Here is a partial listing of common heat transfer terms you might encounter.  Click on the term and it will take you to a definition.

Bitmap Art: "Bitmaps are graphics composed of dots called pixels. Bitmaps have a fixed resolution so a bitmap looks best when you display or print it at its original size. Enlarging the bitmap appears to enlarge each pixel because extra pixels are added, making the graphic look jagged and distorted. Reducing the size of the bitmap eliminates pixels and shrinks the bitmap. Because a bitmap is a collection of arranged pixels, you cannot manipulate its parts individually. The color and shape appear continuous when viewed from a distance." (c) 1992 - 1999 Corel Corporation. All rights reserved. What this means is when you scan in artwork or receive artwork in one of the bitmap formats, the whole file is one large object. It is more difficult to edit artwork in bitmaps formats. Some of the most common bitmap formats are JPEG, TIFF, BMP, and GIF. There are applications available for converting bitmap files into vector files.

Cold Split Transfers: A cold split transfer is a specialized type of stock transfer. It is an image of some form that can be applied to some media such as a tee shirt, ball cap, jacket, etc using heat and pressure, then the backing paper is peeled away from the transferred image after the image has had an opportunity to cool. Typically they are produced using plastisol inks on a transfer paper and are produced dark background fabrics. Typical application temperatures and times are 375 degrees for 8 – 10 seconds.

Color Profiles: A computer file that describes how the computer device needs the color values modified by the software for that device to work accurately. Each device on your computer that is involved in the artwork adds its own color variance to the original colors. If you are scanning art, the scanner will normally add a blue tint to the scan, depending on the type of light it uses, the monitor will display the colors another way, depending on how you have the colors adjusted on the monitor and in the video driver, and the printer will again add its interpretation of the colors sent to it. Unless you have some way to correct these variances from the original source, the printed output will not look like the original. Additionally, if you try to use what you see on the screen to make color adjustments, you will find output from the printer does not match what the screen is displaying. Correcting each device is accomplished with an International Color Consortium (ICC) profile.

CYMK: Cyan, Yellow, Magenta, Black. Generally there are two ways to present color information utilizing monitors and printers: Red Green Blue (RGB) or Cyan Yellow Magenta Black (CYMK). Typically monitors will display their information in terms of RGB mixtures and most printers will also print based on RGB mixtures passed to the printer driver. Most color printers have CYMK inks, yet receive the information from the application as RGB data, before converting it to print.

Digital Transfers: A digital transfer is simply an image created by some digital source such as computer graphics, scanned artwork, pictures from digital cameras and subsequently applied to some media where the image can be heat applied onto something else such as a tee shirt, mug, ball cap, etc. There are several types of digital transfers, but all involve some form of printer applying ink onto a transfer media. Those types are wax-thermal, color laser printer/copier, ink jet, and dye-sublimation. The name for each type is based on the printer that is applying the ink to the transfer media. Wax-thermal, color laser printer/copier and ink jet all use a process when the ink/toner is applied on top of a resin coated paper. When that paper is pressed to a transfer item and heat is applied, the resins melt and the ink will flow to the transfer item along with the resins. Once heat is removed the resins and ink will solidify and become a part of the surface of the item. For that transfer to be successful, it must be applied at the right temperature, pressure and time according to each manufacturer’s requirements. Typically a wax-thermal transfer will need medium pressure at 375 degrees for 15 seconds in a heat press for the transfer to adhere properly and be durable. Dye-sublimation based digital transfers are somewhat different and the process is defined based on the source of the dye-sublimation ink. Typically though the dye-sublimation ink will change state to gaseous (not liquid) form under heat and will bond with polyester molecules. When heat is removed the polyester molecules will close around the now solidified dye sublimation ink producing a result that is extremely durable and exhibits color vibrancy.

Dye-sublimation: Dye-sublimation is a process where, under heat, the ink becomes gaseous and the gaseous ink then penetrates the fiber of a polyester shirt or the pores of the polyester coating of a solid surface item. When the heat is removed, the gas solidifies. The polyester fiber of the fabric or the open pores of the coated item then close over the dyes in the ink and forms a protective coating. It leaves a very soft feel (hand). It is also used for transferring to mugs, metals (photo engraving for plaques), Mylar, and ceramics.

