Heat transfers are designs that are pre-printed on a special paper and are applied to the garment with the use of a heat press. Heat transfers are quick, easy and inexpensive. A shirt that has a heat pressed image is sometimes confused for shirt that has been screen printed. However, when compared with a screen printed shirt the quality of a heat transfer shirt just doesn’t hold up. Heat transfers still look great, but do not last as long (will eventually wash out) and do not have the same high quality and detail as a screen printed shirt. With the additional set up costs that are necessary when screen printing t-shirts, screen printing is not cost effective for printing small quantities: usually between 1-24. Using a heat press is a perfect alternative to screen printing if you are looking for an individual, unique design on a small quantity of shirts at a low cost.
