Fabric
100% polyester
DTF will press onto polyester. The risk is the fabric, not the idea. Polyester shines, and dye in the shirt can move into a pale print.
| 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 | 140–150°C (284–302°F) | 10–12 seconds | Light to 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.
Xpres describe DTF for cotton, polyester and blends, and a common press of 150–160°C for 10–15 seconds at medium pressure, peeled cold. That is the cold-peel starting point here, with a cover sheet between the platen and the shirt. A shiny rectangle in the shape of the platen is scorch or glaze. It is not a pale transfer. Read ghosting and shiny marks before you add time.
Hot-peel polyester is where this site starts lower, at 140–150°C for 10–12 seconds, light to medium, peeled straight away. The named exception is Amaya ProPeel: polyester at 130°C for 15 seconds, medium-heavy, peel instantly, then 5 seconds again. That card is only for that film.
Light polyester can also be sublimated, which dyes the fibre instead of laying a film on top. Those presses are hotter and longer. They live on Heat press settings. Do not borrow a sublimation minute and put it on a DTF transfer. Dark polyester is a DTF job if you need white in the design, because sublimation has no white ink.
Hi-vis vests are usually polyester with reflective tape. They have their own, cooler notes on the hi-vis page. Blends are not a midpoint between this page and cotton. See poly-cotton.
Common questions
Why not drop every polyester press to 130°C?
130°C for 15 seconds is the polyester row for Amaya ProPeel, an instant-peel film. Xpres still describe a common press of 150–160°C, and they include polyester in the fabrics DTF is for. Use the row for the transfers in your hand.
The white print has gone pink.
That is dye from the shirt moving into the transfer. It is more likely when the press is hot and the polyester was strongly dyed. Cover the shirt, and if your supplier prints a lower polyester temperature, use that. Pressing again hotter will not pull the dye back out.
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