HTV vinyl using guide ~

[Tis vinyl]

If you are a beginner at working with HTV and are facing trouble figuring it out, this article might be of some help to you. In this piece we will cover some basic tips, tricks and troubleshooting techniques to make working with HTV easy for you.

Troubleshooting Techniques

Cutting

The HTV always has two sides. A shiny side, and a dull side. Therefore, vinyl has three layers- sheet covering the adhesive, vinyl, and the carrier sheet. The shiny one is the carrier, and the dull one is the adhesive side. The dull side receives the cut when loaded into the cutter. Therefore, when loading the vinyl into the cutter, the shiny side goes down and the dull side goes up.

Test Cuts

We cannot emphasize enough on this one. Every vinyl has different thickness. This also differs from manufacturer to manufacturer. Hence, this setting differes accordingly too. The pressure of the cutter has to be just right to make sure that the adhesive side and the vinyl is cut properly. But it shouldn’t be so that it cuts through the carrier sheet as well.

To achieve this, test cuts on a small piece of vinyl have to be done.

Cut Lines are difficult to notice

When cutting on colours such as white or yellow, it can become harder to see the cut lines. In such cases try holding your HTV against the light to see and notice the cut lines. If the cut lines are still invisible, you can try adjusting the pressure of the cutter to cut a little deeper into the material.

Weeding seems very difficult

If the cuts have been made properly, you wouldn’t face much trouble while reading your design. A weeding tool is very helpful in this step. But if it is difficult still, you can try and adjust the cuts settings or double cut the design. In short, TEST CUT!

Transfer Not adhering properly

If the instructions to press the vinyl onto the respective garments are followed properly, the vinyl will adhere 100%. These instructions always come along with the heat vinyl. But sometimes, too much or too little press time can result into the vinyl not sticking properly. So, it’s necessary to follow the instructions properly.

[johnson4]

3 minutes ago, Tis vinyl said:

If you are a beginner at working with HTV and are facing trouble figuring it out, this article might be of some help to you. In this piece we will cover some basic tips, tricks and troubleshooting techniques to make working with HTV easy for you.

Troubleshooting Techniques

Cutting

The HTV always has two sides. A shiny side, and a dull side. Therefore, vinyl has three layers- sheet covering the adhesive, vinyl, and the carrier sheet. The shiny one is the carrier, and the dull one is the adhesive side. The dull side receives the cut when loaded into the cutter. Therefore, when loading the vinyl into the cutter, the shiny side goes down and the dull side goes up.

Test Cuts

We cannot emphasize enough on this one. Every vinyl has different thickness. This also differs from manufacturer to manufacturer. Hence, this setting differes accordingly too. The pressure of the cutter has to be just right to make sure that the adhesive side and the vinyl is cut properly. But it shouldn’t be so that it cuts through the carrier sheet as well.

To achieve this, test cuts on a small piece of vinyl have to be done.

Cut Lines are difficult to notice

When cutting on colours such as white or yellow, it can become harder to see the cut lines. In such cases try holding your HTV against the light to see and notice the cut lines. If the cut lines are still invisible, you can try adjusting the pressure of the cutter to cut a little deeper into the material.

Weeding seems very difficult

If the cuts have been made properly, you wouldn’t face much trouble while reading your design. A weeding tool is very helpful in this step. But if it is difficult still, you can try and adjust the cuts settings or double cut the design. In short, TEST CUT!

Transfer Not adhering properly

If the instructions to press the vinyl onto the respective garments are followed properly, the vinyl will adhere 100%. These instructions always come along with the heat vinyl. But sometimes, too much or too little press time can result into the vinyl not sticking properly. So, it’s necessary to follow the instructions properly.

How many washes without any special care does HTV last?

[TeedUp]

We started out with HTV, added sublimation, and now mostly DTF. 

On 6/9/2022 at 3:22 AM, johnson4 said:

How many washes without any special care does HTV last?

I don't knw the exact numbers, but at least 20 washes, normal care.  On the spectrum, better than white toner laser, not as good as DTF.  But really long enough life to be satisfactory longevity for a T-shirt - will most likely have other issues before vinyl peeling.

But while there are some advantages to HTV in certain types of scenarios, washability/durability is down the list of concerns. HTV can work in situations of low volume, low color.  Not good for many or complex colors, needing close color matching, or for higher volumes. The hand can be decent, and depend on the specific product and size of solid areas, but more of a hand than DTF, DTG, Sublimation, and screen print.   Some cheaper products can have quite a heavy hand.  Weeding can be a pain. Also not good for complex designs with delicate details.