By Tina S. and Bella B., Interns
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| The interns decorated umbrellas with CAD-COLOR® Solutions® Opaque. |
We were asked to prove our heat printing skills by heat pressing umbrellas for the Great Race. The design was a Team Stahls logo printed on CAD-COLOR® Solutions® Opaque printable heat transfer material. For some of you experts out there this may seem like no big deal, but our struggle was real. We the interns are still learning the art of heat printing and lack the knowledge and experience of all the heat printing ninjas reading this.
Initially thinking this job would be easy using a cap press, we learned the hard way that the platen was too small and we needed a larger surface. We then decided to try out an Auto Clam. As we awkwardly tried to place the curved umbrella on the 11X15 platen and pull down the press, we learned that a Print Perfect Pad helped to elevate the printing area and made the job much easier.
We were so excited when it was finally working! At one point, the press opened automatically and startled Tina, making her jump in the air, causing the umbrella to fall on the ground and our warm peel transfer turned too cold to remove. We reheated it again and it came out perfectly!
We soon got into the groove of things and were heat pressing umbrellas quickly and efficiently. We haven’t yet mastered the press although we are improving as we go. For everyone who receives an umbrella, know that it was made with love, care, and struggle.