A bit more information
Time
If your pressing time is too long or too short it will cause HTV to peel away from your garment. If all the conditions required are correctly met, you would only need to press once, extra repressing for a 2nd or 3rd time should NOT be required and doing this will cause issues with your decal adhering and causing it to fail.
Temperature
If you are using a domestic iron – most settings will be around the cotton setting (not quite the highest setting depending upon your iron) and have your steam function turned off. Do not press onto Granite or stone surfaces as these will absorb the heat from your iron and cool it down.
Pressure
You need to be pushing down super hard, on a firm flat surface, with both hands to imitate the same pressure that would be achieved with a regular heavy duty heat press.
Should I use an ironing board?
The short answer is no, do not use an ironing board if pressing IYK Decals with an iron, this is just not a firm/strong enough surface to be able to apply the correct amount of pressure and may result in the ironing board collapsing (this demonstrates the pressure you should be applying). Good surfaces to use will be a solid table, kitchen worktop or a hard floor.
What prevents a good pressure being applied?
If you do not have a firm flat surface you will not achieve the ideal pressing conditions. If you have clothing seams i.e. neckline, arm and side seams, bag seams, buttons, zippers, collars, bag handles etc, these are all sitting slightly higher than your decal and will prevent the heated part of your iron from making it’s first point of contact with the vinyl.
To overcome this problem you can either purchase or make your own Teflon pressing pillows, use some squares of felt, pieces of firm dense foam or cut down some tea-towels into assorted sizes (with seams cut off). Use these and place directly underneath the area as padding where your HTV design is, thus raising the vinyl decal a few mm’s higher than the seams are. Make sure this padding is nice and flat. By doing this, the heated surface of your iron will make contact with the HTV decal first instead of the seams and will be able to apply the firm pressure much better.
Peeling
The ‘Peeling process’ once pressed there are 3 cooling conditions, cool, warm or hot peel. Be sure to check the Application guide for the vinyl you are using. Incorrectly peeled vinyl once pressed can ruin your design and cause the HTV to fail and likely come off in the laundry.
Waterproof clothing – A waterproof or fire retardant coating can be an issue when trying to apply HTV to it. It does not allow the vinyl to stick onto the fibres of the fabrics. It may be possible to remove some coatings by using some rubbing alcohol onto the area that you want to apply the design and leave this to completely dry. A pre-test is recommended.
Cover sheets
It is important to use a cover-sheet when preheating – always use one during preheating of light coloured garments; it is optional when preheating darker garments. A cover sheet needs to be larger than the surface area of the item / garment you are preheating and cover the entire Iron area. This will protect your garment from any accidental marks that may occur from something on the plate base (bit of vinyl / ink etc) from a previous application that could mark your garment.
Cover-sheets over your design when pressing – As HTV comes on it’s own carrier sheet, which is left in place until the pressing process has been completed, the carrier sheet can act as your cover-sheet as nothing is exposed in your design that would then stick to your iron base, so additional cover is not necessarily required unless layering (read below). However, a cover-sheet covering the entire platen of your iron is a good idea and habit to get into when using white or light garments, to ensure no accidental marks are transferred onto your garment and ruining it.
Cover-sheets need to be used to protect heat sensitive fabric. There are a few options you can use as a cover sheet from tracing paper, silicone paper, grease proof paper, baking parchment, crafts parchment paper or a piece of cotton sheeting. These sheets are a good idea when heat pressing onto heat sensitive garments that can scorch or leave a temperature mark which appears as a deeper colour and often occurs on red and green materials. This deep colour will fade and disappear overnight and also when laundered. We do however recommend you do not use a Teflon sheet, Teflon sheets are a plastic type heat shield and non stick sheet that can be used in the oven repeatedly, and will deflect or reflect heat depending on thickness and weave, this gives an unpredictable result and can result in your vinyl not adhering or falling off in the wash.
Pressing
If your temperature, timings and pressure are all correct, your vinyl will adhere correctly first time with the recommended timings. There is no need to press both front and back, just on the front only is sufficient. You risk ‘overcooking’ the vinyl if you press more than once for the same amount of time. If it has not adhered after the recommended time, just give it only another 2-3 seconds, not the full time again (if using an iron make sure to press even harder during this extra time).
Is your Iron working properly?
