Have you ever made a heat transfer vinyl mistake?

We have, in fact, more than once…and it usually goes one of two ways. You weed your design, it looks good, you press it and BOOM you see the mistake….You forgot to weed a section!  Or maybe you create your design, you think it looks perfect, you press it and… it’s crooked! Well, fear no more, you can fix your HTV mistake with VLR Vinyl Letter Remover, and it is so simple to use.

To remove Heat Transfer Vinyl you need:

Vinyl Letter Remover (VLR)

Directions on how to use VLR:

1 – Take your garment and go to a well-ventilated area.

2- If it is your first time using VLR you will need to take off the cap and puncture the base. Then shake the VLR solution.

3- Turn the garment inside-out and apply the solvent to the underside of the heat applied material. This will release the vinyl from the garment.

4- Once you have applied the VLR, it is best to stretch or pull the area with the mistake. This will make the heat applied material start to peel off of the garment.

5-Pull off the remaining heat transfer vinyl.

6 – If there is any residue left, remove it from the front side of the garment by applying the Vinyl Letter Remover to a clean white rag and rubbing it off.

7 – Repeat if necessary.

Do you want to get the most out of your sublimation projects? Here are seven tips for sublimation success:

1 – Take the correct measurements
To sublimate the image correctly on your item, you must measure precisely. When you purchase products from Pro World we have the dimensions and instructions on the product page. And if you use Sawgrass Creative Studio you will be able to use the design template which will help ensure a proper fit!

2 – Remove The Protective Covering
Some sublimation blanks have a protective covering, be sure to check your blank to remove it before printing.

3 – Check heat press temperature
To cook your item correctly, it is essential that your heat press temperature is correct. Use the help of a digital thermometer to make sure that your heat press is the proper temperature. If the temperature is too low, your item will be undercooked, and if the temperature is too high, you are going to scorch your project.

4 – Be careful of moisture
If you work in a damp area be cautious of humidity. Moisture on your project can cause flashing which removes the ink from the predetermined area. We recommend that you store your paper in a dry place. You could store it in a container or a re-sealable bag. If you are working with a garment, you can also pre-press your item for 10 seconds which will help remove moisture and remove the wrinkles. You can also set up a dehumidifier within your workspace to help lift the moisture from the air.

5 – Always secure your paper to your product
It is crucial for your sublimation paper to stay in place during the pressing process. The slightest movement could cause ghosting, which is a shadowy effect. We recommend that you secure your sublimation paper to your blank. You can do this with heat resistant tape or an adhesive spray.

6 – Cover your product
We suggest that you use a nonstick sheet or blank copy paper to protect your product and avoid the ink from dying any other surface.

7 – Read the blank instructions before pressing your project
Review the instructions for your product to ensure that you have the correct settings before getting started. Once you have completed sublimating your image, it is essential to follow the transfer removal instructions. If the directions say Hot Peel, that means you need to remove the transfer quickly so that it can cool. Be prepared for a hot peel by having your heat resistant gloves on so that you do not burn yourself. The sublimation paper, product, and heat press surface will be HOT.

Are you looking to use your equipment to get into the party market? Great idea! Whether it is decorations, apparel or birthday gifts, there are plenty of opportunities for you to use your favorite products and make a bit of money or just use your machine for your own personal, festive fun.

Ready to get this party started? Here are a few ideas using Pro World products. 

Use Adhesive Vinyl to create:

• Personalized banners
• Invitations
• Temporary decorations using 631
• Signage
• Personalized/themed favors

Use HTV to create:

• Party Apparel
• Favors 
• Gifts 

Use Custom Transfers for:

• Family reunions
• Team Parties
• Bridal Parties

Use Sublimation for:

• Birthday Bibs
• Favors
• Apparel

Use Heat Transfers:

• Use a heat transfer to make a shirt 
• Combine heat transfers with HTV to create personalized creations

Do you want to take your party creations and offer them to the masses? We’ve had customers having great success on Facebook, Etsy, local specialty shops and direct selling on their own website. What is your favorite party product to personalize?

