Best paper to use for making custom T-shirts? by RhymePhile

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Best paper to use for making custom T-shirts?

POSTED BY: RHYMEPHILE
UPDATED: Saturday, August 14, 2004 07:22
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Thursday, August 12, 2004 7:11 AM

I have access to a HP LaserJet color printer here in work, (bwahahahaa) and I wanted to print out some iron-on T-shirt designs. Looking around online for office supply stores I see there is transfer paper for the InkJet printers, but I was wondering if this paper would work in a LaserJet. I've never done this before.

I don't feel like wasting $15 on 10 sheets of transfer paper if this won't work. Anyone know?

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"Revenge!"

Vince in Rex the Runt

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Thursday, August 12, 2004 7:15 AM

GWYNETHH

HP color laser printers are very sensitive to non-paper fed items. See if you can buy the HP product for the laser printer so you do not trash the inards of the printer.

Are You Asking me to Dance?

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Thursday, August 12, 2004 7:32 AM

JUSTDAVID

Quote:
Originally posted by RhymePhile:
I was wondering if this paper would work in a LaserJet.

Absolutely not. It would very likely leave lots of gooey melted mess stuck to the expensive printer insides.

You probably want to avoid that.

"Light it."

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Thursday, August 12, 2004 7:34 AM

ROCKETSURGEON

Noo!! Bad monkey! No banana!

Inkjet T-shirt paper uses a melting-plastic to transfer the ink. There's a layer of plastic then a non-sticky later underneath, kind of like the backing of stickers. You apply the Iron on it and it melts the melty-plastic and that soaks into the fabric of the Shirt along with the ink of your print-out.

Laser printers, any of them, melt the toner onto the paper at high temperature an then cool the paper. You'll notice paper is usually a bit warm when you take it out of a laser printer (or a photocopier which uses the same mechanism).

If you put that iron-on transfer paper into a photocopier or laser-printer it will be like spraying the heating-element in the printer with hot-glue. Toner and plastic gunk will be smeared all over the inside of the fuser unit (the thing that heats the toner and fuses it to the paper).

Hope I got to you in time...

---
"Here's something you can't do ... [insert cool manoever here]"

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Thursday, August 12, 2004 7:34 AM

RHYMEPHILE

Why yes, non-gooey insides of the work printer would be wise of me

Thank you.

Okay, here's another question then: the printer I will have to use is the printer that came along with my mother's Compaq computer (i.e. the printer that came with the package). Can I use the HP paper with that?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Revenge!"

Vince in Rex the Runt

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Thursday, August 12, 2004 7:38 AM

CLANDESTINY

One brand of inkjet paper will pretty much work with anyone else's brand of inkjet printer; the paper itself isn't different, just made under different brand names.

-----------------------------
"Take my love, take my land, take my wife -- please." -- Henny Youngman performs the Firefly Theme.

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Thursday, August 12, 2004 7:42 AM

RHYMEPHILE

Man, it's a good thing I asked this question. Who knew making neat-o fanshirts could have resulted in the loss of my job?

And clicking back and forth on the thread I discovered a bunch of nice ads (sponsored by Google) to the left of the pages that will direct me to any paper I want. Cool!

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"Revenge!"

Vince in Rex the Runt

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Thursday, August 12, 2004 2:55 PM

ANKHAGOGO

Quote:
Originally posted by Clandestiny:
One brand of inkjet paper will pretty much work with anyone else's brand of inkjet printer; the paper itself isn't different, just made under different brand names.

Gonna have to disagree slightly with you there on the paper issue -- I prefer Transfermagic paper, because once you've printed it off, the image isn't as prone to smearing as it is when you use another brand, which matters if you're doing it at work then taking it home to iron.
I got the Transfermagic at Hobby Lobby, and I have no idea if they're a regional chain or not, and I can't remember the name of the stuff that smeared so badly. That I got at Michael's.
Transfermagic.com is the website, though. I just bought some today,actually, and made me a "Gondor has no king. Gondor needs no king" t-shirt, and it looks swell.

Eomer: "Hi! Stop me if you've heard this one ...an elf, a dwarf, and a man walk into the Riddermark..."

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Thursday, August 12, 2004 3:13 PM

CLANDESTINY

Quote:
Originally posted by Ankhagogo:
Quote:
Originally posted by Clandestiny:
One brand of inkjet paper will pretty much work with anyone else's brand of inkjet printer; the paper itself isn't different, just made under different brand names.

Gonna have to disagree slightly with you there on the paper issue -- I prefer Transfermagic paper, because once you've printed it off, the image isn't as prone to smearing as it is when you use another brand, which matters if you're doing it at work then taking it home to iron.

Well, I see your point. What I really should have said is what I meant -- that inkjet papers from different manufacturers will work in any inkjet printer. In other words, you don't have to use HP paper in an HP printer.

In saying the various brands are no different from each other -- well, obviously there I went a bit too far. They'll all work to one degree or another, but as you point out, varying makes will give you varying quality.

-----------------------------
"Take my love, take my land, take my wife -- please." -- Henny Youngman performs the Firefly Theme.

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Saturday, August 14, 2004 7:22 AM

ANKHAGOGO

Quote:
Originally posted by Clandestiny:
Well, I see your point. What I really should have said is what I meant -- that inkjet papers from different manufacturers will work in any inkjet printer. In other words, you don't have to use HP paper in an HP printer.

Ah, ok, gotcha.

although I'm sure that printer companies have some research team somewhere working on how to make printes that are ONLY compatible with paper produced by their company......

Eomer: "Hi! Stop me if you've heard this one ...an elf, a dwarf, and a man walk into the Riddermark..."

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