When working with heat transfer vinyl (HTV), DTF transfers, sublimation, and white toner printing, choosing the right protective sheet can make all the difference in the quality and success of your project. But there are a lot of options—do you want butcher paper (and what color?), parchment paper, a teflon sheet, or wax paper? It can be confusing and I get a lot of questions on what to use.

The right sheet protects your design and your press, ensures even heat distribution, and prevents damage to your projects. In today’s post, we’ll explore the best options for your specific needs. To be perfectly honest, I have three out of the four on hand at all times since they work in different ways!

Watch the Video

Want to get a video overview of all of the protective sheet options? Just hit play below! Or keep reading for a written explanation!

Wax Paper

Put that back in your kitchen, my friend! Wax paper is coated in wax (I know, shocking) so it shouldn’t be used for heat press crafting. The was will melt, ruining your project and potentially your press!

Teflon Sheet

Let’s start with the teflon sheet. A teflon sheet is a heat-resistant, non-stick sheet made from polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), which is commonly known as teflon. You can even get a teflon sheet cover for the top of your heat press. Because it’s non-stick, it’s great for many crafting applications…but not all of them!

Teflon Sheet Best Uses

• Ideal for HTV. Use for a post-press after you have peeled back the carrier sheet.
• Can be used with white toner printing, but most professionals suggest parchment paper instead.

Teflon Sheet Pros

• Reusable and durable for long-lasting use.
• Non-stick surface.
• Provides even heat distribution.
• Easy to clean if needed.

Teflon Sheet Cons

• Holds in moisture, which is particularly bad for sublimation.
• Can permanently stain with sublimation, which can then transfer the design to future projects.
• Higher initial cost compared to disposable options.

Butcher Paper

Butcher paper is exactly what it sounds like: it’s a paper that butchers use for wrapping pieces of meat for you take home from the deli.

Butcher paper is uncoated and usually comes in white or brown. I recommend using white so you don’t have any color transfer on your projects. It also comes in rolls or in sheets. I love the 12×12 sheets—they are perfect for most projects and I don’t have to deal with the paper curling.

Butcher Paper Best Uses

• Ideal for pressing sublimation prints and DTF transfers.
• Can be used with HTV or white toner printing, but it may stick.

Butcher Paper Pros

• Protects your heat press from sublimation ink transfer.
• Uncoated surface won’t leave anything behind.
• Inexpensive and widely available.

Butcher Paper Cons

• Generally single use for sublimation if there is any ink transfer (can be used more times for DTF transfers).

Parchment Paper

While it looks a lot like butcher paper, parchment paper is actually coated with a very thin layer of silicone, making it non-stick. This is why it’s so great for baking cookies—they slide right off! Parchment paper has some good crafting applications as well.

Parchment Paper Best Uses

• Ideal for the first press with a white toner print. It won’t stick to the toner.
• Can be used with DTF transfers, but butcher paper is even less expensive so that’s my preference.
• Can be used with HTV.

Parchment Paper Pros

• Non-stick surface.
• Inexpensive and widely available.
• Can be used many times.

Parchment Paper Cons

• Holds in moisture, which is particularly bad for sublimation.
• Not as durable as a teflon sheet and has limited reusability.

Wax Paper

Wondering if you can substitute wax paper for any of the above? Don’t! Wax plus heat = a totally sticky mess. Wax paper is not suitable for any heat transfer project and has the potential to ruin both your project and your heat press. Put that back in the kitchen cabinet and only use it for food applications where it makes sense.

By Application Type!

Let’s break it down by which type of craft you are doing:

• HTV: Teflon sheet or parchment paper
• Sublimation: butcher paper
• DTF transfer: Teflon sheet or butcher paper (can use parchment paper in a pinch)
• White toner print: parchment paper

I hope this post helped you decide on the best protective sheet for your project! As always, if you have any questions, let me know down in the comments.

The post Choosing the Best Protective Sheet for Your Heat Transfer Project appeared first on Hey, Let's Make Stuff.

Along with the release of the xTool M1 Ultra, xTool has also released a set of new smart heat presses. This includes a handheld heat press, a mini heat press, a control box, and a platform stand. Together, this set is different than anything else I’ve seen on the market. You can buy everything in an all-in-one kit, or you can buy different pieces of the kit separately depending on your needs.

When I unboxed my xTool heat presses, my husband said they looked like they came from IKEA and I totally agree. There’s definitely a squared-off minimalist feel, plus the white and wood tones make it feel like it should have some sort of Swedish name with some umlauts or something. Overall, I think it looks really nice…but how well does it work?

Watch the Video

Want to get a video review of the xTool Heat Press? Just hit play below! Or keep reading for a written overview.

The Parts of the xTool Heat Press

There are four main parts to the xTool heat press all-in-one kit.