Sometimes the heating elements in a iron will go bad causing it not to heat up to the temperature that you set it to. It could also have hot and cold spots throughout the platen (the plate that gets hot). To be 100% sure use a temperature gun to test the accuracy of the iron.
TOP TIPS
• Set your iron to the Cotton setting and turn any steam function off. Use your iron on a firm surface like a table or the floor (ironing board is not recommended).
• Pre-Press/iron the desired location before application to remove moisture and wrinkles from the clothing.
• Place the decal in the desired location, be sure that the vinyl is in contact with the garment and the shiny side is facing ‘up’.
• Cover with the provided layer of grease proof paper/ Baking Parchment or a silicone sheet.
• Using both hands, keep the iron firmly pressed over the HTV for the recommended time.
• Do not move the iron around while pressing and ensure you are bearing down firmly on the HTV while avoiding any seams.
• If covering a large area, press on one area and then move onto the next. (If you do have steam holes on the base, just move it slightly so that the heat gets to all areas equally).
• If you press for too long you may melt the adhesive and if you don't press for long enough or firmly enough, it may come off.
• The key to a success is pressure –industrial heat presses bear down and clamp the garment, so you need to be imitating this pressure.
• The floor is a great for pressing onto, as you have more force to bear down with, but a sturdy work surface will suffice.
• Check if it is a Cool, Warm or Hot Peel and peel the carrier sheet away accordingly.
• If any vinyl looks like it has not stuck, recover with the carrier and cover sheet and re-press for a few more seconds HARDER.
• DO NOT USE A TEFLON SHEET
Set your Iron to 140°C (please check your irom manufactures guide as each iron is different)
• Apply strong and even pressure across your transfer.
• Press for 8 seconds*.
• Peel the release liner when it is hot/cool.
• You can also apply IYK HTV at the following settings:
• 120°C x 15 Sec
• 130°C x 10 Sec
• 150°C x 5 Sec.
NB: All information is given as guideline. We always recommend that you either order one or two extra pieces to practice with, or the practice kit.
We would love to see how it looks on your clothes, so Tag us @Initialyourkit or for any enquires, email us on info@initialyourkit.co.uk
If your pressing time is too long or too short it will cause HTV to peel away from your garment. If all the conditions required are correctly met, you would only need to press once, extra repressing for a 2nd or 3rd time should NOT be required and doing this will cause issues with your decal adhering and causing it to fail.
Temperature
If you are using a domestic iron – most settings will be around the cotton setting (not quite the highest setting depending upon your iron) and have your steam function turned off. Do not press onto Granite or stone surfaces as these will absorb the heat from your iron and cool it down.
Pressure
You need to be pushing down super hard, on a firm flat surface, with both hands to imitate the same pressure that would be achieved with a regular heavy duty heat press.
Should I use an ironing board?
The short answer is no, do not use an ironing board if pressing IYK Decals with an iron, this is just not a firm/strong enough surface to be able to apply the correct amount of pressure and may result in the ironing board collapsing (this demonstrates the pressure you should be applying). Good surfaces to use will be a solid table, kitchen worktop or a hard floor.
What prevents a good pressure being applied?
If you do not have a firm flat surface you will not achieve the ideal pressing conditions. If you have clothing seams i.e. neckline, arm and side seams, bag seams, buttons, zippers, collars, bag handles etc, these are all sitting slightly higher than your decal and will prevent the heated part of your iron from making it’s first point of contact with the vinyl.
To overcome this problem you can either purchase or make your own Teflon pressing pillows, use some squares of felt, pieces of firm dense foam or cut down some tea-towels into assorted sizes (with seams cut off). Use these and place directly underneath the area as padding where your HTV design is, thus raising the vinyl decal a few mm’s higher than the seams are. Make sure this padding is nice and flat. By doing this, the heated surface of your iron will make contact with the HTV decal first instead of the seams and will be able to apply the firm pressure much better.
Peeling
The ‘Peeling process’ once pressed there are 3 cooling conditions, cool, warm or hot peel. Be sure to check the Application guide for the vinyl you are using. Incorrectly peeled vinyl once pressed can ruin your design and cause the HTV to fail and likely come off in the laundry.
