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I haven't cut too much vinyl with my Silhouette yet...up until last night the only vinyl I've used was the Decor Elements vinyl SU! used to sell. The transfer paper that went with that vinyl worked well for me.
I was working on a project using some Silhouette vinyl along with some transfer paper I bought at Michaels. It was their store brand...Recollections. I bought it because it was a lot cheaper and figured they were probably all the same.:rolleyes:
It was terrible! It seems WAY too sticky. I had a very difficult time getting it to release the vinyl. When I was finally able to peel it off my project, it left a sticky residue on my vinyl design. I'm thankful I wasn't using it on a wall because it probably would have taken the paint off.
Was it user error or is it a bad product?
Can you recommend a good vinyl transfer paper?
Also, is there a way I can remove stickiness on surface of vinyl design without ruining the adhesion of the vinyl on my surface? (it's on metal which is going outside)
Thanks for any and all suggestions!
__________________ My Blog Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things. ~Robert Brault
I got the Oracal transfer paper from Joann. Look for large sheet of vinyl lying flat by the paper racks, some store has them in the special paper section. I do not remember the exact size maybe larger or 11 by 17. I had no problem transfer the vinyl cut. I learned from Splitcoaststampers that Oracal made the vinyl for all and the price is very reasonable especially with the current sale so it's worth a try.
I've only used the Cricut vinyl for projects, but for the transfer paper I use clear contact paper from WalMart. (First of all it's cheaper than transfer paper and you get a big roll, and second I had it on hand.)The trick I've found so it's not to sticky is when I remove the liner paper from the contact paper and before I use it to transfer, I stick it to my shirt or pants first to take some of the glue off and it ends up just sticky enough to hold the vinyl. I've never had it not work.
I have used Cricuts vinyl transfer paper and Elizabeth crafts too. I now use clear shelf paper and it works as well as the vinyl transfer paper and it is CHEAP.
Thanks for the tips! I actually had heard about the clear contact paper and even had it on hand...but it seemed too sticky so I was afraid to try it and ruin my project. But after what I ened up going through I'm going to try it next time removing some of the tack as suggested above by August29.
__________________ My Blog Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things. ~Robert Brault
I haven't cut too much vinyl with my Silhouette yet...up until last night the only vinyl I've used was the Decor Elements vinyl SU! used to sell. The transfer paper that went with that vinyl worked well for me.
I was working on a project using some Silhouette vinyl along with some transfer paper I bought at Michaels. It was their store brand...Recollections. I bought it because it was a lot cheaper and figured they were probably all the same.:rolleyes:
It was terrible! It seems WAY too sticky. I had a very difficult time getting it to release the vinyl. When I was finally able to peel it off my project, it left a sticky residue on my vinyl design. I'm thankful I wasn't using it on a wall because it probably would have taken the paint off.
Was it user error or is it a bad product?
Can you recommend a good vinyl transfer paper?
Also, is there a way I can remove stickiness on surface of vinyl design without ruining the adhesion of the vinyl on my surface? (it's on metal which is going outside)
Thanks for any and all suggestions!
I have used clear contact paper. YES! It is cheap and works just fine!
I use very cheap, clear contact paper, as well! I do lots of vinyls projects: decals, car decals with outdoor vinyl, cups, chairs, etc etc, haha. My absolute favorite transfer paper is the cheap, $1 roll of clear contact paper from Dollar Tree. Not too sticky, but more than sticky enough to grasp indoor and outdoor vinyl. There's quite a bit on the roll; I've even made some 12x24" projects and the roll is far from done. For $1, it really can't be beat!
I like the Cricut vinyl better. It has a little texture to it than Paper Studios vinyl doesn't have and for me, it sticks better. I have also only used the Cricut transfer paper. Will give the Dollar Tree brand a try next time I see one. That sounds like a good deal.
