Printable iron-ons are a great way to personalize a wide variety of items, from T-shirts and sweat shirts to totes, banners and hats. Iron-ons require a little imagination, your computer, printable iron-on transfer paper, a printer and an iron. Once you have the basics assembled, you are all set to create your own fashion or advertising statement.
Instructions
1. Choose the design for your iron-on. The design may be an original work of art by a child, a custom logo for your business designed by yourself or a professional, a photograph, a map, or any other type of picture or drawing you would like to place on a shirt or other cloth object. Make sure that the graphic or photo will fit on the typical 8 1/2 by 11 inch piece of printer paper.
2. Purchase your iron-on or transfer paper. These papers are specially treated and designed for iron-on transfers. There are, however, different types available. For example, there are papers designed for light colored fabrics in which the transfer will have a white border around the picture or graphic. This is suitable for a white, yellow or other such light colored fabric. There are also papers designed for dark fabrics which allow a dark border around the picture or graphic to better blend with the fabric. These papers are available at office supply stores, big box stores and craft stores.
3. Choose your item to to receive the transfer. This may be a T-shirt, sweat shirt, hand bag, tote or a hat. Keep in mind that typically the material should be of cotton and will most likely need to be washed and dried prior to applying the transfer. This will remove any treatments or coatings which might prevent the transfer from taking hold.
4. Using your computer, print the desired picture or logo onto the transfer paper. Follow the directions which may be very specific to the brand and type paper that you are using. Many times there is a specific manner in which the paper is loaded into the printer. Also pay attention to the type of ink recommended by the paper manufacturer. Some may require regular ink jet inks, while others may specify photo printer inks. It can make a difference.
5. Examine the printed image on the transfer paper. The image should be reversed as a negative to get the correct image on the item receiving the image. Following the directions of the manufacturer, trim as much of the excess border as possible while leaving sufficient paper to achieve a good bond around the image.
6. Heat the iron following the manufacturer's instructions for the specific paper. Usually, a high setting such as for cotton or linen is required. You may also need a thin cloth or rag to place between the iron and the transfer.
7. Place the shirt or other material on the ironing board and orient the transfer image on the object receiving the image. Remember, this is a one shot deal and there is no repositioning once the process begins. Use firm, even and slow motions when ironing on the transfer. Take your time making sure that no creases exist and that the transfer is completely covered by the heat of the iron.
8. Slowly peel the transfer paper from the cloth object. Watch for areas which may still have the image attached to the transfer paper. It is possible to attach these areas by gently working the hot iron over the area. However, typically this is not an issue if the image was thoroughly covered by the hot iron previously.
9. Depending on the paper manufacturer, you may or may not need to set the image in a wash cycle. If not, you are ready to wear and show off your newly designed photo or graphic design.
