Ghost image on second t-shirt (sublimation)

[kris_hm]

Hi,
Just got new heat press and testing it.
Made first t shirt without problems and I've used teflon sheet to protect heating plate. But when made second one, I could see "ghost image" of first design. Why it happened?? Should I clean teflon sheet after every use??

Also could you please advice on how to preheat my press?? should I pre heat closed or open?? As my manual instruction says nothing about it.

Thanks in advance

[NASH]

i normally just wipe the teflon with a towel between presses, but i also put an A3 phtocopying paper inside the shirt

[kris_hm]

i normally just wipe the teflon with a towel between presses, but i also put an A3 phtocopying paper inside the shirt

is that paper inside to prevent ink going to the back of t shirt ??
and what about pre heating press ?? should I preheat open or closed ??

[NASH]

answer to the first part yes
re: open or closed, i preheat open but i don`t if thats right or wrong.

Surely closed and more logical, because it will heat up much quicker and also cheaper on electric

[JSR]

I pre-heat mine open. I have no choice because closing the press starts the timer and the timer can't go higher than 60s. The press takes about 13 minutes to warm up, so the alarm would be going off for 13 minutes if I left it shut.

I use teflon sheets but I don't clean them because I also use greaseproof paper between the garment/print and the teflon. The greaseproof paper is the cheap stuff from Tesco (or wherever you prefer) and I discard it after one press.

[kris_hm]

good idea !!! thanks for advice

[JSR]

Glad to help.

We just buy rolls of the stuff when we're in the supermarket (they must wonder what we do with it all!). :biggrin:

[Kaz]

I get my greaseproof paper from the supermarket aswell

Don't use a teflon sheet at all

[JSR]

I get my greaseproof paper from the supermarket aswell

Don't use a teflon sheet at all

Yes, it is a bit overkill on my part. However, I once tried to press a bag and the handle/strap melted - and the sticky goo escaped the greaseproof paper. If I hadn't had the teflon sheet there, it would have stuck to the platen. Cleaning the teflon sheet was far easier than having to wait for the press to cool down and then cleaning that.

[Kaz]

I bet it was, lol

I find I need to increase the time/temp if using a teflon sheet, hence why I don't

And greaseproof paper is so cheap, and I just adda roll when doing the weekly shop, I never notice the price, lol