Foil is an easy and attractive effect to use when decorating shirts. The flash and brilliance of foil makes a shirt stand out in a crowd and can increase the value of a shirt tremendously. We say foil is easy because when you use the right products it's actually not that hard to do! Foil is best applied through a transfer process on a special foil adhesive but it can also transfer to standard plastisol and special effects plastisol. Foil transfers are fun and can make your customers mouths drop.

To accomplish foil transfers you'll need the following:

• Foil itself. Foil comes in a variety of colors
• Foil has two sides: a dull side and a shinny or colorful side.
• Transfer adhesion. Foil has to stick to something, it works best with a foil transfer adhesive, but can also stick to plastisol inks if printed and cured properly. See transfer application instructions below.
• Heat transfer press. Any transfer press should work, see transfer instructions below.

Application:

Foil is applied colored side up and aluminum looking (dull) side down. Rub foil with eraser immediately after application to help remove any wrinkles. Allow transfer to cool completely (20 to 30 seconds) after application before removal of foil sheet. Pull foil sheet off slowly. It can be helpful to tint the foil adhesive, to the color of the foil being applied, with a small amount of conventional plastisol. This process will help to keep small pinholes in the applied foil film from being noticeable.

Application Temperature:

138°C to 190°C / 280°F to 375°F. Try lower temperature first for best results.

Application Time:

4 - 9 seconds.

Application Pressure:

t-shirts = medium (35lbs.).

Sweatshirts = medium to heavy (35 psi to 60 psi).

Important Information:

For best durability of the foil after it is applied, it is recommended that the garment be hand washed or machine washed (delicate cycle) inside out and line or air dried. Do not use bleach. Do not iron printed area.

Multi-Color Foil:

Two or more colors with foil transfers can be accomplished one of two ways.

Special Effects:

Foil can be transferred to a wide variety of special effect inks. Depending on how the ink is printed, foil will stick to some or all of the design. It will work with puff, high density, granite base, blowout, suede and more! Crumpling the foil also creates a cool effect.

Cure Tempurature:

For direct printed fabrics: 325F (163C) entire ink film. For transfer printing (adhesive on foil): 240F to 275F (116C to 135C). Test dryer temperatures and wash test printed product before and during a production run.