Have you ever looked at a graphic tee and thought that the design was missing something? Maybe you wanted to personalize the text or use your own caption. Perhaps you are planning a large family reunion or vacation. With printable transfer sheets, you can do all of the above with things that you already have at home. Avery Printable T-Shirt Transfers for Light Fabrics allow you to personalize anything from graphic tees to aprons to tote bags using your home printer and an iron.
Image and Color Quality: Bright on most fabrics
When using our inkjet printer, the color quality of our images came out great. The graphics were bright and clear with sharp edges. The transfer paper itself is white. This means that if you transfer your image to a fabric that is anything but white, any blank spaces will be white in your final product. Our image was full of color with white text, which popped against the colorful background. We used the Avery Printable T-Shirt Transfers for Light Fabrics on 100% cotton fabric and canvas. For an equal comparison, we printed the same image on both fabrics. The thicker canvas fabric seemed to take the transfer better, probably because the sturdier fabric was less prone to wrinkling. The instructions include a step to smooth out the wrinkles before ironing on the transfer, but we recommend ironing the T-shirt fabric before the transfer, making sure it is as smooth as possible. Thicker fabric, such as canvas or a high-quality cotton shirt, should be the easiest to use. These transfer sheets are designed to be used on light fabrics. If you try to use them on darker fabrics, the colors are not as bright. For darker fabrics, Avery and other manufacturers have specialized transfer sheets that you can try for better results. When used as instructed, the colors are true to what you see on your computer in the design software. The company advertises that the Avery Printable T-Shirt Transfers for Light Fabrics will hold up to 20 washes without any damage to the image. We found that the image edges began to fade after only a few washes. When you are ironing on the transfer, make sure that your image is transferred fully. You can’t go back later and iron it on again.
Ease of Use: Design software is key
We loved using the Design and Print online tool provided by Avery and the provided templates. We chose a retro tropical design that we personalized with our own text. Resizing the image was a bit challenging but easy to figure out. The same platform can be used with any Avery product, making it easy to use your design on name tags, labels, and other printed goods. The image will print in reverse since you lay it face down and iron it onto your fabric. After it has transferred, you peel away the backing, revealing your image as designed in the program. Transferring the image onto your fabric is easy. We expected to need an ironing board, but the instructions said to iron the transfer using a hard surface versus a padded ironing board. We needed the hard surface to be able to apply more pressure to the transfer paper. Our wooden dining room table was perfect, using a pillowcase under the fabric to protect the table. Also, do not use the steam setting of your iron since it can cause the ink to run. Avery recommends emptying all water from your iron when you transfer your image. The recommended times for ironing on the transfer were too short—at least for us. The instructions noted that if your image’s edges weren’t adhering, apply more pressure for more time. We added at least 30 seconds to the recommended time in the instructions to make sure the image transferred completely. The problem that we encountered with fraying or fading edges after washing was more noticeable on the items that did not have extra time added to the ironing process.
Price: Best compared to other options
Of the three transfer sheets that we tested, the Avery sheets offered the best price per sheet (roughly $1 to $2). If you are printing a large quantity, these are definitely the sheets to use. Buying larger quantities brought the price per transfer down and was the most economical option. This product is great for personalized graphics for a special event, such as a family reunion or vacation. If you want to print and transfer on darker fabrics, those specialized sheets are a little more expensive.
Competition: Options for every budget and fabric
Avery Printable T-Shirt Transfers for Dark Fabrics: If you love the Design and Print program but need something for darker fabrics, the Avery Printable T-Shirt Transfers for Dark Fabrics work well. They are more expensive than the same transfer sheets for light fabrics, and the color quality is not as consistent. They are still a good option for dark fabrics. Printworks Dark T-Shirt Transfers: These budget-friendly transfer sheets can be used on both dark and light fabrics. We liked the Printworks Dark T-Shirt Transfers’ color quality on darker fabrics but found the white background to be a little bit dull. When we used these transfer sheets on a crisp white shirt, the image came out looking homemade and cheap. However, they are a good price and versatile. If you don’t need a lot of white in your image, we recommend this option. The Avery Printable T-Shirt Transfers for Light Fabrics were our favorite to use and had the best overall image quality of the three transfer sheets that we tested. They are also easy to use and wallet-friendly, making them our go-to choice for printable t-shirt transfer sheets when we are transferring images to light fabrics.
