DTF settings Celsius for UK crafters

Troubleshooting

Cracking

A crack is a print that bonded and then broke. It is not the same fault as a film that never stuck. More time will usually make a brittle print worse.

  1. The press was longer or hotter than the sheet. A common cold peel is 10–15 seconds, not a minute. Leaving the platen down “to be sure” can cook the adhesive until it snaps when the fabric moves. Go back to the packet.
  2. The second press crushed it. The final press should settle the print under a cover, not stamp it. Glitter and fine detail show this first.
  3. The shirt stretches and the print does not. Cotton jersey, including the blank kids’ tops, moves when it is pulled on. A design that runs into the raglan seam cracks at that line. See children’s clothing.
  4. The wash was too hot, or the dryer was. Xpres Evolution say up to 40°C, inside out. A 60°C wash or a hot tumble can crack a print that was fine. Follow the cooler of the label and the sheet. Details are on washing and care.
  5. You printed it, and the powder was over-cooked. Xpres describe a cure that looks like orange peel, not a powder that has scorched. Over-cured film can go brittle. That is a printing fault. Pressing the shirt more gently will not restore powder that is already burnt.

If the design is lifting in sheets rather than cracking in lines, you are on the wrong page. Use not sticking or peeling after washing.

Common questions

The print cracked when the child pulled the shirt on.

DTF does not stretch like a stretch vinyl. A large solid design across a chest that gets pulled will crack even when the press was right. Keep designs inside the suggested widths on the children’s page, and avoid a solid block on a seam.

Glitter has gone flat and split.

The second press was too hard or too long for the texture. Press glitter like the cold-peel row unless the packet says otherwise, and keep that second press light.

Sources