• Smart Press
• Mini Press
• Platform
• Control Box

The kit also comes with a pressing mat. The mat is nice and firm (firmer than the Cricut EasyPress mat), which is good for projects like sublimation and DTF prints.

Let’s take a look at each of the pieces individually.

The xTool Smart Press

The xTool Smart Press is a handheld heat press machine similar to a Cricut EasyPress. It has two handles and zero controls except for a power button on the back. The controls are actually in the control box instead of on the machine itself. You can’t use the Smart Press without the control box. There is also a safety base.

There is an indicator light on the top of the press that goes from yellow to green once your heat press is to temperature.

The Smart Press is 12″ x 10″ which is a great size for most projects. The mat that comes with it is slightly larger than the press itself.

To use the press, you’ll attach the plug to the back and plug in one of the little gray receivers. This receiver allows the control panel to “talk” to the Smart Press so you can set your time and temperature settings. See below for pairing and using the control panel.

Once your heat press is to temperature, you can press your project using the press and the mat! Every project will have a different time, temperature, and pressure setting depending on the type of project. For this press, you will need to apply your own pressure.

The xTool Smart Press Platform

The Smart Press Platform turns your handheld press into a traditional heat press. There was a small amount of assembly at the beginning (four screws) but it took less than five minutes.

On the Smart Press, there is a plastic cover on the top of the press. In one of the corners, there is an arrow. Press the arrow to remove the plastic cover.

Then add the plastic bracket using the four provided screws.

The bracket then slides into the slots on the platform.

There is a cord loop on the back of the column. Press the cord into the cord loop to keep it out of the way while you are pressing.

This is a swing away press. That means that the top heat plate swings away from the bottom plate. This is different than a clamshell press, which opens at an angle above the bottom plate. You will need space on at least one side of your heat press to allow for the swinging motion.

Then add the mat to the bottom of the platform. You may need to swing the press away from the platform or lessen the pressure. I do wish there was something to hold the mat still—I may add some sort of tacky adhesive strips to keep it in place.

To change the pressure on the heat press, turn the pressure control knob at the top of the column. To add more pressure, turn the knob clockwise. To decrease the pressure, turn the knob counterclockwise.

And then again, to set the heat press’s time and temperature you’ll use the control panel, which I talk about below. Note that the control panel doesn’t automatically start when you close the press like you would find with other heat presses. You need to push the button to start the countdown.

The xTool Mini Press

The xTool Mini Press functions a lot like the Cricut EasyPress Mini with one big difference. While you can use the button on the front to set your temperature as low, medium, and high, you can also use the mini press with the control panel to set a particular time and temperature.

Plug the receiver into the handle of the mini press. Then see below for pairing instructions and control panel use.

Once your mini press is to temperature, you can press your project! Every project will have a different time, temperature, and pressure setting depending on the type of project. For this press, you will need to apply your own pressure.

It’s nice to be able to have more control over the temperature of the press. For example, I love using my Cricut EasyPress Mini to fuse my perler beads, but the optimal temperature would be somewhere between the medium and high settings. With the xTool Mini Press, I can actually set that particular temperature (about 360°) and it works really well for that specific application.

The Smart Control Panel

Like I said above, you can use the Smart Control Panel with both the larger press (required) and the mini press (optional). The control panel is wireless, meaning it is both wireless to the machines and it has a battery. The battery does need to be charged via a USB cable, but once it’s charged you do not need to be plugged in, allowing you to use the control panel wherever works best for you. There is a battery indicator in the corner of the display so you can see when you might need to charge it next.

On the back of the control panel are two sliders. One turns the control panel on and off and the other swaps between Fahrenheit and celsius.

To Pair the Control Panel to Your Press

On the receiver in the machine, you’ll see that it has a solid blue light when it’s plugged in. Hold down the button on the receiver for about three seconds and the light should start to blink.

Turn on the control panel using the slider on the back and hold down the round button on the front of the control panel for three seconds. This should pair your machine. The light on the receiver should blink slowly to show that it is paired.

Setting the Control Panel

To set your time and temperature, simply turn the knobs on the control panel.

There are four presets you can set as well. xTool has set four common options, but you can set your own. To set a preset, set your time and temperature using the knobs. Then hold down the button with the three dots until it sets.

To start the timer, just push the round button and it will start to count down.

Pros of the xTool Heat Press

The whole all-in-one kit is really versatile, allowing you to use each piece in various ways depending on your needs. You can choose what’s best for your particular project without having to have quite as many machines around your craft space.

Without the stand, I like the the press has two handles. I feel like it’s easier to get firm, even pressure when using it as a handled press.

I really like that the mat is firmer than other pressing mats. This also makes it easier to get that firm, even pressure—which is particularly important with things like sublimation and DTF printing.

