Many clothing companies use heat transfers as a method of branding and it is a common practice also applied in the labelling of items which come into close contact with skin, including tight sports attire and underwear to avoid the unnecessary skin irritation that fiddly labels can cause.
When starting up a design company that uses heat transfer labels many designers opt to use silk screening on lower budget scales. However, as the growth of a business increases it is more than likely that you will need to invest in the correct type of machinery to ensure that your heat transfer garment can be produced on a larger scale with as few mistakes as possible.
Here is our break-down of the top companies and brands that have successfully used heat transfers:
1. Calvin Klein
The Calvin Klein underwear ranges offer classically designed undergarments made from lightweight cotton materials. As garments worn and washed every day it is vital that they can be washed while retaining their shape, style and comfort.
You will find that the label on undershirts, boxer shorts and pants are heat-transferred onto the garments individually to ensure that there is minimal chaffing for the most ultimate of comfort, and what’s more is that they are completely water resistant.
2. Nike
The Nike Dri-Fit sports clothing worn predominantly by runners is designed to ensure maximum comfort while embarking on tough sports keeping the person wearing the garments cooler in summer and warmer in winter. The popular sports brand pops heat-transfers directly onto these garments which include t-shirts, ¾ length trousers, tracksuit bottoms and shorts for male and female customers.
They look great on the exterior of a garment and can provide a much cleaner look.
It is likely Nike opt for this type of print on their Dri-Fit products to ensure maximum comfort for the person wearing the garment as unnecessary chaffing or rubbing from embroidered logos could mean that the customer opts to wear clothing from a different brand.
They look great on the exterior of a garment and can provide a much cleaner look.
It is likely Nike opt for this type of print on their Dri-Fit products to ensure maximum comfort for the person wearing the garment as unnecessary chaffing or rubbing from embroidered logos could mean that the customer opts to wear clothing from a different brand.
3. Super Dry
Famous for its fusion of design influence from Japan and America this British company has combined graphic art from both countries to produce unique t-shirt designs which are placed using heat-transfer technology. The brand has now chosen to incorporate their designs onto jackets and trousers to widen their customer base. It is believed they use a form of vinyl as well as specialised inks combined with a screen-printing technology.
Famous for its fusion of design influence from Japan and America this British company has combined graphic art from both countries to produce unique t-shirt designs which are placed using heat-transfer technology. The brand has now chosen to incorporate their designs onto jackets and trousers to widen their customer base. It is believed they use a form of vinyl as well as specialised inks combined with a screen-printing technology.
This well known multi-national German brand has experimented with both embroidered and heat-transfer logo branding on all of their garments for many years. Much like Nike they chose to use the heat transfer vinyl’s on their sportier styles such as t-shirts, tight fitting trousers and sports underwear to ensure maximum comfort.
Anyone who works within textile printing will have debated over how the prints are applied as some dispute that there is a distinct border apparent on some of their sports products however we at Focus label believe it is a combination of print and cut vinyl.
5. Arsenal Football Club (Puma)
The brand new 2014/15 kit was unveiled recently and has used heat transfer methods in a new way. The home kit which is mostly red with a crew neck and white sleeves has heat transfer tapes which run down the length of the body of the shirt to accentuate the torso and provide a more fitted illusion. The logo of the kit supplier is not heat transferred as it was on previous football shirts, but embroidered onto the garment with the infamous Fly Emirates sponsored branding printed onto the front of the football shirt using cut vinyl and printing.
The brand new 2014/15 kit was unveiled recently and has used heat transfer methods in a new way. The home kit which is mostly red with a crew neck and white sleeves has heat transfer tapes which run down the length of the body of the shirt to accentuate the torso and provide a more fitted illusion. The logo of the kit supplier is not heat transferred as it was on previous football shirts, but embroidered onto the garment with the infamous Fly Emirates sponsored branding printed onto the front of the football shirt using cut vinyl and printing.
At Focus Label Machinery we manufacture two types of machinery that enable you to produce similar results:
· The LX machines
· The TagTrans machines
These all produce cost effective results on a mass production scale and have been created following dedicated research by us to ensure maximum efficiency, functionality and quality of results. You will also find that they produce garments which have wash resistant transfers and are free of a halo like most mass produced garments.
If you are looking for printing machines for your textile business or brand, which produce superior results, why not contact us today? Our team of technical support staff have a wealth of experience and are extensively experienced in each of our machines.
