Vinyl decals have become very popular in recent years. From decorations to custom signs, decals can be used on just about any flat surface for a variety of reasons. Many have even begun creating their decals with at-home vinyl cutters such as Silhouette or Circuit, but with all these decals around, it’s important to know what kind of vinyl is right for your project. To help you figure it out, we’ve come up with a list of the most popular types of vinyl and transfer paper so you can have a better understanding of what product you should use!
Heat Transfer Vinyl
Heat transfer vinyl, also known as HTV, is the material used to create custom clothing and (go figure) is applied with heat, mainly via an iron or heat press. This material does not have an adhesive backing like indoor/outdoor vinyl, and will only stick to the material if applied with heat.
Transfer Material
While we’re covering the different types of vinyl, it’s probably best to mention a few of the transfer material options available. Transfer tape is a clear, non-gridded material that you place on top of the decal so you can easily install it on the wall or any other surface before removing the transfer tape.
Similar to the transfer tape, there is also transfer paper. This is a slightly stickier option and comes with a grid on it to help with alignment in the install process. While the grid can be helpful, it is often difficult to line it up perfectly when applying the transfer paper to the decal.
One other option some people use is contact paper. This is probably the most cost-effective option and may be best for those just starting in the vinyl decal department.
Now that you have a better understanding of what materials to use, be sure to pick the best option for your project. Keep in mind that if you don’t have access to a vinyl cutter, you can always go to your local print shop and they’ll be sure to know what products are right for your decal needs!
Using vinyl is one of the most popular ways to create advertisements. Vinyl is a polymer that is commonly used on billboards to create larger-than-life advertisements. Now, vinyl has a new use. Vinyl heat transfer papers are now being used to print on a variety of fabrics.
There are reasons for the popularity of vinyl as a medium for making heat transfer papers, the first and foremost being that it is made of a polymer-based chemical. The second advantage is that it is translucent and that too is an important criterion.
In dye sublimation printing, a polymer base is essential. The process of dye sublimation printing using vinyl is simple. A vinyl sheet is cut into shape and fed into the dye-sublimation printer. The image is opened on the computer, flipped horizontally, and then printed on the printable vinyl using the dye-sublimation printer. In dye-sublimation printing, the printer ink directly passes from the solid to the gaseous phase, without going through the liquid phase. Hence, there is no time required for the printer ink to dry. Once the image is printed, it is now ready to be printed on any material. If a t-shirt needs to be printed, then it can be done using an iron. The t-shirt will have to be pressed first to remove moisture and wrinkles. Within minutes, the image is transferred to the t-shirt. Since it is translucent, the colors come out well on the surface of the t-shirt. For best results, the t-shirt needs to be white or in some other light color. Ash gray also works well.
It is also used in wide-format inkjet printers. The method is similar. First, an image is created and saved on the computer. There is various image editing software available to make crisp and crystal-clear graphics. Then the image needs to be printed using the wide-format inkjet printer. After the vinyl heat transfer paper is ready, the image can be transferred to any other material to make advertisements or to design t-shirts, bags, caps, hats, and other items.
A vinyl paper is quite economical and together with heat transfer printing technology, it can be used to design attractive items at a very low cost. This is the primary reason why vinyl heat transfer paper has become so popular among modern printers. There is not much difference in the way a vinyl heat transfer paper works from other heat transfer papers. Once you get a grasp of the technology and the process, using it is not more than a piece of cake.