Understanding Light Heat Transfer Papers
“For use with white or light-colored fabrics.” You often see this in the instructions for light heat transfer papers. But what does this mean? Where is the boundary between light-colored shirts and dark-colored shirts?
The answer isn’t simple; it varies case by case. When determining whether your colored shirt will work with light transfer papers, you need to assess the type of image it is.
All Black Images
If your image only has black elements, such as simple black text or line graphics, it is likely to work on darker colored shirts like red or blue. For most light transfer papers, you will still need to trim around your image to reduce the polymer background.
Solid Non-Neutral Colors
Images with solid colors like reds, deep or dark blues, and greens can be printed onto colored shirts such as pink, beige, or light blue. However, be aware that there may be some color distortion depending on the image and shirt color.
Gradients and Light Colors
Images with gradients, drop shadows, or light colors like grey and light blue should only be printed on white fabric. Colors will distort significantly due to the amount of white used in the graphic. Wherever white is present (in gradients, drop shadows, or to produce light colors), the shirt color will mix with the image.
Examples
Black Colored Images
Black images work well on various colored fabrics.
Colored Images
Colored images work well on white and pink fabrics. On red fabric, the yellow mixes with the red, making the image difficult to print well.
Light Colored Images
Light colored images only work on white fabric and will not print well on most colored fabrics.
With light transfer papers, any white areas of an image will take on the color of the shirt since most laser and inkjet printers do not use white ink. The white comes from the paper, which is peeled off after printing, leaving only the ink and a transparent coating on the shirt.
If you're unsure whether your image will work on a colored shirt, it’s safer to use dark heat transfer paper. Dark heat transfer papers are compatible with any colored fabric, though they tend to be thicker and cost a bit more than light transfer papers.