With the stand, there’s no need to apply pressure to your projects, freeing you up to be doing other things while your project is pressing. This is particularly good if you are making something with a long pressing time (like ceramic coasters) or if you have issues maintaining the pressure of an handheld press.

It’s very easy to set the time and temperature using the external control piece. While I really like my clamshell heat press, the controls are behind the arm of the heat press and it can be a bit difficult to set the controls.

I love that the mini press can be used with the control panel, allowing you both to control the temperature of your press and give you a time countdown. I haven’t seen this in any other mini press.

The plug is separate from the Smart Press (unlike many other handheld presses), making it easier to store the press and the cord.

It’s also very affordable compared to other heat presses. You can get the all-in-one kit for just $299, which is a great price for three heat presses in one.

Cons of the xTool Heat Press

I wish the receiver for the control panel was built into the machine. While there’s really no reason to unplug it, it does feel like a part that could easily get lost.

When using the platform, the heat press feels a bit loosey goosey. Not terribly, but it doesn’t lock into place quite like I wish it would.

When on the stand, the timer doesn’t automatically start when you close the heat press like with other heat presses.

Because the base of the heat press sits on four feet, there is no way to thread your blank onto the heat press.

There is not a lot of room at the throat of the heat press for things like hoodies or other bulky items.

The press may not work well for heavy pressure projects.

Is the xTool Heat Press Worth It?

Overall, I think the xTool Heat Press is a good beginner press, especially at the price. You get a lot of functionality in one product and it’s very easy to use. I really like the external control panel and how it can be used with the mini press. Overall, I think it’s a great addition to your xTool M1 Ultra, because it allows you to adhere the HTV you might cut using the blade in your machine.

If you are looking to do heavy-pressure projects or if you want a more professional heat press for a business, however, I might upgrade to something like a clamshell press.

I hope you found this review of the xTool Heat Press helpful in your buying decisions! If you have any questions about this heat press, as always, I’d be happy to answer them down in the comments.

The post xTool Heat Press All-In-One Kit Review appeared first on Hey, Let's Make Stuff.

If you’re new to sublimation, you might be overwhelmed trying to get your projects to turn out like you’ve envisioned.

There are a lot of variables when it comes to sublimation. They can include the blank you are using, your sublimation printer, your sublimation paper, the type and brand of press you are using, and even the humidity in the room. Combine that with different time, temperature, and pressure settings for just about every blank, and it means there is a lot that can go wrong.

So in this post, we’re going to dive a bit deeper on the time, temperature, and pressure variables. We’re going to talk about how they work together to give you the perfect sublimation press, and how to troubleshoot if the manufacturer’s instructions aren’t working for you.

For this post, I’m using my WALApress from Heat Transfer Warehouse, but these instructions should work for any press you have, including tumbler and mug presses.

Watch the Video

Watch my in-depth video about time, temperature, and pressure by hitting play below! Or keep reading for a written overview of these sublimation variables.

Get My Sublimation Cheat Sheets

The most popular product in my entire digital shop are is my sublimation cheat sheets! These sublimation cheat sheets take the guesswork out of pressing common substrates!

Heat Press Elements: Time, Temperature, and Pressure

Time, temperature, and pressure are the three elements your heat press needs uses to make the magic happen, and they all work in tandem with each other.

Time, temperature, and pressure are based on your blank substrate. If you’re used to working with something like HTV, you may be used to those variables being based on the material itself. The time, for example, might be longer when pressing glitter HTV vs. a regular HTV.

But with sublimation, it’s all based on your blank. Therefore, pressing a polyester shirt is different than pressing a sublimation slate, which is different than pressing a metal water bottle.

Generally you will want to start with the manufacturer’s recommended settings. If you buy from a reputable distributor (like Heat Transfer Warehouse or Craft Express, for example), they should have those settings for you in the description of the product you purchased.

If you buy from a random retailer on Amazon, however, they may not give you the time, temperature, and pressure recommendations. This can be very annoying! Sometimes nice customers will put their successful settings in the comments, so always check there. But if you can’t find them for a particular blank or the recommended settings aren’t working, keep reading.

Time

The press time, also called the dwell time, is the amount of time your heat press plate is actually touching the surface of your sublimation blank. This can range from as little as 30 seconds to more than 10 minutes, depending on the type of blank.

Always use the countdown feature on your heat press. The last thing you want is to have no idea how much time has passed, or worse, forget your item in your press!

Temperature

The baseline temperature for sublimation is 356° to 400° and this varies for each blank. You want to make sure you are letting your heat press or oven come completely to temperature before pressing your blank.

You may notice that your heat press loses some of its temperature while it’s pressing, when the hot plate hits the cooler surface below it. I notice this most with the handheld presses (like the Cricut EasyPress). So sometimes I will bump up my temperature 5° to 10° to compensate for the loss of the heat when pressing.

