EV Puff

Being able to customize your apparel and accessories is a fun way to unleash your creative side by creating unique products. Heat transfer vinyl and puff vinyl are a popular choice because they can be easy to apply and will work with all kinds of materials and sizes. When choosing a vinyl to personalize your shirts, sweatshirts, bags or other soft items with, there are many different styles and colors to choose from to meet your vision. Puff vinyl offers you a totally unique look when used on your products and has a similar application process to many other heat transfer vinyl options. Expressions Vinyl has a large color selection of puff vinyl that are ready to make your projects stand out and last longer with their quality materials. Puff vinyl can be used in a variety of ways, so let your creative side run wild with this vinyl that is sure to make your designs pop out!

How is This Vinyl Different?
Puff vinyl is a specific style of heat transfer vinyl that “puffs” up and expands when it is applied to an item with heat. Compared to other flat styles of vinyl, puff vinyl adds dimension and more of a 3D look and feel to the words or images in this kind of vinyl. For any of your heat-transfer vinyl projects, using puff vinyl creates a unique pop out texture that will add pop of personality as well. Puff vinyl is easy to cut out with a machine cutter or even just a crafting knife. This soft fabric is a great choice for either professional business products or for your home hobby crafts.

Uses of Puff Vinyl
Most heat transferred vinyl will stick to many different kinds of surfaces that you can use a heat press or an iron on. Puff vinyl, in particular, can be used in the same way and on those similar surfaces with the difference being the texture of vinyl after it has been adhered. The expanded 3D design tends to look better on a fabric base and can be applied to materials such as:

Polyester
Cotton
Poly-Cotton blend

This vinyl can be used to add dimension to products by designing puff vinyl pieces to go on items like:

T-shirts or sweatshirts
Hats/masks
Towels
Canvas bags/shoes
Yoga pants/sweatpants
And much more!

How to Apply and Adhere Puff Vinyl
The application of puff vinyl is not a complex process but there are certain steps you should be aware of so that you ensure you are applying and adhering it to your items correctly. Completing these processes, the right way will maximize the longevity of the vinyl on your products and will make it look the best it can be. Applying this puff vinyl only takes a few steps to go from a sheet of vinyl to your finished product. 

Cut Out Your Design 

Your puff vinyl will come to you in a 9” x 12” plain sheet. You will need a cutting machine, such as a Cricut, Silhouette or Siser, to cut your design into the vinyl sheet. Make sure that you have your sheet correct side down on your cutting mat and you mirror your image before you begin cutting. 

Set Your Heat

Whether you are using an iron or a heat press to adhere your vinyl, make sure that it is set to 280 degrees. This will allow your vinyl to stick to the material without destroying the integrity of the vinyl or burning through the material. 

Preheat Your Shirt

In order for the puff vinyl to effectively adhere to your shirt, or other fabric product, make sure to preheat it. Use your iron or heat press for a brief time to add heat to the product before you press the vinyl onto it. This will help smooth the fabric as well as release any moisture prior to pressing.

Place the Design

Once the material has been pressed slightly, you can place your vinyl design onto the product where you want it to be. Place the heat on your vinyl design for ten seconds. Be sure to use a lot of pressure to ensure that every edge of the design sticks to the material. A heat press is recommended for this step.

Take the Heat Off

When the ten seconds are up, release the heat quickly. You do not want to burn through the vinyl or the fabric so taking the heat off fast will be important to not ruining the product.

Peel Off Backing

The backing that holds your design in place will naturally start to release itself from the puffed-up vinyl but be sure to peel off the rest of the backing while the design is still warm. This will help the design to stay intact while the backing is being pulled off. 

The process to use puff vinyl is not particularly difficult, but these steps will help to make sure you are doing it correctly. Learning to add it to your products is not hard at all and it can be a fun new way to add dimension to your vinyl designs. 

Tips and Tricks
While the application process for puff vinyl and regular heat transfer vinyl are very similar, there are few differences to be aware of when using puff vinyl. There are a few tips and tricks to keep in mind when working specifically with puff vinyl. 

Don’t create a design that is too detailed. When the design puffs up, it might overcrowd those intricate designs and it could lose the desired effect. 

When layering different heat transfer vinyl, the puff vinyl always has to be the last layer to go on. Heating up this vinyl more than once will cause it to deflate. 

Make sure the heat and pressure are evenly distributed throughout the design so that the vinyl will puff up fully and all through the image. 

There is a variety of different colors to choose from when looking for a puff vinyl so be sure to look through the Expressions Vinyl catalog to see what would work best for your vision.

About Expressions Vinyl 
Expressions Vinyl started as a small store back in 2009 and has grown into a passionate company delivering high-quality vinyl in a time efficient manner. Our goal is to provide you with the best customer service to help with any of your needs or questions you might have while going through your crafting process. Whether you are a pro vinyl crafter or you are just beginning, we would love to be a part of making your crafts and designs come to life. Contact us today to get started on your crafting journey!