Can someone tell me about print-making?

[Aranka Taine]

I'm curious to know how one goes about making iron-on prints.

A friend told me that you can print an image out on any normal printer, but she never told me if there was a special sort of paper you're supposed to use, or a method for when you iron the print on, etc., leaving me in the dark about the actual process.

Also, is there something one can apply to help keep the image from coming off whatever you iron the print on? I would think that ink from a printer wouldn't last too long after a few washes.

Any information one could provide (or even a link to an information website), would be great. Thanks!  

[scarlet_maven]

Oh, good question! I'm pretty sure that there is a special kind of paper that you need, but I think you can get it just about anywhere that has a good selection of craft supplies or printer supplies.

http://h71036.www7.hp.com/hho/cache/344461-0-0-225-121.html I did a quick search and found this pretty easy guide--and I know I've seen the HP iron-on transfer paper at several different places.

As far as the longevity of the image... I have no idea. sweatdrop  

[Aranka Taine]

Thanks very much! Hopefully, I'll be able to create some things with it.

Hrm. The longevity could be an issue, though. I'll have to see what doing some searches might come up with. Again, thanks for the help! smile  

[SailorJuggaLokoLette]

You need to get Iron on transfer paper, (they also have iron on fabric for the quilter's needs). They usually come in packs of 3-10 for 5-20 dollars. You can print it on your regular printer/copier just like regular paper. If you are going to do words then when you are going to print it you will need to reverse the image so that when you iron it on the fabric the words are not backwards.Make sure whatever fabric you are going to use you have washed first other wise most of the transfers won't completely stick. You can buy them at any Walmart or fabric/craft store usually around the t-shirts and/or fabric paint.

The ink won't come off because there is a coating that is on the paper that the image is printed onto. So when it is ironed on it come out on top of the image and seals the ink to the shirt.

If you have any other questions please ask, I work at a craft store and I have used the transfers before.  

[Aranka Taine]

Ooh, thanks for all of the information! I'll definitely put it to use. ^_^ If I wind up getting stuck on something, I'll certainly be sure to ask. Thank you!  

[zombieee]

You can print on just a normal printer. Like you said, the image does fade rather quickly, because most printers are ink jet. It may be worth investigation to see if laser jet ink doesn't fade as much, and whether laser jet printers will print on to the transfers - and, subsequently, whether the transfers will transfer when printed with laser jet lol.

For transfer "paper", there are two options that I know of. One is the "plasticy" kind of transfer, where you print onto what is essentially a piece of vinyl. This stuff is opaque. You basically have to print, cut out any parts that you don't want printed (like the excess "paper"), peel off the backing, position, iron with a special paper between the iron and vinyl so it doesn't melt (provided in the package). For this vinyl type transfer, you don't have to print the image backwards because the printed surface is the "top" of the viewable image.

On the other hand, the other kind of transfer is one where you print the image backwards, because the printed surface gets placed face-down on the teeshirt, and then transfered with an iron. I haven't used these ones, so that is just the basics of what I know about them.

Good luck!  

[Annchen]

I've used iron on transfers a couple of times. It's not the most sturdy way to prettify something, but it works and looks really nice for a while. Try not to use stretchy fabric since that might make the iron on crack... I've got some stretchy t-shirts that started to look shaby pretty quickly because of stretching and cracking.

Also: don't wash it unless you really have to and it'll live longer.