Be it a mouse pad, a coffee mug or a T-shirt, we all like our personal belongings to reflect something about ourselves – even if it is only having our name on them. If all we want is our name; then, there are plenty of mass produced items available in the stores.
But, I Want More Than My Name – How about Having My Picture As Well?
When we get to ideas like this – that is the time when we should look into the use of transfers. Today, you can go into a store; stand in front of a digital camera and walk out a few minutes later with a coffee mug emblazoned with your name and (literally) mug-shot. How do they do it? The answer is heat transfer “printing. Your digital photo is reversed and then printed onto special transfer paper along with your name and any other requested details. The transfer is then placed against the side of the mug and heat is applied which causes the inks on the transfer to migrate (the right way round) onto the mug’s surface and affix themselves permanently to it.
Many Different Applications For Transfers
Once the transfer has been created, it can be used to apply its image onto most surfaces of many things; one of the most popular applications being the customization of T-shirts. Once the techniques for making the transfers were perfected, they began to be offered to the public in the form of Custom Iron On Transfers. With these, you either paid someone to make the transfer for you (either using your design or one of theirs); or, you purchased the special “ink release paper” and printed your own design on to it.
To get designs off their release papers and onto your T-shirts, all you had to do was place the transfer (ink side down) onto the shirt and then apply a domestic clothes iron to it to obtain your very own personalized shirt with its Custom Iron On Transfers. These can be great if you only really want to wear the shirt for a single, special occasion but, not so good if you intend to proudly display the custom design many times – until the shirt is fully worn out.
Unfortunately, many Custom Iron On Transfers degrade quite quickly and can begin to look tatty after a few washes. For longer life, you should upgrade to screen printed, heat press transfers which have to be applied to the shirt in an inexpensive heat press.
