Metallic Vinyl and Multicolor Layered Vinyl

[mimosatexas]

Just thought I would share...

I've been trying out different types of vinyl just to get a feel for what I can do now that I have a cutter.  This is the Siser Metallic Silver and holy crap is it shiny!  I will say though, that the stuff is super thick and stiff.  I can't really imagine selling it as a full design on a tshirt and having someone be happy with how it wears, maybe for small accents.  It was also a giant pain to weed, prone to tearing at every corner cut, and the adhesive backing readily separates from the actual silver.  I will probably stick to standard foiling on shirts, even low quantities, unless someone REALLY wants a one off and wants to pay to cover the extra cost of the vinyl and time it takes to weed.  I also tried it on a hat and think it works much better there.

Design is just a personal use thing I put together based on the old Seaholm Power Plant here in Austin. http://www.thc.state.tx.us/preserve/projects-and-programs/national-register-historic-places/seaholm_austin

edit: Just decided to add this to the thread vs. starting another one.  I wanted to see if I could do a thin outline on a multicolor vinyl press on a hat, and the results are pretty good I would say.  Weeding took a bit and I am still having some issues with small details detaching or shifting on the clear backing (any idea how to fix that or is that just a limitation of vinyl?).  Tiny bit of the S is poking around the outline as a result.  What do you think?

[Robert Clark]

Hi, Just a quick tip on weeding Siser Easyweed. If you have a light table or a surface that is warm .. Weed on that. Once the glue heats up a little it will make weeding a dream .. Will cut down on the tears as well. hope this helps. I also attached the new 2015 Siser Brochure for you.

Have a great day

Robert 

[mimosatexas]

Kevin at River City gave me that tip just yesterday.  I tried that with the metallic silver and it didn't really help much honestly.  The stuff just really wanted to tear and separate like I described.  Thanks for the tip though!

[mimosatexas]

just updated with another quick project I was working on.

[Frog]

The old school method (and still the way with die-cuts) is to merely stack. This can get thick.
The background is oversized and forms the outline.

With cad-cut, I try to design art with the outline cut as a "straddler" that allows a little fudge room. Shrinkage can screw up your plans (ask George Costanza)

A hat, with its double convex may be complicating your alignment.


btw, merging your two topics, tread lightly when using a metallic as one of your colors. Specialty Materials advises against using them on the bottom. I don't know if Siser has the same advice.

[Robert Clark]

Here is a pic our Vinyl lady did, by fooling around with 5 different vinyl types

Easyweed Silver Lens
Easyweed Glitter Purple
Easyweed Purple
Easyweed Glitter Black Silver
Easyweed Holographic Purple

No stacking here, was pieced together like a puzzle, I don't recommend big runs..lol.. took like four hours just for this print. But you can get very creative with the vinyl. 



 

[KevWilso]

Woah! Impressive.... Definitely not long runs though.  LOL

[mimosatexas]

Pretty cool Robert!  I'm enjoying the vinyl quite a bit at the moment, just trying to figure out the limitations and how it compares to other methods.

Frog: I actually tried both ways, with a full solid white below the red, but the outline thickness definitely varied a bit due to the shape of the hat and the way heat causing things to shrink and shift.  The one pictured has the white outline on top and the red had a small trap built in to make sure no black peaked through inside the letter, which was successful.  In my opinion the small bit of red poking out was less noticeable than the varied thickness from full on stacking them.  It was MUCH easier weeding the latter though

About to test some stretchy vinyl on spandex arm sleeve things...

[mimosatexas]

Easiweed Stretch kind of failed the stretch test in my opinion.  It didnt crack or come off the polyspandex, but it definitely stretched out and didn't go back to it's original form so now when laid flat the "print" is rippled and distorted.  Are there any extra super stretchy vinyls out there?  Will silicone ink direct printed do the same thing?

[Robert Clark]

Mimo,

Just incase you don't have this.. Here are the pressing instructions for all Siser Vinyl .. I tell my customers to laminate it and put it by the heat press. 

Don't forget this little step :

For best performance, cover and reheat for 2-3 seconds

[Frog]

Easiweed Stretch kind of failed the stretch test in my opinion.  It didnt crack or come off the polyspandex, but it definitely stretched out and didn't go back to it's original form so now when laid flat the "print" is rippled and distorted.  Are there any extra super stretchy vinyls out there?  Will silicone ink direct printed do the same thing?

Wow, how much did you stretch it? I just ran some this morning on some lululemon tops and it seems fine.
I also did text, which I always like because of the additional stretch it provides due to the spaces in-between letters

[mimosatexas]

I guess I stretched it pretty hard (probably 30-40% if I had to guess), but there was no other way to get the item on and off (it is one of those stretchy arm sleeve things bike folks wear).

[Frog]

I rarely even slip an open shirt onto my press, let alone need to stretch one on. I press them flat, and when I need to due to seams, like on sleeves, use cushions inside.

[mimosatexas]

Should have clarified, I meant get it onto my arm and off again after pressing.  I was testing how it would stretch for the end user when putting it on, moving around, and taking it off.

[Frog]

The materials should definitely hold up to normal use, as that's their whole point. Unless someone comes up with a material that's way better, you may just have to cherry pick applications of this stuff.