Adhering HTV
• Always refer to the manufacturer’s recommended instructions for temperature, press time, peel time, and
laundering.
• You can use a home iron for applying HTV. Here are a few tips:
Use a hot dry iron (cotton setting), with steam turned off.
Use a firm heat-safe surface…. Not a highly cushioned ironing board.
For thin fabrics, insert a cloth between the layers of the shirt in case the adhesive melts through to the
other side.
Press your shirt (or other material) for a few seconds to remove wrinkles and any moisture.
Arrange the cut design on the shirt, carefully centering. One useful tip: by selecting your design in
CREATE, you’ll be able to see the center of the design and more accurately center it on the shirt.
Press firmly for the recommended time. Do not move the iron around… just press firmly. Obviously, for
designs larger than your iron’s surface, you will need to press in sections.
Do not try to peel up the edges after pressing. They WILL come up because the adhesive hasn’t had
sufficient time to set. If in doubt, read the next tip.
Some people will also flip the shirt inside out and press from the other side for another 5 to 10 seconds.
• When pressing multi-color designs, think carefully about what you are doing! Only do one color at a time.
Otherwise, you might end up pressing one color’s shapes on top of another color’s protective sheet. Also,
cover any colors that have already been pressed with some scraps of a protective sheet or a full Teflon
sheet, if you have one. You do not want the iron in contact with the HTV that’s no longer protected.
• Always wait at least 24 hours before laundering.
Why should I upgrade to a Heat Press?
• When first starting out with HTV applications, using an iron is a good way of keeping costs down, but as you
do more work with HTV and, especially if you start selling your work, then owning a heat press offers the
following advantages:
Pressure consistency: You can adjust the pressure on a heat press and use the same pressure for
multiple garments.
Temperature control: You will find that some types of HTV may require different heat settings, thus having
a press allows a precise temperature to be set for the type being used.
Larger pressing area: Pressing the vinyl in different stages with an iron can be a real pain. A heat press
allows you to do the same thing but in one step, thus saving time and providing more consistent results,
especially if it is a large design.
5.04 Fabric and Felt Tips
• It is highly recommended that a 30° blade be used when cutting fabric and felt. Also:
Make sure the cutting mat is clean and sticky and press the material down evenly.
Because felt is thicker, a dedicated mat with a more aggressive repositionable adhesive will probably be
needed. Another method is to place Con-Tact adhesive shelf liner on top of your mat, peel off the
protective sheet, and press the felt to that liner. This is advantageous because the felt residue does
quickly build up on the mats and the shelf liner can be replaced, easily keeping the cutting mat clean.
• When cutting with the 30° blade, it is not necessary to apply a stabilizer to all fabrics. While some thicker
fabrics will cut much better with an iron-on stabilizer such as Steam-a-Seam 2 or Thermo-Web’s Heat n’
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