Fabric
Poly-cotton blends
A 50/50 or 65/35 shirt is not halfway between two presses. The transfer sheets that name blends put them with cotton. The polyester in the shirt can still misbehave.
| Transfer | Temperature | Time | Pressure | Peel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cold-peel standard | 150–160°C (302–320°F) | 10–15 seconds | Medium | Cold |
| Warm peel | 150–160°C (302–320°F) | 10–15 seconds | Medium | Warm |
| Hot peel | 150–160°C (302–320°F) | 8–12 seconds | Medium | Hot |
| Glitter | 150–160°C (302–320°F) | 10–15 seconds | Medium | Cold |
The packet supplied with your transfers wins over this table. Where a named film publishes a different press, the lookup shows that example beside the starting point.
Check the label before you pick a row. Then press the row your transfers name, not a blend you calculated. For a cold-peel transfer the starting point is the same band as cotton: 150–160°C for 10–15 seconds, medium, cold peel, then a second press. Xpres put cotton, polyester and blends in one method.
Amaya ProPeel does split blends out, for that instant-peel film only: 150°C for 10 seconds, medium-heavy, peel straight away, then 5 seconds. A ready-made hot-peel gang sheet is more often the 8–12 second start in the table. The packet decides which card you are on.
The polyester fibres can still glaze or bleed dye into white ink. Cover the shirt. If a pale design shifts colour, treat it as the polyester problem and stop adding heat. Sublimation on a blend only dyes the polyester share, so it looks pale. That is a different process, described on Heat press settings.
Common questions
Should I average the cotton and polyester temperatures?
No. Xpres list blends with cotton and polyester, and the common press they describe is 150–160°C for 10–15 seconds. Inventing a midpoint is less useful than reading the packet.
The shirt says cotton rich. Does that change the press?
Read the label. Cotton rich can be a touch of polyester or a workwear shirt that is mostly polyester. The transfer still follows the sheet. The more polyester, the more you should cover the fabric and watch for shine.
Sources
- Xpres, how to DTF — common press 150–160°C for 10–15 seconds, medium, cold peel
- Xpres DTF Evolution cold-peel sheets — 150–160, 10–15 seconds, cold peel, second press 10–15 seconds
- Amaya ProPeel DTF film — instant peel; cotton 160°C for 3 seconds, blends 150°C for 10 seconds, polyester 130°C for 15 seconds