Pressure

The pressure refers to the amount of force your press is putting on the blank. Most items use medium pressure, but some may require heavy or light pressure.

On many presses, turning the knob (or knobs) on your heat press will increase or decrease the pressure.

If you are using an autopress (like the Cricut AutoPress, the Vevor Auto Heat Press or the HTVront Auto Heat Press), you won’t have the variable of pressure. This makes projects that require heavy pressure more difficult to do. You can see some of my workarounds in my post How to Sublimate on Slate with an Auto Press.

If you are using a sublimation oven, you’ll need another way to give your projects pressure. There are two primary ways of doing this—shrink wrap and silicone sleeves. Silicone sleeves have never been much of a success for me, so I prefer shrink wrap, which you can learn to use in my post How to Sublimate a Tumbler Using Shrink Wrap & a Convection Oven.

Light Pressure

Back to the regular heat press! To find light pressure, put a piece of copy paper between the two plates of your heat press. Turn the crank until you can just pull the paper out. It should take a bit of a tug, but it should release without issue. Then get a feel for how light pressure feels when you close it. That’s what you’re looking for, but you may need to adjust it to account for the thickness of your blank.

Medium Pressure

Medium pressure takes a bit more force to close, but not so much that you’re really putting that elbow grease into it. You should not be able to pull a sheet of paper out without tearing it.

Heavy Pressure

Heavy pressure requires even more force to close. It’s just on the other side of not being able to close it. Sometimes I’ll get to the point where I can’t close it, and then I’ll back off a few rotations of the knob to find heavy pressure.

Troubleshooting Time, Temperature, and Pressure

If you can’t find the settings for a blank you are using, your best bet is to find instructions for something similar. This is a great starting point! A lot of times settings for similar blanks will work perfectly.

But if your transfers are coming out faded, your best bet is to start increasing the time. Increasing the temperature may lead to your images looking a bit burned (yellowy) but often adding time will help.

For example, I increased the time for sublimating slate coasters from 240 seconds to 480 seconds when pressing them in my Cricut AutoPress. I got a much better result. If you are pressing something with a shorter press time overall, you can increase your time in 30 second increments.

Other Problems

There may be other issues at play if your sublimation projects aren’t turning out well. Make sure to check out my post Troubleshooting Sublimation Printing for more solutions!

I hope you found this post helpful in understanding sublimation time, temperature, and pressure a bit more! If you have questions or need help, just drop me a comment!

The post Finding the Right Sublimation Time, Temperature, and Pressure appeared first on Hey, Let's Make Stuff.

My Cricut Mug Press is one of my favorite things in my craft room, but recently a friend was talking about how expensive it is. She’s not wrong! At full price, it’s a $200 press! You can easily find it for $179 and occasionally on sale for $149, but that’s still a lot for many people to spend on a press that is pretty much good for only one thing.

So I went to Amazon and grabbed a bargain press for less than $80. That’s basically half the price of the Cricut Mug Press. The pink one I bought quickly went out of stock, so I have linked to a very similar teal mug press (this happens often with random things from Chinese sellers—just search for “mug press” if this one is out of stock!).

Now let’s put both of these mug presses to the test using a sublimation print!

Watch the Video

Want to see both of these mug presses in action? Click play below, or keep reading for a written tutorial!

Supplies Needed

Get all the supplies for this mug press comparison in my Amazon Store!

• Cricut Mug Press
• Amazon Mug Press
• Sublimation printer with sublimation ink
• Sublimation paper
• Heat-resistant tape
• Heat-resistant gloves
• Butcher paper
• Sublimation design (see below)

Preparing Your Mug

Print out your mug design. You are going to prepare your mug the same way, no matter which mug press you are using. Lint roll your mug (or use alcohol and a microfiber cloth) to remove any dust or lint.

Wrap your design around the mug and adhere with heat-resistant tape. You do not want any gaps or air pockets—make sure the paper is fully against the mug. You can choose to tape the top and bottom, but I generally don’t when making mugs.

Then wrap again with two to three pieces of butcher paper. This will protect the press’s plate from any ink that escapes.

Using the Cricut Mug Press

Plug in the Cricut Mug Press and allow it to come to temperature. There are no time or temperature settings on the Cricut Mug Press. They have been dialed in by Cricut to be used with Infusible Ink and sublimation prints. There is also no pressure setting—when you close the press, it applies the pressure for your blank.

When the press beeps and the light is green, lift up the lid-like handle on the right of the machine.

Carefully slide your mug into press.

Then press down on the handle as you are closing, making sure the handle is centered as you close it. You may need to shift the handle slightly as you close to make sure it’s not off-center.