Regardless if you create items for fun or for profit, we all have our go-to tools and accessories that are essential to completing our beautiful projects. So we were curious… what is your “go to” tool? After a lot of research, we have found that the following items are the tools that our customer always have on hand:

1 – Weeder/Hook/Tweezers: Removing vinyl can be tedious which is why you need a sharp point to grab your hard to get pieces.  We personally like the Siser Weeder tool. It’s durable and will not bend or break and will allow you to weed with speed and accuracy.

2 – Squeegee: The best way to eliminate air bubbles and smooth adhesive vinyl is with a squeegee. The advantage to using a tool over a credit card is 1) the weight, it applies the appropriate amount of pressure onto your project and 2) your sanity. Nothing is worse than using your credit card to scrape your project, forgetting to put it away and then being out at the store only to realize you forgot your card! Make life simple… buy a squeegee.

3 – Thermal Tape: Thermal tape safely secures images onto the product you are sublimating (mugs, tiles, etc.) and keeps it from moving during the pressing process. The tape is heat-resistant up to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and does not leave any sticky residue.

4 – Teflon Sheet: These non-stick sheets come in handy for just about any project that is going in your heat press. You can use it to cover already pressed vinyl, put it underneath your product to keep the platen clean, you can even place it inside your garment to avoid bleed through to the other side.

5 – Gridded Application Tape: Transferring adhesive vinyl is a whole lot easier with gridded application tape. Our selection of application tapes can be used with any of our adhesive vinyl.

6 – Pressing Pillows: These pillows will even out pressure and protect your garments from the heating process.  They come in a variety of sizes depending on your needs.

Do you have a favorite tool that we didn’t mention? Tell us! Go to our Facebook page or Instagram page.

Do you love the look of a Farmhouse sign but hate the price tag? Or maybe you’ve been searching for a sign but can’t find the size/style that you want. Well, today you are in luck because we are going to show you how simple it is to paint a Farmhouse sign.

You Need:

• Wood Sign (You can make it or purchase one)
• Cutting Machine
• Permanent Adhesive Vinyl (we used Oracal 651)
• Paint
• Paint Brush
• Application Tape
• Weeder
• Scraper

Directions:
1-Gather your materials and create your image within your design software

2-Insert your adhesive vinyl, check your cut settings and cut

3-Reverse weed your design – that means you should remove the vinyl from the part you are going to paint

4-Carefully apply your application tape on top of the vinyl

5-After you scrape your design, slowly peel the backing off and carefully place the vinyl on your wood sign

6-Paint your design

7-Take a break so that the paint can dry

8-Remove the vinyl

9-Hang it on the wall and admire your results

Do you love creating with vinyl, but hate to weed the design? You are going to love our new product Forever Flex-Soft, which is a no-cut, color coated film that can be applied to both light and dark color garments. And is suitable for cotton, polyester, poly/cotton blends, nylon, polypropylene, paper and wood.

How does it work? 

Create an intricate design and send it to your laser printer. No need to worry about the color ink or on the screen because your final color of the design will be the color of the Flex-Soft that you load in your printer. Then press! Want to see the Forever Flex-Soft in action? Watch our Facebook LIVE!

Want to try it out for yourself? Here’s what you need to do…..

You Need:

• Flex Soft
• Heat Press
• laser printer
• black ink

Step By Step Instructions:

