[VIDEO] How To Screen Print Foil Transfers with Wilflex HD Clear Foil Adhesive

Check out HD Clear from Wilflex and other great screen printing supplies here: https://goo.gl/Vq0bhK

Transcript:
Hey Screen Printers, in this screen printing instructional video we are going to show you how to use Wilflex’s Epic HD Clear as a Foil Adhesive for screen print foil transfers. We have found and verified from expert printers such as Denver Print House and Graphic Elephants that HD works better than traditional foil adhesive.

HD clear has tremendous adhesion properties, particularly when it is hot. Also, I have found that hd clear works better than foil adhesive with inline machines if you are unable to flash the glue prior to foil.

In this video we will show you the best practices for using Wilflex Epic HD Clear are a foil adhesive on a manual press.

Let’s start with the screen mesh, to properly transfer the entire foil film, it’s important that we get enough ink deposit to the garment prior to foiling. We recommend using a 110 mesh or lower. For this video we are using a 110 mesh with good tension 20+ neutons . We have also built up our stencil using the round side of the scoop coater and doing a 2/2 coat of emulsion to give us a higher eom and allow more ink to deposit to the garment.

When printing we want to ensure proper off contact, ⅛’ or slightly more to allow the HD Gel which is slightly thicker to transfer from the screen to the garment.

We want to use a 70-80 or 70/90/70 triple durometer blade to control this slightly thicker ink. Prior to printing we load the ink into the stencil with a heavy load pass and a medium squeegee pressure an angle. For manually printing I do recommend using a heavy pressure and a medium angle between 15-20 degrees. This would be replicated on an automatic press.

Two passes are typically needed to get a good amount transfered to the shirt. Most of the time for standard foil applications you can just do two passes, however if you are wanting to create some density to you print you can flash and add more ink on top.

HD Clear 2 has some high density properties to, for higher density than this we recommend using Wilflex’s Epic SHARP Clear which is even thicker and can create more 3d effect prints.

Once printed you can do one of three things prior to foiling.

• Cure
• Flash
• Transfer without flashing.

Each will give a different effect, if you do one of the later just flashing or transfering you will want to discuss running the shirts down the dryer prior to washing.

HD clears cures at 330-350 degrees so run at normal dryer settings prior to transfering.
For your heat press you want to use medium pressure 40-50 lbs and 330 degrees. Use a teflon pad to protect your shirt. Put your foil face up, heat press for 10-12 seconds. Let cool down and the transfer to stick to the garment. Then peel.

If you are just flashing you want to have your heat press close to the press, you can take the shirt straight off and put it onto the heat press, transfer for the same settings and you should get similar results

If you are going wet, you can put the shirt directly onto the press after printijng, keep in mind your ink is wet and may mush, this does work fairly well however if you have to cure after it may dull your foil.

You can even experiment with this product without using a heat press. Get the HD Clear super hot under a flash and when it comes out, put on the foil and hand press it onto the garment, you ca n also use a hand iron, this would allow you to do multiple colors on the outside of it. Because you are not applying full pressure however you could get inconsistent results.

If you having trouble with full adhesion here are some things try out.
Ensure you deposit is enough on the press, if you see inconsistencies in your deposit adjust your screen off contact to ensure it is level and then play with your angle and pressure to get an even ink deposit. You can also do a print flash print to build the deposit.
Ensure your heat press is pressing firmly enough, try increasing the pressure slightly. Also ensure you are letting the foil cool down all the way before peeling.

Foiling is creative, fun, and very easy to do and with Wilflex’s HD clear you can create some killer foil transfer screen prints. Check Wilflex Epic HD Clear and our entire selection of foil and heat presses available at screenprinting.com and be sure to subscribe to our youtube channel for more great screen printing videos.

HD clear has tremendous adhesion properties, particularly when it is hot. We use is for “specialty” foil applications. Not necessarily for traditional foil, where we might use the foil adhesive. Many other clear’s aren’t as sticky. We find it needs to sit on something and have some dimension. Avoid 100% foil coverage when possible. One of our favorite specialty products with many, many applications.

Find us on Twitter and Instagram: @Ryonet

At Ryonet we love to educate first. With classes across the U.S., online design courses and thousands of how-to videos; education is the cornerstone of what we do. Join us and start #PoweringThePrint.

Check out all of our How-to Videos