If you are a beginner at working with HTV and are facing trouble figuring it out, this article might be of some help to you. In this piece we will cover some basic tips, tricks and troubleshooting techniques to make working with HTV easy for you.

Troubleshooting Techniques

Cutting

The HTV always has two sides. A shiny side, and a dull side. Therefore, vinyl has three layers- sheet covering the adhesive, vinyl, and the carrier sheet. The shiny one is the carrier, and the dull one is the adhesive side. The dull side receives the cut when loaded into the cutter. Therefore, when loading the vinyl into the cutter, the shiny side goes down and the dull side goes up.  

Test Cuts

We cannot emphasize enough on this one. Every vinyl has different thickness. This also differs from manufacturer to manufacturer. Hence, this setting differes accordingly too. The pressure of the cutter has to be just right to make sure that the adhesive side and the vinyl is cut properly. But it shouldn’t be so that it cuts through the carrier sheet as well. 

To achieve this, test cuts on a small piece of vinyl have to be done.

Cut Lines are difficult to notice

When cutting on colours such as white or yellow, it can become harder to see the cut lines. In such cases try holding your HTV against the light to see and notice the cut lines. If the cut lines are still invisible, you can try adjusting the pressure of the cutter to cut a little deeper into the material.

Weeding seems very difficult

If the cuts have been made properly, you wouldn’t face much trouble while reading your design. A weeding tool is very helpful in this step. But if it is difficult still, you can try and adjust the cuts settings or double cut the design. In short, TEST CUT!

Transfer Not adhering properly

If the instructions to press the vinyl onto the respective garments are followed properly, the vinyl will adhere 100%. These instructions always come along with the heat vinyl. But sometimes, too much or too little press time can result into the vinyl not sticking properly.  So, it’s necessary to follow the instructions properly. 

More Tips:

Some garments have a slight coating that makes them waterproof. This coating makes it difficult for adhesives from any heat transfer vinyls to penetrate the garment. To overcome this problem, This thin layer can be weakened by dampening the cloth with rubbing alcohol. Allow this dampen spot to dry before applying the design. Washing and drying your garments prior to pressing your design is recommended.

Do follow these techniques to troubleshoot your problems with heat transfer vinyl.Do check out seaarttrim’s articles and videos for more information.