Comparing Heat Transfer Films with Screen Printed Graphics

A high quality polyurethane heat transfer film will outlast a screen printed garment hands down. In fact, if you properly process and care for a polyurethane heat transfer, the applique should last the life of the garment.  We all know what happens to a screen printed shirt after a dozen washes.  Plastisol inks crack. By comparison, I have a tee-shirt with digitally printed applique  that still looks great after 30 washes.  While the heat transfer material looks new, the base color of the fabric has faded.

After 30 washes, my Indian motorcycle applique still looks great!

Please note that I specifically used the term “polyurethane” and not “vinyl” heat transfer material.  Just as plastisol inks crack after several washes, so do vinyl appliques. That’s why most of the heat transfer films today are polyurethane.

Now that doesn’t mean that all polyurethane films perform in the same manner.  They don’t!  Just as there is a wide range of sign vinyls with varying physical characteristics and performance properties, the same holds true for polyurethane films. 

Each manufacturer will formulate their polyurethane film differently to achieve their specific requirements. For this reason, you need to test and evaluate the various films, before using them in production.  You will find that each film has its own unique characteristics in terms of how it cuts, weeds and prints. The softness of hand and durability of each product will also vary. 

What’s unique about the RTape heat transfer films is the softness of the film and its ability to stretch with the garment. With the advent and popularity of performance fabrics, the stretchiness of the film is extremely important.  Films that do not stretch with the garments, are likely to fail. If you are interested in evaluating our products, my suggestion is to give RTape a call and ask for a sample.  

If today’s heat transfer films are so great and the durability of screen printing is so limited, why would anyone screen print? A major reason is economy of scale.  For production runs of 50 garments or more, it just doesn’t make sense to heat press appliques.  It’s just too expensive. But for the shorter runs, heat transfer materials are more economical.  To be fair, a second advantage of screen printed graphics is the softness of the image.  Many appliques, especially vinyl films, are stiff and uncomfortable for the wearer. In testing our films, I believe that you will find that the softness of our products most closely approximates the feel of screen printing.

ARTICLES ABOUT HEAT TRANSFER FILMS

Printing Heat Transfer Films with Latex Inks

Changing Printer Settings in Roland Versaworks

Tips for Cutting Flock Material

Heat Transfers on Neoprene

Stretching Garments Prior to Heat Pressing

The Differences Between Polyurethane and Vinyl Films

How to Flash Press FlexCut StickyLT  

Laminating Application Tape and Hot Mask Films
Stretching Garments Prior to Heat Pressing
The Differences Between Polyurethane and Vinyl Films
Printing Tatoo with Seiko Fluorescent Inks
Reflective Heat Transfer Films
SEF Heat Transfer Films Instructions
Introducing Tatoo Printable Heat Transfer Films
HotMask Polyester Transfer Tapes
Correcting Plotter Cutting Problems When Cutting H...
Which Films Stick to Coated Fabrics? 
The Difference between FlexCut Sticky and FlexCut ...
Heat Transfer Films Product Application Chart
Rules for Overlaying Heat Transfer Films 
Comparing Heat Transfer Films with Screen Printed ...
Peel Recommendations for Heat Transfer Films
Heat Pressing Appliques on Leather 

Heat Pressing on Dye Sublimated Fabrics

Heat Transfer Films: Hot, Warm or Cold Peel

Processing Printable Heat Transfer Films

Shopping for a Heat Press 

Pressing Heat Transfer Films

Evaluating Heat Transfer Films

Plotter Cutting Heat Transfer Films
Cutting & Weeding Tips for Heat Transfer Films
The Trouble with Shrinking Shirts
Caring for Garments with Heat Transfers

For More Information About SEF Americas:

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Ordering: sales@SEFamericas.com

Web: NEW SEF Americas Website

Click Here: SEF Americas Shared Public Folder

Click Here: SEF Product Application Guide

Click Here: SEF FlexCut Product Color Guide

Click Here: SEF Print & Cut Product Guide

Click Here: For SEF Documents
Click Here: Access Printer Profiles

About Jim Hingst: After fourteen years as Business Development Manager at RTape, Jim Hingst retired. He was involved in many facets of the company’s business, including marketing, sales, product development and technical service.

Hingst began his career 42 years ago in the graphic arts field creating and producing advertising and promotional materials for a large test equipment manufacturer.  Working for offset printers, large format screen printers, vinyl film manufacturers, and application tape companies, his experience included estimating, production planning, purchasing and production art, as well as sales and marketing. In his capacity as a salesman, Hingst was recognized with numerous sales achievement awards.

Drawing on his experience in production and as graphics installation subcontractor, Hingst provided the industry with practical advice, publishing more than 150 articles for  publications, such as  Signs Canada, SignCraft,  Signs of the Times, Screen Printing, Sign and Digital Graphics and  Sign Builder Illustrated. He also posted more than 325 stories on his blog (hingstssignpost.blogspot.com). In 2007 Hingst’s book, Vinyl Sign Techniques, was published.

© 2015 Jim Hingst