I own a sign shop and we use professional grade transfer paper (obviously). I would suggest taking your cut images to a sign shop and have them put transfer paper on top of them. (You would have to weed out the negative spaces between your images first.) It's really cheap and they would probably do it for a couple bucks. It would only take them a minute or two to put it on there for you. Tell them that they don't even have to trim it or adhere it super well. You can do that at home with a credit card. ANOTHER OPTION: Heat softens adhesive (I use my heat gun to remove stubborn container labels instead off Goo Be Gone. You can also use a hair dryer.) Hit the transfer paper with heat (for about 5-10 seconds on high from about 3" away) and it should soften up that adhesive so that it comes off of the vinyl easier. Once you apply vinyl to your wall, hit it again (a little at a time) to get it to adhere onto the wall surface. When you want to remove the vinyl, NEVER peel it off without applying heat first. I made some vinyl decals for Christmas out of the same vinyl we apply to semi-trucks. A heat gun easily removed it from my painted drywall wall after the holiday season. P.S. I'm not sure if it would work in your silhouette machine or not, but buying a few feet of vinyl from a sign shop might be cheaper than buying it from Michaels, HL, etc. Good luck!
Allyne: The folks are referring to cutting out shapes, fonts and other designs in vinyl with the use of electronic cutting machines. So fascinating. Think of all the uses. From decorating glassware to making huge incredible signs. There is even Heat Transfer Vinyl stuff that people use for decorating clothing. I have decorated a few glasses but haven't gotten around to the rest. But, I WILL. BTW, cutting vinyl is so much fun but can be addictive. Here is a link to an online source for vinyl and also instructional videos: Silhouette and Cricut Craft Vinyl 12x24 Starting at $1.99
I do a ton of vinyl for walls, cups, glass blocks, and my classroom walls. I use two different types of transfer tape depending on the size of my project. This is my go to transfer tape. Not affiliated with Vinyl Outlet, I just like their customer service. Both the Mactac and the Oracal vinyls have made me happy. I never buy my vinyl at retail since I buy a lot of sheets of most colors but rolls of black/brown/white/blue/red (school colors)...my typical order is about 40 sheets since I cut vinyl for lots of my friends.
Allyne - here are two samples of what I have done...
Pam
__________________ ...I'm just meandering through life; trying to have some fun along the way!!!
I use the Silhouette transfer tape. I've used it with their vinyl and other brands as well, it's always worked really well for me, you get a pretty large roll of it.
I own a sign shop and we use professional grade transfer paper (obviously). I would suggest taking your cut images to a sign shop and have them put transfer paper on top of them. (You would have to weed out the negative spaces between your images first.) It's really cheap and they would probably do it for a couple bucks. It would only take them a minute or two to put it on there for you. Tell them that they don't even have to trim it or adhere it super well.
I agree about the professional quality transfer paper! I worked for a sign shop and although the very huge roll was pretty pricey, nothing beats it! Interestingly, we used the same brand of vinyl, only different styles as the Cricut Vinyl (Oracal, I believe it was called). I chuckled the first time I saw this brand at the sign shop (rows and rows of colors). Told my boss, "you have no idea what they're charging for a small piece of the indoor vinyl in the craft stores!"
I have to admit it was so much fun printing and/or cutting vinyl, learning that process plus application, etc., plus it helped me learn how to work with vector files (we call them SVGs for our electronic cutters). I also designed monuments for the cemetery. Give me signs any day!
Before this purchase, I used the clear contact plastic I purchased at Walmart (it was repositionable).
True story: after working at the sign shop, and with my great transfer paper, I decided the University of Montana Griz decals needed a perfect application for my husband's truck. I applied two, that was fun since nothing is square on the back window of a pick-up truck. Four months later, the dealership can't fix either the automatic sliding window or the defroster in it, so, I call the dealership (it is December) and tell them since they have to warm the window up anyway to replace it, I'll just hang out in their warm garage and remove those pricey decals for the new window. Snap, it was done. The shop manager was stunned how easily I removed them and put them on the new window (yup, that heavy duty heat gun made it a cinch!). They were pretty nice about the shop time, too, at no extra charge, but with the audience watching me, I don't think they even noticed the time I took to do it perfectly!
Two weeks later, I get a call....from the dealership shop manager....can I repeat the process for another U of M customer? Sure....for a small fee, which they were willing to pay. LOL Since then, I've helped a few times, now that they realize how expensive the silly decals are for the different colleges (the good ones you can see through from the driver's seat.)
Vinyl Transfer Paper?
