Wow!! Thanks for all the valuable information. What I am trying to do is to follow the instructions that they send me. I do preheat the garment before pressing the transfer for every garment. When I start the prepress, I do heat the lower platen for about 60 secs. I will call both stahls and airwaves (since I like their transfers and would like to do more of them) and find out how to get it perfect so I can sell those. Best Regards, Veena Viswanath Iris Embroidery www.IrisEmbroidery.com (510)-226-6171 -----Original Message----- From: amayausers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:amayausers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Body Cover Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2006 9:49 AM To: amayausers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [amayausers] Re: Airwaves transfer instructions? Hi Veena, I know Roland gave some info, and I am NOT saying it is wrong but we all do things differently and I thought you may benefit from our workaround and you can try to find what works for you. First of all you definitely want to press the shirt before you put the transfer on, every time! especially with cotton. Cotton absorbs moisture out of the air and in the screen print biz this can wreak havoc with cure times, because like a swamp cooler that makes you feel cool, it has to do with the fact that moist air cools better than dry air, when you press the shirt you can like Roland said just lower the platen down and don't have to lock it down in the pressurized position, just so it make contact and will apply heat, most of the time you will see steam start to roll out of the shirt. let it heat until this steam is gone, usually around 10 to 15 seconds. it is this steam that actually cools the transfer as it dissipates and causes them not to adhere like they should. A difference of 15 degrees can make a huge difference with transfers. if you don't have a pressure setting on your machine we use this, medium pressure (which covers 90% of the transfers) is enough pressure that when you have the shirt in place you must put a healthy push to get the it to lock down, Heavy pressure means you must put some if not all your body weight to lock it down. You say that some ink is left on the paper, Now one thing you should know is a hot split transfer which is one of the most popular these days, there should be half the design on the paper and half on the shirt. Hence, the hot SPLIT name the ink actually swells and the peeling action peels the layer into two pieces giving the design a look and feel of a direct screen print. the important part is to not dwell or wait to peel the sheet it is the most critical time while the ink is molten (so to speak) this is also why you don't put a cover sheet on the top, because after you pull it off to access the transfer, the air drawn across can cool the transfer and cause problems with the peel. One way to test your self is to take one of your transfers and cut it into 3 or 4 slices you can apply each of those separately and try different things. If you have problems with the top not transferring next time pull the other direction and see if the problem shifts to the other end. then you'll know that it has to do with faster pull & smoother peeling. Also the transfers you ordered if they are a one color for sports and have a clear covering, then they are probably cut vinyl. these are all together different, they actually have a glue backing and the short heat time is all it takes to melt the glue and everything works great Transfers actually melt ink and the pressure forces the ink into the shirt and when its cool it is ready to wear. One last thing Puff transfers seam to change all the rules, they require lots of pressure and a short time usually 6 to 8 seconds. you'll see the paper actually raised off the shirt as soon as you lift the heating platen grab on and pull. please, feel free to ask any other questions, this subject can be discussed for a long time but it boils down to trial and error, also try not to press through the shirts neck area, it is four time thicker than the rest of the shirt and will create uneven pressure if you aren't using a Teflon pillow inside the shirt. Sorry to be so long winded. Good Luck Ron Vinyard Body Cover / Magic Stitches 1-888-435-0176 541-471-1504 Fax 541-471-0427 420 SW H Street, Grants Pass, OR 97526-2532 info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx www.bodycoverdesign.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Veena Viswanath" <irisembroidery@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <amayausers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2006 9:20 AM Subject: [amayausers] Re: Airwaves transfer instructions? > Mine is the latest hotronix clam, only 2 months old. I do have the rubber > padding on the bottom with a Teflon cover for the bottom and I have a thin > Teflon sheet that I cover the garment from the top. > > Best Regards, > Veena Viswanath > > > Iris Embroidery > www.IrisEmbroidery.com > (510)-226-6171 > > > -----Original Message----- > From: amayausers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > [mailto:amayausers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Roland R. Irish III > Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2006 5:26 AM > To: amayausers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > Subject: [amayausers] Re: Airwaves transfer instructions? > > John, Veena... > Do your heat presses have a half inch thick rubber 'blanket' on the > bottom plate? I have that, plus an old old teflon covered thin padded > sheet that slides inside the shirts. The two 'rubber' cushions even > out any off set to the top platen, and I read when I bought the > replacement bottom sheet that the intial contact of the heated platen > causes a quick expansion of the sheet-pressing the fabric up for full > contact. > Unless I get a folded collar in the way that holds the platen up, I > don't even get off pressure problems with button neck shirts. > It might also be my heat machine-it is around 35 years or older-solid > steel-I'd guess it weighs in at over 75#. Takes 2 of us to move it > and it is only a counter top 12 x 16 model! > > Roland > > > >