Heat Transfer Metallic Foil and Compatible Transfer Papers

Heat transfer metallic foils are a simple and awesome way to add an extra bling effect to laser transfer t-shirts that can only be replicated with metallic vinyl – but not with the ease or fine detail possible with heat transfer foils!

Our foil effect finishing sheets are available in a wide range of pearlescent, shimmery, and foil effect colors and are held on a thin clear liner for simple handling and pressing. The foil layer adheres to the raised toner transfer and does not require cutting or weeding for a contoured, detailed design!

Compatible Papers

FOREVER Laser-Dark No-Cut (Low Temp) Heat Transfer Paper

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Instructions for foiling:

Print image mirrored horizontally in all black or solid dark color.

Step 1- Marry the printed A foil sheet with the B (grid back) sheet to transfer glue over to the printed design per normal instructions.

Step 2- Transfer image onto shirt for 15 seconds (half the normal time) at medium pressure (4-5 bar). Peel cold

Step 3- Place foil on top of design with the foil color face up, and press for 35-45 seconds at the closest temperature of the actual paper (305-310F) with heavy pressure (6-8 bar).  Peel cold

Note: This paper can be transferred on hard surface substrates and other materials as well. Proceed with the recommended printed instructions and follow “Step 3” to apply foil as the final additional step.

 

ImageClip Laser Dark Heat Transfer Paper

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Instructions for foiling:

Print image mirrored horizontally in all black or solid dark color

Step 1- Marry the printed A sheet (purple back imaging paper) with B sheet ( tan back transfer paper) together to transfer glue to the A sheet per normal instructions

Step 2- Transfer image onto shirt at 375F for 20 seconds at medium pressure (4-5 bar). Peel cold.

Step 3- Place foil on top of design with the foil color face up and press for 35-45 seconds at 350F with heavy pressure (6-8 bar). Peel cold.

Click HERE to visit our step by step tutorial on how to use the Foiling sheets with Image Clip Laser Dark. 

 

Digi-Trans No Weed Laser Transfer Paper

(for light fabrics only)

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Instructions for foiling:

Print image mirrored horizontally in all black or solid dark color.

Follow normal pressing instructions to transfer to fabric but decrease pressure to a medium (3-5 bar) to avoid transferring excess glue from the sheet.

Once image is transferred, place foil on top of design with the foil color face up and press for 35-45 seconds at 330F with heavy pressure (6-8 bar). Peel cold.

Note: Using Digi Trans with the foiling sheets may result in uneven transfer, irregular foiled edges, excess glue that picks up foil in undesired areas and is overall more difficult to work with.

 

 

How to Use Finishing Foil With Image Clip Laser Dark

Foiling is a heat transfer paper finishing technique that is not only eye catching, but also fairly easy to do. The foil comes in a variety of metallic colors, such as silver, gold, blue, red, and more specialized shimmery color combos like confetti gold, glitter red and dust gold (check out all of our available colors HERE).

In this tutorial, we used the “glitter silver” metallic foil which has a great multi-color finish and illusion of texture and Image Clip Laser Dark two step paper. Image Clip Laser Dark is a popular paper compatible with both CMYK and white toner printers and its self-weeding properties make it possible to transfer complex and detailed designs hassle free: no cutting or masking required.

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Printing

Print your image in a solid black color, mirrored horizontally. You may also print your design in a very dark color such as a dark blue or red to match the foil color, but in most cases black works best. It provides great toner density for a more durable transfer and helps create a distressed look once the foil starts fading over time.

When using Image Clip Laser Dark, make sure you are printing on the sheet with the purple grid backing also marked as IMAGE CLIP Laser Dark Imaging Paper.

 

 

 

 

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Step 1

During this step, you will be adding a layer of glue on your already printed design. Lay the printed imaging sheet on the press facing up and place the second sheet of paper that has a tan (light brown) grid back and is marked as IMAGE CLIP Laser Dark Transfer paper on top of it with the blank side face down. This process is called “marrying” the two sheets together.

We recommend pressing the two sheets together at 225F for 20 seconds with medium pressure (4-5 bars).

Once the 20 seconds elapse, open the press and peel off the top transfer paper immediately while still very hot in one quick, smooth motion.