The time will count down automatically. You can see how far along it is in its process by looking at the progress lights on the top of the machine. It’s generally around six minutes.

When it beeps, lift up the handle and remove your mug. The handle should be cool, but the mug itself will be HOT. You may want to wear heat-resistant gloves just to be safe. Set it on a heat-resistant surface to cool. When the mug is cool enough to touch, remove the butcher paper and the transfer!

Using the Bargain Mug Press

To start, the bargain mug press comes with a few things that I recommend you put directly into the trash can. The first is some yellow heat-resistant tape that may leave yellow marks on your projects. I find yellow tape to be hit or miss, so I always stick to blue tape. And the second is a set of heat resistant gloves. I tried using these heat resistant gloves and they actually melted onto my mug and left little wax (?) spots all over my mug. So, those went right in the bin. I hate wasting things, but they were truly unusable.

Unlike the Cricut Mug Press, you’ll need to set the time, temperature, and pressure manually with the bargain mug press. There are three options for temperature: 320°F, 356°F, and 392°F. Generally you’ll be using the 392°F for mugs.

There are also two time settings. I am not sure if the mug press is supposed to beep with the time is up, but mine never did, despite setting it to 300 seconds and then timing that length of time on my phone. If you are using this press, you may want to set your own timer!

There’s a locking bar at the top of the press. Squeeze the handles slightly to unhook that bar. You’ll want to set the pressure so that when you close the mug press, the hook on the locking bar goes into the slot and holds the press closed.

You’ll use the clamp on the back to adjust the pressure. Because you can adjust the pressure manually, this means you can make a wider variety of mug sizes than the Cricut Mug Press.

Insert your mug into the mug press. I find it just a bit clunkier to work than the Cricut Mug Press because the locking bar at the top can be in the way of getting the mug in right. Then close the press so the hook on the locking bar catches in the slot.

The timer *should* count down your pressing time, though mine never beeped (so set your own timer, just so you don’t forget your mug!). I noticed that the mug handle in this press is much hotter than the Cricut Mug Press, so you’ll probably want those heat-resistant gloves. Set your mug to cool on a heat-resistant surface and remove the transfer when you’re ready!

Mug Press Comparison

Overall, both presses did a good job pressing my mug, except for the bottom corners. You can see here that the bargain mug press (right) didn’t press my bottom corners quite press the corners as well as the Cricut Mug Press (left). You could tape those corners to try and get a better transfer, but there also might be a cool spot the press that doesn’t get hot enough to sublimate the image well.

The images were otherwise identical and pressed nicely.

In the end, I found the Cricut Mug Press to be easier to use than the bargain mug press, but with the considerable price difference, it might be worth the extra hassle to pay less.

I will also say that both machines have that fishy “sublimation smell” but the bargain mug press was a lot worse than the Cricut Mug Press. That being said, I’ve had my Cricut Mug Press since it was launched in 2021, so maybe some of that smell has dissipated since then.

Let’s look at my overall pros and cons in this mug press comparison:

I hope you found this mug press comparison helpful! I do love my Cricut Mug Press, but I also understand it’s not in everyone’s budget. I wish I could recommend the bargain mug press a bit more, but with those faded corners I definitely have reservations. If you are only doing single images and not entire wraps, however, that might not be an issue at all!

If you have either of these presses, I’d love to know what you think down below!

The post Mug Press Comparison: The Cricut Mug Press vs. A Bargain Press appeared first on Hey, Let's Make Stuff.

If you have a heat press, you may think it’s pretty straightforward to use. Add your project to the press…and press. And, to be honest, most projects really are that simple! But in today’s post I wanted to share some of my favorite ways to make the most out of your heat press and give you tips and tricks that may make it easier to use your machine.

Not sure which heat press is for you? Check out our e-course Heat Press Roadmap! This extensive course is designed to guide you on your journey to deciding on the best heat press for your needs, space, and budget. Check out all the details about Heat Press Roadmap here!

For this post I’m using my WALApress from Heat Transfer Warehouse (see my review and how to use it here), but these tips and tricks should apply to almost all other flat heat presses, as well as some specialty presses like mug presses or tumbler presses.

Check out my favorite presses on Amazon using my heat press shopping list!

Watch the Video

Check out my heat press hacks over on my YouTube channel!

Testing the Pressure of Your Heat Press

If you have a heat press that does not have a built in pressure gauge, you may be wondering how to know the difference between light, medium, and heavy pressure. My favorite way is to use a sheet of paper.

Place the sheet of paper halfway in the press and close. Then adjust the knob for these different pressures:

Light pressure: When you pull on the paper, you’ll get a little resistance but you should be able to pull it out.

Medium pressure: You shouldn’t be able to pull the paper out, but you should still be able to close the press without a lot of effort.

