Polyester ghosting / discoloration w heat press

[Command 97]

Good evening Folks,

 

Is there any way to transfer HTV onto a "performance" 100% polyester black shirt without making a burn/ghost mark where the press came down?

 

Currently using 305 x 20PSI for 3 then 10 to 15 seconds down. Tried with with foam underneath & a sheet over the top. Heck the shop owner even tried to cover around where it was hitting with nomex.

 

With foam and the nomex, it was significantly better, but you can still see discoloration.

 

Any ideas?

[MadHatterGraphix 1,258]

How is the polyester ghosting? If your talking about the platen Mark / yellowing it might come out with a few washes. The other think is maybe lighten up on the pressure. Also how many colors are you pressing? Could you find a way to press more than one color at a time? One last question to you seems it's on a white shirt why not just sublimate it?

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

Betting you are seeing where the moisture is out of the area the press touched and it will go back to normal after a few hours being a black shirt

[Command 97]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

 

@ Madhatter: The shirts are black polos. White shirts on die sub come out ok and don't have this problem. I can try to lighten up the pressure more. This was only one color. Its turning a shinier and lighter shade of black/gray. (I did some poly shorts 3 color / 4 presses and they were ok with just foam)

 

Going to take a look at yesterdays shirts today and see if Dakota's right.

[Wildgoose 4,200]

I have taken to covering these type of shirts completely with a piece of butcher paper so the press doesn't touch the shirt at all (this will help with the shiny areas). The color loss with the heat is tough to stop and have had some that is stayed noticeable afterword. 

[Command 97]

It was better with time. I think its just the polo shirts to be honest. Did some polyester uniforms without any problems.

 

I pretty much always use a sheet of butcher paper. Thanks again guys.

[OWJones 1,981]

I see an issue a lot with red shirts - when you press the area that heats up will change color compared to the rest of the shirt.   I've seen the problem referred to as "dye migration" although I don't know if that is the real name of what we're seeing.   Usually the color will change back after cooling to room temp, or after the first wash.

[MadHatterGraphix 1,258]

I see an issue a lot with red shirts - when you press the area that heats up will change color compared to the rest of the shirt.   I've seen the problem referred to as "dye migration" although I don't know if that is the real name of what we're seeing.   Usually the color will change back after cooling to room temp, or after the first wash.

Thats what I have seen also, another thing is I know this sounds stupid but I have used that green pad that helps distribute the heat on top of poly shirts and it seems to stop a lot of the issues I had. I cant remember the name of the pad.

[mfatty500 454]

Back off the pressure and lower the heat, and, make sure you cover with teflon, that's what we do for performance wear type jackets,(we do hudreds per year) using Siser Glitter and rhinestones

[VinylRevamp 93]

Lowering the temp to the lowest possible degree that the htv can do usually helps with this.

What brand htv are you using?