Applying DTF Transfer with an Iron

Take your time and line up your artwork in the desired print area.

Shoot for a setting on your iron that corresponds with the material you are using. If that is not hot enough where the transfer is adhering to your shirt, increase it towards cotton/linen setting which is the hotter of the settings, making sure it won't burn your garment itself.

Before pressing, place the parchment paper or a Protective Guard Sheet over the transfer for 20 seconds, pressing down with hard pressure.

After pressing, let your transfer rest until it is cool to the touch (minimum of 15-30 seconds).  Once cool, lift the transfer from one corner and gently peel back. We have a saying in the dojo, which is, don’t use your hands, use your eyes when peeling to make sure that every piece of your design is adhering to your item. If not, don’t continue peeling and press again using the guidance below. If some or all of the design is not properly transferring AND it was cool when peeling, it means there was not enough heat, pressure, or time. Lay the transfer back down with everything in place, press your transfer again with more pressure and time first(+5 seconds). If that doesn’t work, increase the heat setting until you find the sweet spot. You truly cannot OVERPRESS and damage the transfer itself.

Place the parchment paper included or a single layer of t-shirt material over the design and press again for 15 seconds to soften the design, increase durability, and remove shine.

If you want a shinier finish instead, you can use our Protective Guard Sheet for this result.

It is optimal to wash inside out with cold water. Being that you are using an iron instead of a heatpress (which applies heat with more pressure, more evenly), we would recommend hang drying instead of in the dryer. If you decide to use a dryer, we'd recommend on low heat, inside out.

Everyone's irons, heat, pressure is different when using an iron, so test to find out what works best for you. Remember that you cannot overpress your transfers. The better they are pressed, the more durability they have through washing and drying.