Heavy pressure: Turn the knob on your heat press to the point where you can’t close your machine all the way. Then lessen the pressure bit by bit until you can close it. It should require a bit of effort to close.

Lubricating Your Heat Press

Squeaky heat press? You probably need to oil the hinge! Use a premium grade lubricant and carefully spray it onto the hinge where it’s squeaking. Open and close the press several times to help move the oil around the hinge. Be careful not to over-lubricate your hinge—you don’t want that grease to drip onto any of your heat press projects.

Check the Temperature of Your Heat Press

If you’re getting unexpected results out of your heat press (like your blank seems a bit scorched or your HTV isn’t sticking properly), you may want to check the temperature of your press. An infrared heat thermometer can help you check! Instead of aiming the heat gun at the plate of your press, set your heat press to a certain temperature and then close the press for 5 minutes. This will warm up the bottom pad on the press. When you open the press, immediately point the infrared heat thermometer at the bottom pad and take a reading. This is more accurate than the actual plate!

If your temperature is off, there are a few things you can do…

Calibrating Your Heat Press Temperature

You have a couple options here depending on your heat press.

Internal Calibration: For some higher end heat presses, there is a mode where you can calibrate your temperature. So if your machine is off by 10°, (it should be 300° but it’s actually 310°, for example), you can use the calibration setting to adjust the temperature. That way it will read 300° and it will be 300°, just like it should.

Manual Calibration: If you don’t have any calibration within your heat press, you can write down common temperatures in a notebook so you have them to refer to instead of having to remember to do that math. If your press is 10° off, then your notebook might look like:

• 300° – Set to 290°
• 325° – Set to 315°
• 400° – Set to 390°

HTV Warming Trick

Here’s a fun one! Did you know you can use your heat press to make HTV weeding easier? Set heat press to 315° at 15 seconds. Close your empty press for that 15 seconds, and then place the project you want to weed onto the warm bottom platen of your heat press. It makes pulling up that excess HTV much easier! You may need to adjust your temperature a bit depending on how well your bottom platen holds that heat.

You can also buy an EZ Weeding Table which warms, but it’s not cheap! Then again…if it saves you enough time in your small HTV business, it may be a good investment!

Teflon Sheet vs. Butcher Paper vs. Parchment Paper vs. Wax Paper

There are so many ways to protect your heat press, but they all act a bit differently. Let’s look at when you might want to use each.

Teflon Sheet: A teflon sheet is the best for using HTV in your heat press, protecting it from excess residue or adhesives. I don’t recommend using teflon for sublimation projects, however. Teflon can trap moisture, which can cause issues with your sublimation transfer. Additionally, sublimation ink can blow or bleed through your transfer and onto the Teflon sheet, causing it to ghost images on future projects.

Butcher Paper: Butcher paper is better for sublimation projects. Butcher paper is basically uncoated paper that protects your press from sublimation ink. I like buying butcher paper in sheets because they are so much easier to work with than having to cut pieces off a butcher paper roll.

Parchment Paper: Parchment paper is a specialty paper with a silicone coating, making it very non-stick. I don’t generally use it for pressing my projects, because it can trap moisture as well. I do use it, however, for helping me place both HTV and adhesive vinyl decals on my blanks. You can place the parchment paper between your decal and your blank so you can move it around until you have perfect placement. Then tape down your transfer and remove the parchment paper and adhere.

Wax Paper: Overall, stay away from wax paper for heat press crafting. If you heat wax paper, it can melt the wax onto your projects—not good!

Platen Cover

Speaking of teflon, you can buy a teflon cover for the top platen of your heat press so you don’t need to put the teflon sheet over your project every single time! It’s a lifesaver when you’re making a ton of HTV projects using your heat press. You can even make your own by taking a large teflon sheet and using magnets to hold it in place.

Reusing Butcher Paper

You can totally reuse butcher paper in your sublimation projects. Just hold it up to the light before you use one. If you see any ink at all on your butcher paper, it’s time for the recycling bin. That ink can ghost images on your blanks. But if the sheet looks clean, go ahead and use it as many times as you want!

Pressing Pillows

Use a pressing pillow for soft blanks and garments with zippers, buttons, seams, and pockets. Place the pillow inside your blank to raise the pressing surface above the troublesome parts of the blank in order to achieve an even press. For example, the seams in a kid’s bodysuit can get in the way of a totally flat sublimation print. By inserting a pressing pillow, you can raise the pressing surface above the seams.

You can also use an EasyPress mat or other white items (white ensures you won’t have any color bleed), such as a folded washcloth, hand towel, or even a cloth diaper. Cotton quilt batting often works as well and is easy to trim down to the size you need.

