How to use gangsheets (step by step guide to cutting, pressing, & peeling)

Congratulations on your purchase of Apliiq gang sheets to make it fast, simple, and easy to press garments from the comfort of your home or workshop.  You've made a great choice in using Apliiq's gangsheets as you can get exceptional printing results on just about any fabric and material, just like the products Apliiq produces for you.  Please follow the below instructions to ensure you achieve great results for your printed products.

Step 1: Unpack & Cut

The first thing to do is to carefully remove your gang sheet from its packaging tube.  We recommend handling the gang sheet with care, so fine details within your print aren't damaged. You can gently rotate the film and slide it out of the tube. If you pick at the transfers, it's possible to remove them from the sheet, which you don't want to happen.  Keep the prints securing attached to the sheet, until you are done pressing.

Once you lay your sheet out flat, you can use standard scissors, or a cutting board to cut your gang sheet into individual prints, that you will want to apply to garments.  We recommend keeping prints "whole" as much as possible.  For example if you have an individual word as your artwork, keep the entire word together, do not cut out each letter individually.  We recommend cutting transfers out into square or rectangular shapes, as it makes it easier to place them more easily during pressing. You will want to leave some border around the print itself so you can have a good grip when peeling.

Apliiq Gang Sheets may come with a barcode on them. Not to worry, the barcode ensures that your print is for you! Simply cut out the barcode and remove it from your print. Similarly, there will be a color strip on the side of the artwork - this ensures high quality printing. Simply cut it away from your print and discard it.

Once your prints are cut up, we recommend organizing the like ones together and storing them in a cool dry place in individual storage bins, to keep your workspace organized and to ensure transfers aren't damaged by shuffling them around.

Step 2: Place & Press

Once you have your prints cut out and you have identified the garment that you want to print on, we recommend laying the garment out flat and placing the transfer in the right place.  If you want, you can also gently tape the transfer into place, so it does not move during pressing. We recommend using heat safe tape.

While transfers can be used on just about any garment and any material, it's important to note that garments that have significant shrinkage in the wash or garments that pile significantly won't achieve as long print durability as other products.

For pressing, you will be using both heat and pressure to apply the transfer to the garment.  The heat will melt the glue on the back of the transfer, and the pressure will press the print, glue, and garment together to ensure a long print life.

Using a home iron

It is possible to achieve good results with a traditional iron you would use to iron clothing.  However, it's recommend to use a heat press to achieve more consistent results and to press more quickly. 

You must ensure that there is no water or steam in the iron.  Steam and moisture are enemies of good transfer printing.  The steam will warp the transfer paper and possible destroy the print. 

When using a home iron, we recommend high heat and significant pressure.  For example, use a sturdy low table to press on, so you can apply your weight against the iron to achieve good pressure.  Most irons are not completely flat, so you will want to move the iron around as you are pressing it.  Take care to ensure you don't burn the garment.  Press for 30 seconds to 60 seconds.

Using a heat press (recommended method)

Apliiq recommends to use a heat press if it all possible with Apliiq gangsheets.  They can be programmed for time and pressure and can achieve faster and more consistent results.

Apliiq recommends the following time and pressure settings based on the different garment types, however, every garment is different and we always recommend testing prior to larger production runs to ensure the setting you choose to use will create the end result you are looking for.

Garment Material	Time	Temperature	Pressure*
100% Cotton (or organic fibers)	25-30 seconds	295º-300º F	Between 30-50 psi
Blended Materials	10-25 seconds	200 - 280º F	Between 25-45 psi
100% Poly (or synthetic fibers)	5-10 seconds	200-210º F	Between 20-40 psi

*Some heat presses will show you the pressure amount. If not, you should test different pressures settings. If your time and temperature are correct, and your print is not sticking to the garment, increase your pressure until you get great adhesion.

The table above doesn't take into account the thickness of the garment that you're pressing. Thinner materials or rougher materials may require adjustments. Take care not to press metal (such as zippers) or materials that may burn with excessive heat.

Apliiq recommends using teflon paper or butcher paper on top of the transfer sheet, this paper will help protect the garment from burning or discoloration during pressing. 

Pressing Sensitive Materials - Cheat Sheet Tips

Which materials are sensitive to heat? 

Synthetic materials are man-made (not naturally occurring in nature). They are usually made of a plastic like fiber. They are great in some ways, giving elasticity/stretch to garments, as well as a softness. However, due to the synthetic plastic-like composition, they burn easily and quickly!

Which fabrics are synthetic?

Some of the most common synthetic fabrics are: 

Polyester   
Rayon   
Nylon   
Spandex 
Viscose   
Acrylic    

Cotton on the other hand is a natural material and is more resistant to heat and burning. We don’t need to take as much care when dealing with 100% cotton fabrics.

Which garments use synthetic fabrics?

Beanies are 100% acrylic  - do not require more than a few seconds to press. 

Blended heather tees or tri-blend tees have somewhere between 30-70% polyester.
Outerwear like Jackets, Windbreakers, Puffer Vests usually have polyester.

Athletic wear like yoga pants, shorts, sports bras may have spandex.

How to heat press these synthetic materials?

Beanies - Lower temp to around 200 degrees

1) Use the heat press or the free hand iron on a synthetic setting. 

2) Lay the beanie entirely flat (do not fold it)

3) Put the thermal protective teflon sheet on top of artwork film

4) Press for 5 seconds, let it cool, try to peel the film, press another 5 seconds if needed

Poly Hats - Lower temp to between 200 degrees - 230 degrees

1) Use the hat press 

2) Use small teflon sheet to protect hat
3) Press for 10 second, let it cool, try to peel the film, press another 5 seconds if needed

Jackets/Yoga Pants/Sports Bra - Lower temp to around 200 degrees

1) Use a standard heat press

2) Avoid zippers or use a mat to isolate the artwork area

3) Put the thermal protective teflon sheet on top of the artwork film

4) Press for 10 seconds, let it cool, try to peel the film, press another 5 seconds if needed

Heather/Triblend Tees - Lower temp to around 200 - 280 degrees

1) Use a standard heat press

2) Put the thermal protective teflon sheet on top of artwork film

3) Press for 15 seconds, let it cool, try to peel the film, press another 5 seconds if needed

Tip & Tricks
These are our recommendations, however each heat press may be slightly different. We recommend doing some tests on scrap material before pressing on your final garment. We also highly recommend checking youtube for the specific garment that you're using - chances are there is a video to help you with it!

Peel & 2nd Press

All Apliiq gangsheets are cold peel.  This means that you must allow the transfer to cool before starting to peel it.  If you peel the transfer before it's cool, you may not get a clear transfer.  Transfers should be cool to touch prior to peeling.

Once transfers are peeled, Apliiq recommend a second press to ensure all aspects of the design are completely pressed.  Again, Apliiq recommends using butcher or teflon paper on top of the print to ensure your garment isn't damaged during pressing.

Enjoy the fun and creativity of creating with transfer prints!

We've found creating with transfer printing can be oddly satisfying and we are always surprised with the great results that transfer printing can achieve across a very wide variety of garments, materials and artworks.  Feel free to reach out to us to share what you have been able to create.

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