Iron-on transfers are images that can be imprinted on

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

. They are frequently used to print onto

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are general ...

s. On one side is paper, and on the other is the image that will be transferred in reverse. The image is printed with iron-on transfer inks. After placing the iron-on transfer on the fabric and pressing with an

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

or a

heat press In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...

, the image is transferred to the fabric. There are two primary types of iron-on transfer inks: ''plastisol-type'' and ''sublimation-type''. Plastisol-type inks are thick with a lacquer base. Transfers made with plastisol-type inks will result in a flexible image on the fabric with a feel similar to rubber. Sublimation-type inks use dyelike pigments that can be transferred to polyester and nylon fabrics. Transfers made with sublimation-type inks literally transfer the pigments to the fabric and the pigments bond permanently to the fabric fibers. Commercial quality heat

transfer paper Transfer paper is used in textiles and arts and crafts projects. Transfer paper is a thin piece of paper coated with wax and pigment. Often, an ink-jet or other printer is used to print the image on the transfer paper. A heat press can transfer ...

used in a heat press will yield much better results in terms of 'hand' (how the print feels on the fabric) and durability than store bought papers or transfers applied with a home iron. The advantages of commercial heat transfer over screenprinting are that it is relatively cheap and easy to create one-off, full color designs. Also, when compared with

dye sublimation Dye-Sublimation Printing (or dye-sub printing) is a digital computer printing technique that uses heat to transfer dye onto materials such as plastic, card, paper, or fabric. The sublimation name was first applied because the dye was considere ...

techniques, heat transfers can be used on 100% cotton garments, whereas

requires at least a 50/50 poly cotton garment. Iron-on transfer paper is available for use with

computer printers In computing, a printer is a peripheral machine which makes a persistent representation of graphics or text, usually on paper. While most output is human-readable, bar code printers are an example of an expanded use for printers. Diffe ...

. A number of inkjet, copier and laser printer toners have been developed to utilize this process.

Iron-on fabric

Iron-on fabric has a glue backing that melts into another fabric when it is applied with heat. It is used to patch torn clothes or to reinforce fabric in places subject to extreme wear. An alternative to iron-on adhesive is dryer heat activated adhesive.

Iron-on labels

There are primarily two types of iron-on labels: a form of material tape; and a form of

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

similar to that used on graphic

t-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are general ...

s. With the vinyl type the objective is to effectively melt the label onto the cloth so the label and

garment Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials ...

become one, hence a permanent bond. The application of a label typically takes about 10–15 seconds for the label to become one with the garment and then a few minutes to cool.

Iron-on appliques

Iron-on appliques are decorative embroidery items with a melt-glue backing.

Culture

Fijian artist Joana Monolagi uses iron-on fabrics in her traditional

barkcloth Barkcloth or bark cloth is a versatile material that was once common in Asia, Africa, and the Pacific. Barkcloth comes primarily from trees of the family Moraceae, including ''Broussonetia papyrifera'', '' Artocarpus altilis'', ''Artocarpus t ...

weaving.

References

Technical fabrics Printing terminology Graphics Fashion accessories {{clothing-stub