Avoiding Zippers, Buttons, and Other Problem Areas

A pressing pillow can help you raise up that pressing surface, but you can also just hang zippers or buttons off the side of your press. For instance, if you’re pressing a zippered pouch, add your decal to the pouch and let the entire zipper hang off the side of the press. You’ll get a really flat press and you won’t have to worry about melting a nylon zipper.

Bath after Pressing

Finally, you can cool off sublimation projects more quickly when the come out of the press by giving them a bath! Set aside a bowl of room temperature water (for ceramic blanks) or ice water (for metal blanks) and just dunk them into the water after you pull them out of the press. The cooler water quickly stops the sublimation process so your images are super crisp, and you are able to remove the butcher paper and image more quickly than if they just cooled down slowly on a heat-resistant map.

Note that you do want to take off any shrink wrap from your project before you dunk them—removing shrink wrap after it’s cooled is much more difficult than removing it when it’s hot.!

For more Heat Press information, check out my blog on How to Use a Heat Press!

The post 10 Heat Press Hacks You Need to Know! appeared first on Hey, Let's Make Stuff.

Tumbler press and blanks were provided by PYD Life but as always, all opinions are my own.

Glass blanks are really popular with sublimation crafters and today I wanted to share the results of testing a bunch of glass tumblers and glasses in my PYD Life tumbler press!

I reviewed the PYD Life tumbler press a few weeks ago and I’ve used it a lot since then and I continue to think it’s a great press.

Not sure which heat press is for you? Check out our e-course Heat Press Roadmap! This extensive course is designed to guide you on your journey to deciding on the best heat press for your needs, space, and budget. Check out all the details about Heat Press Roadmap here!

Along with the tumbler press, PYD Life also sent me a huge box of glass blanks, which we’re going to test today!

In This Post

• What you’ll need
• Types of sublimation glass blanks
• Types of images to use
• Image sizing
• Preparing the blank
• Taping the blanks
• Pressing the blanks
• The final reveal
• Final thoughts

What You’ll Need

Get everything you need to make sublimation glass tumblers on my Amazon shopping list!

To make any glass sublimation tumbler or mug, you’ll need:

• Tumbler press (you can also sublimate in a convection oven)
• Glass blanks (see the ones I used below)
• Printed sublimation transfer (see the ones I used below)
• Alcohol and a cotton ball
• Heat-resistant tape
• Butcher paper
• Heat-resistant gloves
• Heat-resistant mat

Types of Sublimation Glass Tumblers and Blanks

Here are the PYD Life glass blanks I’m going to be testing today, with links if you’d like to purchase:

• 25oz glass skinny tumbler with plastic lid
• Short glass skinny tumbler with bamboo lid
• Tall glass skinny tumbler with bamboo lid
• 18oz glass can with bamboo lid
• 13oz glass can with bamboo lid
• Glass mason jar with silicone lid
• Short glass mug
• Tall glass mug

Note that there are several options for most of these, so you can choose clear or frosted, and in some cases you can find ones with color gradients at the bottom. I used the pink color gradient for one so you could get an idea of how that looks with an image.

Types of Images to Use on Sublimation Glass Blanks

After pressing quite a few blanks, I have found a few things you might want to keep in mind. Sublimation ink is transparent and so is the glass, so you aren’t going to get a completely opaque result. You’ll always have that “glass” feel.

Frosted glass is more opaque, but it still will produce a slightly lighter, more transparent transfer than a completely opaque blank.

After doing some tests, not limited to but including the blanks in this post, I have found that darker and more saturated transfers work better on sublimation glass blanks. As you’ll see, the lighter transfers are sometimes too light and don’t create the best transfer. I also find that transfers with a bit of variation do better than large, solid blocks of a color single.

For this test, I’m using a bunch of galaxy-inspired images from Etsy:

• Watercolor Galaxy Background #1
• Watercolor Galaxy Background #2
• Watercolor Crystals Background

You’ll see later in this post that some designs turned out better than others.

Image Sizing for Sublimation Glass Blanks

These glass blanks come in a wide range of sizes. PYD Life has the template sizing on their Amazon listings, but for your convenience, here are the sizes they recommend…with one caveat.

When I go to print any sublimation image, I change the scale to 105% before printing. This makes the image slightly larger than the blank. I find that I can more accurately trim down a transfer vs. having to trim it perfectly the first time and risk having a gap where the transfer doesn’t meet when you wrap it around your blank.

So if you’d like, increase the sizing on these transfers a bit from the sizing here:

• 20oz glass skinny tumbler: 9.3″w x 7.9″h
• Short glass skinny tumbler: 8.2″w x 7″h
• Tall glass skinny tumbler: 8.2″w x 7.7″h
• 18oz glass can: 9.4″w x 4.5″h
• 13oz glass can: 8.8″w x 3.7″h
• Glass mason jar: 9″w x 3″h
• Short glass mug: 8.2″ x 4.9″
• Tall glass mug: 8.2″w x 7.7″h

Preparing Your Glass Blank for Your Transfer

Normally a lint roller works well for cleaning a blank before pressing a transfer, but for glass I have found that alcohol and a cotton ball work much better. Fingerprints are so apparent on glass and the alcohol does a better job of cleaning those up than a lint roller.