Waterproof clothing – A waterproof or fire retardant coating can be an issue when trying to apply HTV to it. It does not allow the vinyl to stick onto the fibres of the fabrics. It may be possible to remove some coatings by using some rubbing alcohol onto the area that you want to apply the design and leave this to completely dry. A pre-test is recommended.
Cover sheets
It is important to use a cover-sheet when preheating – always use one during preheating of light coloured garments; it is optional when preheating darker garments. A cover sheet needs to be larger than the surface area of the item / garment you are preheating and cover the entire Iron area. This will protect your garment from any accidental marks that may occur from something on the plate base (bit of vinyl / ink etc) from a previous application that could mark your garment.
Cover-sheets over your design when pressing – As HTV comes on it’s own carrier sheet, which is left in place until the pressing process has been completed, the carrier sheet can act as your cover-sheet as nothing is exposed in your design that would then stick to your iron base, so additional cover is not necessarily required unless layering (read below). However, a cover-sheet covering the entire platen of your iron is a good idea and habit to get into when using white or light garments, to ensure no accidental marks are transferred onto your garment and ruining it.
Cover-sheets need to be used to protect heat sensitive fabric. There are a few options you can use as a cover sheet from tracing paper, silicone paper, grease proof paper, baking parchment, crafts parchment paper or a piece of cotton sheeting. These sheets are a good idea when heat pressing onto heat sensitive garments that can scorch or leave a temperature mark which appears as a deeper colour and often occurs on red and green materials. This deep colour will fade and disappear overnight and also when laundered. We do however recommend you do not use a Teflon sheet, Teflon sheets are a plastic type heat shield and non stick sheet that can be used in the oven repeatedly, and will deflect or reflect heat depending on thickness and weave, this gives an unpredictable result and can result in your vinyl not adhering or falling off in the wash.
Pressing
If your temperature, timings and pressure are all correct, your vinyl will adhere correctly first time with the recommended timings. There is no need to press both front and back, just on the front only is sufficient. You risk ‘overcooking’ the vinyl if you press more than once for the same amount of time. If it has not adhered after the recommended time, just give it only another 2-3 seconds, not the full time again (if using an iron make sure to press even harder during this extra time).
Is your Iron working properly?
Sometimes the heating elements in a iron will go bad causing it not to heat up to the temperature that you set it to. It could also have hot and cold spots throughout the platen (the plate that gets hot). To be 100% sure use a temperature gun to test the accuracy of the iron.
TOP TIPS
• Set your iron to the Cotton setting and turn any steam function off. Use your iron on a firm surface like a table or the floor (ironing board is not recommended).
• Pre-Press/iron the desired location before application to remove moisture and wrinkles from the clothing.
• Place the decal in the desired location, be sure that the vinyl is in contact with the garment and the shiny side is facing ‘up’.
• Cover with the provided layer of grease proof paper/ Baking Parchment or a silicone sheet.
• Using both hands, keep the iron firmly pressed over the HTV for the recommended time.
• Do not move the iron around while pressing and ensure you are bearing down firmly on the HTV while avoiding any seams.
• If covering a large area, press on one area and then move onto the next. (If you do have steam holes on the base, just move it slightly so that the heat gets to all areas equally).
• If you press for too long you may melt the adhesive and if you don't press for long enough or firmly enough, it may come off.
• The key to a success is pressure –industrial heat presses bear down and clamp the garment, so you need to be imitating this pressure.
• The floor is a great for pressing onto, as you have more force to bear down with, but a sturdy work surface will suffice.
• Check if it is a Cool, Warm or Hot Peel and peel the carrier sheet away accordingly.
• If any vinyl looks like it has not stuck, recover with the carrier and cover sheet and re-press for a few more seconds HARDER.
• DO NOT USE A TEFLON SHEET
Set your Iron to 140°C (please check your irom manufactures guide as each iron is different)
• Apply strong and even pressure across your transfer.
• Press for 8 seconds*.
• Peel the release liner when it is hot/cool.
• You can also apply IYK HTV at the following settings:
• 120°C x 15 Sec
• 130°C x 10 Sec
• 150°C x 5 Sec.
NB: All information is given as guideline. We always recommend that you either order one or two extra pieces to practice with, or the practice kit.
We would love to see how it looks on your clothes, so Tag us @Initialyourkit or for any enquires, email us on info@initialyourkit.co.uk