Heat Press: A piece of equipment used to apply a transfer to an item using heat and pressure. There are flat presses, mug presses and cap presses. All will have a heating element and a means of applying that heat under pressure. Presses range from completely manual, spring loaded operation to automatic presses with pneumatic pressure and digital heat controls

Heat Transfers: A heat transfer is simply an image of some form that can be applied to some media such as a tee shirt, mug, ball cap, etc using heat and pressure. This generic term is used interchangeably with the more descriptive terms digital transfer, stock transfer, hot split transfer, cold split transfer, and dye-sublimation transfer.

Hot Split Transfers: A hot split transfer is a specialized type of stock transfer. It is an image of some form that can be applied to some media such as a tee shirt, ball cap, jacket, etc using heat and pressure, then the backing paper is peeled away from the transferred image while the image is still hot. Typically they are produced using plastisol inks on a transfer paper and are produced dark background fabrics. Typical application temperatures and times are 375 degrees for 8 – 10 seconds.

Inks: A medium used for applying a color image to a transfer. Types of inks are wax-thermal, ink jet (water based) and dye-sublimation.

Pantone: Pantone is a registered trademark for a company that defined solid ink colors using RGB and CYMK mixtures. Their definitions are widely used in the screen printing industry and hence all of the major graphics programs. When creating certain transfers for corporate logos, you may be asked to produce a color based on the Pantone Color Matching System.

Raster Images: Raster images are simply another name for bitmaps. See Bitmap Art for a complete description.

RGB: Red, Green, Blue. Generally there are two ways to present color information utilizing monitors and printers: Red Green Blue (RGB) or Cyan Yellow Magenta Black (CYMK). Typically monitors will display their information in terms of RGB mixtures and most printers will also print based on RGB mixtures passed to the printer driver. Most color printers have CYMK inks, yet receive the information from the application as RGB data.

Stock Transfers: A stock transfer is simply an image of some form that can be applied to some media such as a tee shirt, ball cap, jacket, etc using heat and pressure. This generic term is used interchangeably with the more descriptive terms hot split transfer and cold split transfer. They are called stock transfers because there are companies that make catalogs of designs they produce in large quantities and sell in smaller quantities. Because the items are made generically and tend to be kept in stock by the manufacturers and the distributors, they tend to be readily available. Typically they are produced using plastisol inks on a transfer paper and are produced for either a light background or a dark background fabric.

Sublimation Coated Blanks: A polyester coating applied to blank solid surface goods that allow the dye-sublimation inks to become a part of the surface of the item. Dye-sublimation is a process where, under heat the dye-sublimation ink becomes gaseous and the gaseous ink then penetrates the pores of the polyester coating of a mug. When the heat is removed, the gas solidifies. The open polyester pores of the coating on the surface of the item then close over the dyes in the ink and form a protective coating. The coating is applied to many different surfaces such as ceramics, Mylar plastics and metals.

Toners: A medium used for applying a color image to a transfer. Toners are used in color laser printers and color laser copiers.

Transfer Paper: The medium upon which inks or toners are applied before heat pressing the inks or toners along with their resin coatings (except for dye-sublimation inks) onto the item. Each manufacturer has their own formula or resins with which they coat their papers. That recipe determines the color vibrancy, durability, and melting temperature of the transfer.

Transfer Printers: A device used for translating digital information to ink or toner applied to a transfer paper. Types of printers used in this process today are wax-thermal (e.g. Alps), ink jet, color laser, and dye-sublimation.

Vector Art: "Vectors are defined mathematically as a series of points joined by lines. Unlike bitmaps, vectors represent shapes as a series of lines and curves that you can resize without loss of quality. Graphical elements in a vector file are called objects. Each object is a self-contained entity with properties such as color, shape, outline, and size included in its definition." (c) 1992 - 1999 Corel Corporation. All rights reserved. Artwork based on objects allows for ease of editing the different aspects of the artwork such as changing the color or shape of that aspect of the art. Typical formats used for vector artwork are EPS, CDR, WMF, and EMF. There are applications available for converting bitmap files into vector files.

Wax-thermal: A type of ink used for applying a color image to a transfer. Typically the printer applies these inks from a ribbon under heat and the inks are usually waterproof, smearproof, and fade resistant under direct sunlight. Transfers applied using this process are also resin based. The most common of this type of printer is the Alps MicroDry printer.

   We gladly accept VISA, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express.

Send mail to wfwatson@earthlink.net with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: July 14, 2007