SUPPLIER TRANSFER
Supplier transfers are those that are pre-printed by a transfer supplier either by
screening or offset press in designs shown by catalog or made by special
order. The plastisol / hot-peel transfers from these companies are generally
opaque, and therefore good for heat transferring onto dark items.
HEAT TRANSFER PRINTING MACHINERY

Heat Transfer machinery is of two types: -

1. PLATEN TYPE TRANSFER PRESS

2. ROTARY DRUM TRANSFER PRESS

PLATEN TYPE TRANSFER PRESS

Platen presses are often used for printing on individual pieces such as cut
apparel parts, T-shirts, sports apparel, tote bags, etc. Platen presses are also
used to print on rigid substrates such as wood, metals and ceramic tiles.

ROTARY DRUM TRANSFER PRESS

These machines are often used to print fabric continuously (roll to roll) and to
print large fabric parts such as signs and banners which may be too large for a
standard platen press. Drum machines can also be used to print sports
apparel and other cut apparel parts. Drum machines are more productive than
platen machines for sublimation printing on cut apparel parts and are therefore
used when production volume is high. Drum machines are not used however
to print onto rigid substrates such as wood, metal or ceramic tile.

CHOOSING A MACHINE
The right machine depends on the type of product to be printed, the print size
and the production requirements. If you wish to print full coverage on 60" wide
goods, you would need to use a Rotary Drum machine. T-shirts, mugs, wood
or tile are best printed on a platen machine. Cut apparel parts can be printed
on either a platen press or a rotary drum machine. Production requirements
often dictate which type of machine is used. Banners and soft signage are
often printed on a rotary drum machine.
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

HEAT TRANSFER PRINTING

APPROXIMATELY 7% OF PRINTED GOODS

ADVANTAGES
High quality prints
Fewer seconds
Economical for short runs
Practical pollution free
Small quantity runs allow customers to get their items faster.
Photo prints can be transferred in full color.
Allows for a variety of colors and placements on a garment.
Software allows graphics to be altered with unlimited options.

DISADVANTAGES
Slow
Primarily only for polyester steps in printing process
Large quantity runs are expensive and time consuming
Prints fade after several washes and do not last long.
Prints are stiff, making the fabric firm
Prints are appear best on light colored t-shirts.
Ironing prints will ruin image
 SUMMARY

DEFINITION: Heat transfer printing, also referred to as sublistatic

printing, is the technique of printing fabric by transferring a printed
design from paper to fabric by way of heat and pressure
FEATURES:
• Offray’s most durable method of printing
• Machine Washable, Dry Clean, Machine Dry (depending upon ribbon
substrate)
• Ideal for long runs and intricate designs
• Prints well on all polyester substrates including sheers
APPLICATIONS:
Because of its durability and high quality, this print method works well in
almost any application. It is however, ideal for apparel/sew down and high end
packaging applications
SPECIFICATIONS:
• Up to 6 colors
• Narrowest ribbon & print width 5/8"
• Widest ribbon & print width 4"
• Repeat up to 17 7/8 inches
• One and two-sided printing available
DELIVERY:
• Strike-off: 2 weeks stock paper, 4 weeks custom paper
• Production: 5 weeks after approval of strike-off
MINIMUM:
• 5,000 yards of print paper for custom designs
• 1,000 yards of print paper per continuous substrate if stock paper is being
used
 USES

PRESENT USES OF HEAT TRANSFER PRINTS

Knitted Apparel
Woven Apparel
Drapery Fabric
Upholstery Fabric
Automobile Interiors -- Carpet Tiles
RECENT DEEP INNOVATIONS IN HEAT TRANSFER
Penetrating Cationic Dyes for Dyes for Pile Fabrics Printing Acrylics -
Processes for Printing PolyesterlCotton Blends
1. Coating Cotton Fiber with Polyester Resin.
2. Resin Fixing Dyes on Cotton.
3. Wet Heat Transfer Printing
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://infohouse.p2ric.org/ref/13/12377.pdf
https://www.advancedscreenprintsupply.com/NEW%20SITE-
PDFS/KIT%20DIRECTIONS/Kit%20Directions-
%20Heat%20Transfer%20Ink.pdf
file:///C:/Users/dell/Downloads/837a31b3-36c2-40bc-a5e7-
ddbf8bb96c51_Introduction%20of%20Transfer%20Printing.pdf
https://csiropedia.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/65536073.pdf
http://textilelearner.blogspot.com/2012/03/transfer-printing-process.html
https://www.microasu.com/library/consumables/screenprinting/epta/TRA
NSFER_PRINTING_brochure.pdf
https://www.lionribbon.com/images/document/heattransfer-cc_SS.pdf
A textbook on heat transfer by SP Sukhatme
Intermediate heat transfer by Kau-Fui Vincent Wong