If you've ever been looking for an economical and durable way to print on various materials, thermal transfer will certainly be a great solution for you. It is a method that allows you to quickly obtain a high-quality, durable print in full color. It is often used for advertising clothing or services for private customers.

What is thermal transfer

The principle of creating prints using the thermal transfer technique is analogous to the so-called which used to be extremely popular. After receiving the design, the design is printed on a special foil.

Depending on the customer's expectations, flex or flock foil is used to create the print. The former allows you to obtain a smooth surface - matte or glossy. It is most often used for sports and workwear.

Flock foil, on the other hand, is characterized by a slightly convex surface, resembling a velvet fabric. It allows you to obtain prints with high color depth.

To create the ordered print, a plotter is used that precisely cuts out the necessary element of the foil. It is then applied to a specialized device that heats up and is applied to the material. As a result, we get a solid print with vivid colors and high precision.

Advantages of thermal transfer

The main advantage of creating a print using the thermal transfer method is undoubtedly the short time of preparing the project and the products themselves. No need to create specialized vector files or matrices. It is enough to enter the pattern into the computer and print it on a special material.

It is also worth mentioning the quality of the prints, which is extremely high. In addition, the colors are vivid and clear, consistent with the prepared project, both in terms of contrast and color tonal transitions. The finished print, with proper treatment, is also durable, resistant to abrasion or cracking.

Due to so many advantages of this technique, thermal transfer is widely used in companies of many industries, including commercial, advertising and many others.

Use of thermal transfer

Due to the method of fixing the print on the material (press), thermal transfer is used primarily for hard elements, both natural and artificial. It can be wood, ceramics, porcelain and many others.

This method is also widely used in the production of various types of labels. In this way, you can create attractive labels on plain paper or stickers. This is a much better bond than thermal printing, which is unstable.

Many companies, primarily advertising agencies, also offer the creation of attractive prints on clothing. They are a combination of great appearance, perfect color reproduction, as well as low production costs. However, it should be remembered that clothes with a thermal transfer print should be washed at a temperature of up to 40 ° C, dried in tumble dryers, or ironed in places of the print. This will make the print look great for a long time.

When it comes to thermal transfer applications, it is also worth mentioning that this technique can also be used on convex elements, such as ceramic articles - mugs, cups, vases or other dishes. Such decorations will certainly be an interesting decoration of the kitchen or dining room. When using this type of articles, it is worth remembering to wash cups or other dishes only with delicate detergents and do not put them in the dishwasher.