1. Design or select your image on the computer.
2. Print the image in reverse/mirrored format on the coated side (cloudy in appearance, not shiny) using a heavy paper mode on the A-Foil.
3. Trim the A-Foil paper down about 1cm smaller.
4. Set heat press at 266-275 F degrees with medium-heavy pressure.
5. Place 1-2 sheets of copy paper on the lower pad to protect the pad.
6. Place the trimmed A-Foil in the middle of the bottom pad (printed side face up).
7. Place the B-Paper Low Temp on top of the A-Foil (coated side face down, yellow writing facing you).
8. Cover everything with 1-2 sheets of copy paper. (do not use non-stick sheet).
9. Press the A-Foil and B-Paper together at 266-275 F for 90 seconds at medium to heavy pressure.
10. Remove copy paper and rub the back of the media for 5-10 seconds with a cloth.
11. Separate the B-Paper form the A-Foil in a slow and low motion while still on the bottom pad of the heat press. (the B-Paper will leave a white coating on the ink).
12. Cut around the A-Foil paper to remove the excess coating frame left behind by the B-Paper.
13. Position the A-Foil on the garment with the printed side facing down. The shiny color side will be facing you.
14. Cover with a sheet of silicone paper.
15. Press cotton tee at 275-310 F for 30 seconds with medium to heavy pressure. Refer to the Textile chart (Table 2) for other garment types and their suggested settings.
16. Set the shirt aside to cool completely.
17. Separate the A-foil from the garment by rolling the A-Foil in a slow low motion.
18. Cover the image with the silicone sheet and repress for 30 seconds using the same temperature as the previous step.
19. Remove silicone sheet while hot.
20. Admire your results!

You can purchase Forever Flex Soft individually or in a pack which includes 10 8.5” x 11” sheets (2 yellow gold metallic and 2 silver metallic, 1 bronze metallic, 1 green metallic, 1 lilac metallic, 1 red metallic, 1 blue metallic, and 1 white gold metallic).

Do you have your own images and graphics you’d like to turn into heat transfers and adhere to garments with your heat press?  All you need is Transfer paper. Transfer paper comes in a variety of sizes and is durable and completely washable.  Creating your own heat transfers will give you the flexibility to create custom t-shirt designs for a single customer or a whole group.

The first thing when choosing a transfer paper is to consider what type of printer you will be using – inkjet or laser?

Next, check with your printer manufacturer in regards to using transfer paper.  We suggest not using transfer papers with brands such as HP, Dell, and Brother. These printers have internal fusers that run too hot and can cause the paper to get stuck in the rollers, ruining the paper and possibly the printer itself.

Laser and inkjet printers both produce a similar quality of the design after pressing. The main difference between inkjet and laser printers is the cost to get started. Inkjet printers are cheaper, but tend to use quite a bit of ink. Laser printers are more expensive, but the toner lasts longer. Laser printers also offer the advantage of trim free paper.

Here are the different types of paper we offer for each printer:

Inkjet Paper:

The Jetpro Soft Stretch Inkjet Paper comes in 8.5×11 and 11×17. It produces soft, supple, vibrant, and washable ink jet printed transfers for white and light colored fabrics. It can be used to apply designs and photographs and can be trimmed to reduce the transfer of the background.

3G Opaque Paper comes in 8.5×11 and 11×17. This also produces vibrant and washable transfers but are suitable for dark fabrics. Since you will be printing on a white surface, you’ll want to trim away any area you do not want white before applying. Like the Jetpro, you can use it for basic designs as well as photographs. (This transfer paper is not recommended for Hewlett Packard and Dell Printers).

Laser Printer:

Lasersoft EZ Peel transfer paper comes in 8.5×11 and 11×17. It is the only laser transfer available that allows the inks to absorb into the surface of the coating of the paper. The coating then acts like a shield and later bonds the inks to the fabric fibers without using a plastic film offering a high quality, soft solution for laser transfers.

CLC Paper comes in 8.5×11 and 11×17 and works with both oil and non-oil laser printers. This paper is great for transferring high-resolution photographs and images onto dark materials. Garments with a tight weave work best.

CI Trimfree comes in 8.5×11 and works only on solid, light colors. This is the first single step transfer paper and has been developed to release the polymer coating only in areas that have toner coverage where the image is pressed to the fabric. This makes it so you don’t have to trim your design before pressing it to your garment. Images will stay bright and vibrant, even after continued washing and the paper will print on both oil and non-oil laser printers.

Image Clip Laser Paper comes in 8×10.5 and 10.75×16.75. It works best on light garments and handles full-color designs very well. This paper is self-weeding, so there is no need to trim the excess paper as there will be no background to your printed design, although this paper is a two-step process.

Image Clip Laser Paper for dark, solid garments comes in 8×10.5 and 10.75×16.75. Just like the Image Clip for lights, there is no need to trim the excess paper as this paper is self-weeding. But this paper is not designed for transferring photography.