Three Ways to Re-Brand Apparel with a Heat Press
Three Ways to Re-Brand Apparel with a Heat Press
Do you add branding to your products? If not, why not?
Branding your products is the quickest and easiest way to increase brand awareness. Custom Heat Transfers are a quick, simple, and cost-effective way to add high-quality branding to your garments in just 10 seconds.
We've said it before, and we'll say it again: The Hotronix Interchangeable Platen range is a game-changer. If you want to up your game as a heat printer, Hotronix easily does this for you.
It's true, there are many ways to successfully re-brand your garments. Whether that be turning your garments inside out, using a hand-held heat press or sewing in your labels. But as a garment business striving for success, what you should be asking yourself is: Is this the most efficient method for my business?
Hand-held heat presses
The answer to this is simply no. Your arm is probably aching from the force of pushing it down by now, and lets not get into how unreliable the temperatures of these devices can be.
Turning your garments inside out.
If you're doing this and laying the garment down on the platen, you'll probably be experiencing a couple of problems. The first one being that your collar is probably imprinting into your garment when you fuse it. Without going into how this is affecting your pressure distribution and the application of your transfer, this can look unappealing and unprofessional to the end user. The second issue is the time it takes you to do this. Turning the garment inside out, positioning it on the press, printing and then turning it back the right way again is a lengthy process.
Sewing in your labels
As far as time efficiency goes, this is probably the longest method out of all the methods mentioned in this blog. Whether by hand or machine, this is skilled but fiddly work. There is a better way!
The Equipment List:
First up is the Heat Press.
We use a Hotronix Fusion IQ Heat Press in the above video but any Hotronix will work with the following accessories.
This particular model of Hotronix heat press offers Fusion IQ touchscreen technology.
If you're producing a large volume of printed garments, a press from the Fusion IQ range will benefit your business extraordinarily. Combining Auto Adjust Pressure and superior threadability will vastly increase your efficiency. Additionally, the Air Fusion IQTM comes with air-pressure technology to give you the most accurate pressure on a heat press (Available in Dual Air, Air single-head tabletop or adjustable-height pedestal stand models, and a manual swing & draw)
Custom Heat Transfers
If you're still using Heat Transfer Vinyl for your neck labels, stop! Save yourself the hassle of cutting and weeding and switch to heat transfers!
In the above video we use Screen Printed Heat Transfers but again, you could choose DTF or Hybrid transfers for your neck labels. You'll need to adjust your time and temperature accordingly.
Not only are Screen Printed Transfers great for achieving fine detail with a soft, thin finish that feels like part of the garment, our screen printed transfers are Pantone matched, all include stretch and rebound, no cracking, lasting for 75+ washes and apply in just 10 seconds (the quickest transfer available from Stahls' UK).
The Accessories
The 10x10cm Interchangeable Platen
This platen is compatible with any size Hotronix heat press. Just pull the platen lever, and take your current platen out. Slot the new one in and secure it with the lever again.
This platen is great for small print placements like a left chest logo but is perfectly sized for neck labels.
With this accessory, there is no need to turn your garment inside out.
Simply open up the neck of your t-shirt and lay the label area over the platen. Push the raised seams of the collar off the platen and you're done. You've created a flat neck label print space without having to turn your garment inside out.
The Accessories
This Hotronix Interchangeable platen is a force to be reckoned with. Not only does it isolate your neck label area but you can also print your garment's front chest placement at the same time.
Simply thread your t-shirt onto the platen. You'll benefit from the built-in quick slip on this platen too so you'll find that your t-shirt glides onto it effortlessly. Once in position, you can pull your neck label area through the smaller section and isolate it to print two placements in one fuse.
This is the most efficient option on the market when it comes to t-shirt printing because it cuts your total fuse time in half!