Make sure your blank is completely dry before adding your transfer. I also recommend washing your hands before starting so that you minimize any fingerprints when taping.

Taping Your Blanks

For a more in-depth look at how I do this, check out my post How to Tape a Tumbler to Minimize Seams and Uneven Edges!

Center the design on your tumbler, pull it tightly and tape down the entire seam using piece of heat resistant tape. Add a few pieces of tape down the side.

Tape around the top and bottom of the tumbler. Be sure everything is taped as tightly as possible. This will help prevent those ghosted edges that can ruin your design.

Then add one more long piece of tape down the seam.

Then roll the edge of the tumbler on the table a bit to really press those edges (see an example of this in the video above). I have found this helps about 90% of the ghosting edge issues I used to have.

Then wrap the tumbler in a layer of butcher paper. You don’t need to tape it to the tumbler.

Pressing the Sublimation Glass Blanks

Then press your tumbler. All of the glass tumblers and mugs I feature in this post have a press time of 120 seconds at 360°.

Depending on the size of your press, you may need to adjust your pressure or swap out the heating element, both of which you can learn to do in my post How to Use a Tumbler Press for Sublimation.

Place your tumbler in the press. I like to start with the seam of the butcher paper up.

Close the press. The timer will automatically turn on.

When the timer beeps, rotate the tumbler in the press and press again. You’ll want to wear heat-resistant gloves because the tumbler inside the press is HOT.

When the time beeps, remove the tumbler and allow to cool.

The Final Reveal

Here is how all eight of my tumblers turned out and what I thought of them. This was such an interesting test and hopefully it helps you figure out what sorts of images you’ll want to try on glass.

25oz Clear Glass Skinny Tumbler

This image was of a bunch of smaller gemstones. Overall, I think it photographs better than it looks in person. The pattern I sublimated was too light and the pinks in particular get lost in the glass and make it look a little muddied. This may have been a bit more successful on the frosted glass version of this tumbler.

Short Frosted Glass Skinny Tumbler

This is my favorite of the bunch. It’s so bright and the color is really rich. This tumbler had a pink gradient at the bottom, and I love how it plays with this darker image.

Tall Clear Glass Skinny Tumbler

Again, I think this image was too light for the tumbler. It’s hard to tell that it’s sort of a galaxy pattern and more looks like it’s just a blotchy watercolor. I like the size of this tumbler, though, so I think I’ll do some more testing with other designs.

18oz Frosted Glass Can

For this one, I like the “sparkles” within the galaxy. I am not 100% sure, however, that I love the un-sublimated white at the top and bottom of the can. If I do more cans, I may try an image that has a less sharp line at the top and bottom. But overall I like the look of this one!

13oz Clear Glass Can

This is my least-favorite of the bunch, and it’s all because of this image. i thought this watercolor geometric pattern would be cool, but the pinks get totally lost and the blue looks patchy. I think I prefer the larger 18oz can above over this smaller 13oz can too—I just like a larger cup in general, no matter what beverage I’m enjoying!

Clear Glass Mason Jar

I really love how this one turned out! I think this is a great image and it looks really cool on the clear glass. Again, not sure if I love the clear glass above the sublimated image—this might be better on one of the other tumblers instead. But overall I love this one and I like the glass mason jar style that I think will be perfect for my boys (who are past the “throwing cups” stage of childhood!).

Short Frosted Glass Mug

I thought this one might turn out too light, but I really like how it ended up looking! This is a fun crystal image and I think it pops on this frosted mug.

Tall Glass Mug

Finally there’s this tall pink galaxy mug. I didn’t do the best taping job on the bottom of this one—you can see the places where I had gaps. Not sure why this one didn’t turn out as well as the others, but thankfully the galaxy pattern makes this less apparent. I love how vibrant this image turned out on the frosted glass.

Final Thoughts on Glass Sublimation Blanks

Glass is such an interesting surface to sublimate compared to other surfaces like fabric, ceramic, or metal. The transparency of the glass plays with the transparent ink to create some very cool effects.

Overall, I thought the more saturated images worked better than the lighter images on glass. And I preferred the frosted glass, though I really did love the mason jar with the image I chose.

I hope these tests help you decide which PYD Life glass blanks are for you and what sort of transfers you may want to use yourself!

The post How to Make Glass Sublimation Tumblers and Mugs in a Tumbler Press appeared first on Hey, Let's Make Stuff.