Tips for Keeping Siser® Materials in Prime Condition
During the Summer Months
Right now in Michigan the weather has been averaging 85-93°F with the humidity near 66%. Needless to say….
Don’t get me wrong, I love this weather! This kind of weather makes me want to go hang out by the pool or the beach, go on a boat, have a barbecue, and just enjoy the outdoors. Then I think one of my favorite moments is that feeling of being soaked in sweat from running around outdoors in the heat, to walking into my air-conditioned house. You know…
This made me start to think about how the temperature can also have a direct affect on our heat transfer vinyl.
When storing your rolls or sheets of Siser® HTV, you are going to want to make sure they are placed in a dry area that can be climate controlled. Room temperature is averaged out at about 70°F. This is the ideal temperature we suggest for the storage of our materials. We don’t suggest exceeding 75-80°F for your room temperature.
“What happens to the materials when it starts to exceed 80°F?” you ask?
Now this will all vary on your humidity/moisture level in the room as well as if you have the material exposed to direct sunlight. What I mean by “direct sunlight” is having your material right next to a window where the sun may be beaming directly on it. Even though your thermostat may say 70°F, having the heat of the sun directly on the material will cause the adhesive to slowly start activating. Once the adhesive starts activating, it will begin to weaken its durability when applied to your garment. You may not tangibly notice a difference on the roll, which will be due to the adhesive liquefying under the heat of the sun and then back to a solid within the time you get the roll to your cutter.
The other major attribute to consider is the materials with our pressure sensitive carrier (the EasyWeed® family, Glitter, etc). What may happen when too much heat/moisture is exposed to these pressure sensitive materials is the vinyl will begin to prematurely fall off of the carrier. This will cause issues when you go to cut on your roll or sheet of vinyl. This is essentially the theory of our “Heat Press Trick” by warming up the carrier to make your weeding process even easier. This is all good when you go to weed your transfer, but can cause problems if it’s falling off when you are cutting the material. The vinyl may start waving as the blade of your cutter moves across it, causing a bad cut with your design, or bunching up and potentially causing a motor error for your cutter. If the adhesive of the carrier is manipulated badly, your design may not even stay on the carrier for you to press with.
This same concern includes our TTD Easy Mask and TTD High Tack Mask for our print and cut materials. These masks are strictly pressure sensitive materials that are tools to mask your digital transfer and act as the carrier. If these masks are subjected to too much heat/moisture it will deplete the stickiness on the polyester. The big problem with that is it will make it very difficult, or even impossible, to get your print and cut material to bond with the mask. To avoid these issues, let the mask come to room temperature (70°F or below) before using. If you’re still having trouble with the adhesive, place the mask in a fridge or freezer for 5-10 minutes.
These are all vital things to remember when you go to store your Siser HTV. We all need the sun in our lives, and we all enjoy the warmth…..but sometimes it can act as the “Heat Miser” for our materials.
If you have any questions or concerns about this, please feel free to leave them in the comment section here! :)