FAQ - Patterned Vinyl & HTV
Patterned Vinyl & Decal FAQ
Our Patterned Vinyl is printed on a variety of vinyls with eco-solvent inks on a commercial Roland printer. We do have a selection of vinyls for you to choose from, so please consider what works best for you. Our permanent options are high-quality gloss outdoor vinyls. The vinyl has a 5+ year outdoor life, but, UV exposure and abrasion will reduce this. If you are using our vinyls, wraps or decals for tumblers and using epoxy/epoxy alternative over the vinyl, this is a non-issue. You can increase the longevity of your vinyl outdoors by applying a laminate over the top to provide UV and abrasion protection, which is recommended if you are using this for car decals or anywhere where the vinyl will be routinely exposed to oils, road grime, etc etc. Constant exposure to oils (whether from vehicles or hands) and other harsh elements will drastically reduce the lifespan of the print. I use ClearJet or Frog Juice aerosol cans. I can get this in via special order for you if need be.
Please see below breakdown of vinyl options currently available for our print products.
Patterned Vinyl Sizing
When printing on white/clear removable/permanent, our vinyl designs are sized 12x12". When printing on holographic vinyl, we do our best to size these as close to 11.5x11.5" as possible.
What is tiling and why would I want that?
Pattern tiling is a way to make the pattern much smaller than already made. We often tile patterns before we launch them, but in some cases we do not. Please note, tiling of patterns that are not seamless will result in what looks like 4 different patterns on on the 12 x 12" vinyl sheet. Proofs are not provided.
Example:
Can you make a patterned vinyl into a tumbler wrap for me?
Yes, we are now offering this. Simply choose what you'd like on the patterned vinyl listing, and choose the appropriate tumbler size. We will size the vinyl to fit the width of the tumbler wrap, and make the best crop possible to create an aesthetically pleasing wrap. Proofs are not provided.
Holographic Vinyl can be printed on?
Yes, there are a few specialty holographic vinyls that allow for use of eco-solvent inks. This vinyl option allows for a completely different look to your tumbler or your craft product. Cutting holographic vinyl can be a challenge as this is much thicker than standard vinyl. We soft-launched prints on holographic at the end of 2022 for decals and soon after expanded it for all patterned vinyls and tumbler wraps as well. Please note, due the darker nature of this vinyl, vibrant colours won't show the same way they do on white vinyl. Proofs are not provided.
Why on earth would I use a pattern printed on clear vinyl?
Because...creativity! That's why! Our clear adhesive vinyl allows you to do pattern overlays, which show the underside of the tumbler. This can be underside of a painted/glittered surface. Or... think a black spider web where you only want the black lines of the web to show, and the underneath to be a spooky glitter mix. In some cases, clear isn't ideal and white is a better choice. I We recommend trying a small variety of prints in both clear and white to see what you like best.
Patterned HTV
Our patterned HTV is printed on Siser brand HTV with eco-solvent inks using commercial equipment. Again, we have chosen Siser for consistency reasons, but PLEASE make sure you follow the instructions to install, as we print on HTV that takes far less time/temp than usual for heat pressing.
Patterned HTV - Instructions for use with heat press:
- Cut your design - do not mirror the image
- Weed away excess material
- Mask with TTD Easy Mask or TTD High Tack Mask (provided with your order at no charge)
- Preheat garment for 2-3 seconds
- Apply design at 250°F / 120°C
- Use medium pressure for 5-10 seconds
- Peel carrier hot
- Use a cover sheet (Teflon is recommended) and repress for 3-5 seconds
Laundering:
- Machine wash cold with mild detergent - please wait 48 hours after pressing before washing
- Do not bleach or dry clean
- Dry on normal dryer setting
Applies to: 100% cotton, poly/cotton blends, 100% polyester
For help with using the Patterned HTV, please see Siser's YouTube video here: https://bit.ly/2NL4lKg
Vinyl Print Options
We offer a variety of vinyl options for our prints (tumbler wraps, patterned vinyls and decals). This can be a little bit confusing coming to purchase from us the first time. Therefore, we are breaking it down here right now, and please also see the photos below.
We offer:
- White Permanent Vinyl
- White Removable Vinyl
- Clear Permanent Vinyl
- Clear Removable Vinyl
- Holographic Silver/Rainbow
- Holographic Glitter Confetti
- Holographic Glitter Flake
- Holographic Kaleidoscope
- HTV
So... Which do you choose? This is a question with no full "right" answer, but more what works best for you and your craft. Lets break down some of the the differences.
Permanent vinyl - this is equivalent to Oracal 651. It's a standard vinyl with a good adhesive. This is used a lot in the crafting world; example, you just get a Cricut and you want to make decals to go on your sugar and flower cannisters, you use this particular vinyl.
Removable vinyl - this is equivalent to Oracal 631. This has commonly been used for wall decals due to the ability to remove it without causing significant harm to the paint on the wall, even years down the road. Sometimes heat is still necessary, but you are likely to have better results with removable versus permanent.
WHY would I use removable on a tumbler?
Well, because sometimes placing a wrap, decal, pattern or piece of a pattern on a tumbler can be difficult, and sometimes it needs to be pulled up and repositioned. If you've ever had to pull up a chunk of vinyl, you know that it can be a real pain in the behind sometimes. It can stretch the vinyl, it can pull up your base (which can be extra frustrating when it pulls up a glittered or painted base) and so on. Removable is a game changer.
White versus clear vinyl - sometimes we want our base to show through - this can be helpful if we have a glow tumbler and are using a wrap or pattern with a lot of white in the design (as white is not printed - so this part appears see-through). This can give really cool effects with alcohol ink and/or glitter bases with some fun designed patterns and wraps installed on top.
Holographic - a game changer for tumblers. In addition to the standard white and clear vinyls, we started offering holographic vinyl in late 2022 for decals only, and expanded this to wraps and tumblers shortly thereafter. Holographic is a shiny, iridescent way to make your vinyl POP and get the attention of your customers. We offer four different holographics as of April 2023, so please take a look at the below photos and descriptions to decide what works best for your application.
Vinyl Examples