 

 

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After the glue sheet has been removed, your black design should now have an opaque layer of white glue transferred evenly across the page. Inspect both the imaging sheet and the glue sheet for any inconsistencies. On the imaging sheet, any parts that are missing glue will not transfer on the shirt well or at all. Make sure there isn’t excess glue anywhere else on the page: glue should adhere to toner only and not on the blank paper itself. If any of the black is transferring over to the top glue sheet, decrease the pressure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Step 2

Once glue has been successfully added to the purple imaging sheet, place the sheet with the design face down onto the shirt. We used a 100% black cotton shirt for this tutorial.

We recommend doing this step at 375F for 25 seconds at a medium pressure (4 to 5 bar).

After pressing, move the shirt off to the side and let it cool completely. Once it is cooled, peel away the paper to reveal the black design.

 

 

 

AAA_3259You may notice some white spots, especially in really small detailed areas. With such tiny detail, that is normal as the glue tends to spread out a little due to the pressure and heat applied during pressing. The foiling sheet will cover up all these areas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Step 3

For this final step, place the shirt back on the press and put a piece of foil on top of it, cut down to size, with the whiter opaque side facing down. The color of the foil itself should be facing up as that is the side you will be looking at once the transfer is complete.

The foil can be pressed at anywhere from 300F to 350F. For this tutorial and paper, we pressed the foil at 350F for 35 seconds with heavy pressure (6-8 bars).

Let the foil completely cool down before peeling.

 

 

 

AAA_3303Once the foil is cold to the touch, peel away in a smooth motion. You will notice that the foil has completely adhered to your previously black design, leaving a transparent image on the foiling sheet where foil once was. All of the white glue areas should be gone at this stage. Foil will not adhere to fabric alone which makes this step self-weeding and hassle free as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

finished_foil1The finished design is definitely a head turner!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Transfer Images onto Live Edge Wooden Coasters with TechniPrint HS Laser Paper!

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Behold the TechniPrint HS self-weeding laser transfer paper for hard surfaces! It has been one of our new favorite papers to play with and it is proving to be more versatile than we ever thought! It doesn’t require items to be coated in any special way and is opaque enough to be transferred onto colored surfaces, although very light colors will take some of the texture/color of the item as it transfers toner only. Simply trim around the design (or trim down to a shape slightly larger than your item) for a beautiful transfer. It is compatible with regular CMYK laser printers and white toner printers. We tested it with our OKI 831TS and our OKI 920WT with great results!

Among some of the items we pressed were ceramic mugs, frosted steins, hardboard coasters, aluminum panels and more. Our favorite item we made however is the wooden live edge coaster. We bought a few of those from our local craft store and pressed them with great success.

 

The Process

 

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Make sure your item is a flat surface. Any dents or bumps will cause air bubbles and the surrounding area may not transfer well. Curved surfaces, such as mugs, are great as long as the surface is completely smooth and even pressure is applied all around (use of mug press is a must). Wipe the item clean from any debris or dust prior to pressing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

wood_design1 (2)Print your design on the blank side of the paper (the back has the grid and logo printed on it) through a laser printer on a heavier paper setting, such as Ultra Heavy, Label or Transparency (for our OKI 831ts, 920WT and 711WT printers, the setting is Ultra Heavy 2). The design should be printed in reverse (mirror horizontally).

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Trim the design down to size so that the paper edge goes slightly beyond the edge of the item. Align your design to your item and use tape if needed to hold it in place. Place the item in the heat press with the design face down on top of it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The nature of our item made it slightly uneven when laid flat on a surface. We chose to use a foam pillow underneath to provide extra cushion and even out the surface when the press closes down. Also an optional and useful accessory, especially for larger and uneven surface area, is the sublimation heating pad that we also used in order to distribute the temperature evenly by placing it on top of the transfer and item.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

settings

Total pressing time varies, but we have found that 330F works with the majority of items. For these wooden coasters that are approximately 4″ x 4″ in., we went with 3 minutes of total pressing time and medium pressure (4 to 6 bars)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

end resultAfter the pressing time elapsed, we removed the item from the press and let it cool completely. With most metal and ceramic items, we recommend running them under cool water to aid the process. Wood however would warp and crack so we placed our coaster in a mini fridge for a faster and drier cool down. Once completely cold, we peeled away the paper to reveal a beautiful and vibrant transfer! For added protection and durability, you may use a clear coat protective spray, especially if transferring on finished or treated surfaces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click HERE to view our video on transferring onto a live edge wooden coaster!

Do you have any cool items that were pressed with the TechniPrint HS? Leave us a comment and tell us about your experience. Check out some fun stuff below that we also pressed during our testing process!

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More images to come…. !