Customizing vinyl designs on clothes and crafts is a great way to personalize your wardrobe and add some brightness to your life. The options are endless when it comes to choosing patterns and materials for your vinyl creations, but if you are looking for a futuristic and bold look, be sure to check out the newest addition to the heat transfer vinyl collection - metal HTV! Along with many other types of heat transfer vinyl, metal HTV is easy to use and Expressions Vinyl carries nine amazing colors. This foil-like look that metal vinyl brings can make any of your custom projects with this specialized look and unique colors. Choose from gold, silver, bronze, tiger lily, purple, red, blue, silver blue, and golden rose metal colors to add that metal appearance to your crafts. With its smooth finish and durability, this vinyl is sure to be the material you need to bring your personalized products to life!
Easy Transfer Application
The varieties of heat transfer vinyl offered at Expressions Vinyl have a rather quick application process and are very easy to use, and metal HTV is no different. These easy processes allow for your project to get done quickly and efficiently without compromising on their quality or longevity. There are a few steps that need to be applied in the transfer application process in order to ensure the best and smoothest adhesion to your material.
Cutting Your Metal Vinyl
While it has the word metal in its name, metal HTV is not a hard material. Metal is used to describe the appearance of this vinyl and it is really quite thin. Despite not actually being metal, there are certain cutting instructions that should be applied in order to create the desired outcome for your vinyl design. Always cut your design in reverse so that it will turn out the right way when the heating process is done. Metal heat transfer vinyl will come with your desired color on one side and a gray shiny side on the other. Cut your vinyl with the colored side down and the gray side up.
Recommendations for Cut Settings
There could be a few different ways to go about cutting your design out of vinyl. Most people will usually have either a Circuit cutter, a Silhouette cutter, or a Brother cutter. Each machine will have different settings and you will need certain parameters to cut your vinyl based on which machine you have.
Cricut: Turn your dial to Iron-on.
Silhouette: Set your speed to 7, thickness to 5, and blade setting to standard 2.
Brother: Set your blade to standard 2, cut speed to 5, and your cut pressure to 1.
After you have set your cutter to the appropriate settings and reverse cut out your vinyl design, be sure to weed out the excess vinyl material that is not a part of your design.
Applying Your Vinyl
You can apply your metal HTV in one of two ways. You can either use a heat press, or your home iron could do the trick as well. Always preheat your garment before placing the design to remove any wrinkles or excess moisture. This helps the vinyl to adhere better to the material. Apply your vinyl to your material by following these instructions based on which heating method you are using.
Heat Press: Set your heat press to 305 degrees Fahrenheit or 150 degrees Celsius. Place your vinyl design where you want it on your cloth item. For 10-15 seconds, using a medium amount of pressure to press down on the image and item to transfer the vinyl. Wait for the vinyl to cool down before peeling off the clear carrier sheet that was holding your design in place.
Home Iron: Set your iron to the cotton setting with no steam. It is not recommended to use an ironing board when transferring vinyl, so be sure to find a heat resident, flat surface to apply your vinyl. Put your item on that surface and firmly hold your iron over your design for about 10-15 seconds. Peel the clear carrier sheet once the garment and image has cooled off.
Care Instructions
Once you have completed your vinyl transfer and application process, it is time to wear your product around and take care of it properly so that it can last a long time. As with most heat transfer vinyl, wait at least 24 hours after the application process to wash your garment. This allows the design to fully cure and adhere to the material so that it can last. It is recommended to wash it inside out to keep the design in pristine condition. This particular metal vinyl cannot be dry cleaned and will need to be hung dry to keep the integrity of the materials.
Layering Your Vinyl
Each vinyl material holds different qualities that allow it to either layer with other vinyl or not to be able to be layered. Metal HTV is one of the types of vinyl where you can go all out in the layering process! Pairing this unique vinyl with other patterns or materials can help create a dimensional and unique look to all your projects. Create all kinds of designs and patterns by layering this on the very top of other colors or materials that can be layered. In order to help keep this foil appearance as shiny as it can be, make sure to only heat press your design once.
Where to Get Metal HTV
Does metal heat transfer vinyl sound like the right fit for your customizable products? Then Expressions Vinyl is the place to go to find high quality and uniquely colored metal heat transfer vinyl! Our team is experienced in the world of vinyl and can help to answer any questions you have and help you to find the right vinyl for your projects. Be sure to check out our website for a full comprehensive list of all the vinyl materials we have to offer and contact us for the best customer service around! We look forward to helping you find the best vinyl for all of your projects!
