GPI Garment Printing Foil Application Instructions

GPI Garment Printing Foil Application Instructions

Download  the Garment Printing Foil Application PDF or

learn how to print with foil on an Anajet http://www.garmentprinterink.com/shop/anajet-digital-foil-printing

Pretreatment: Apply solid white underbase as you would for normal dark shirt printing.  Try not to over-apply the pretreatment as it will cause excess GPI foil to stick to the shirt.  This excess will come off at the first washing or can be removed with tape or a lint roller and makes for more work than is necessary.

White Layer Printing: You will want a solid white underbase when applying GPI Foil to your garment prints.  Depending on the software you are using you may have the option of choosing a full under-base or you can generate a solid white image the same as your design to be foiled and print it using the white ink only option in your printers RIP software.  Since all RIPs and printers have different settings you will need to experiment a little to get the right amount.  Medium to medium heavy coverage seems to work best in most instances.  The white ink is not so much to adhere the GPI Foil to the shirt as it is to make sure that the color layer is the proper color.
 

Color Layer Printing: This is the "magic" to the GPI Heat Press Foil Process.  Your color layer should be a solid color (Yellow, Orange, Red, Blue, Etc).  Different colors under GPI Foils give different results.  Yellow under gold GPI Foil preserves the gold color, use orange and you will get a bronze result.  A little more reddish orange will tend towards copper.  Have fun experimenting with different colors under different GPI Foils.

You will want to choose a heavy ink setting for your color layer.  This usually equates to a higher resolution setting in your RIP.  Here is the trick....You need to print this layer at least three times (depending on the color, lighter colors may need to be printed four times).  This equates to one layer of medium to medium heavy white ink and three to four layers of heavy color ink.
 

DTG Foil Application: While your image is printing, cut a piece of GPI foil slightly larger than the image you are trying to cover with GPI Transfer Foil.  When the last color pass is done printing, you will want to get it to the heat press as quickly as possible and lay the GPI Heat Transfer Foil over the printed area.  Before pressing, take a business card or something similar and lightly smooth down the GPI Foil so that it is fully contacting the ink.  Cover with a piece of GPI Release Paper or a Teflon Sheet and press as you normally would for a dark garment print (Usually 340 - 350 for 2-3 minutes)
 

Finish the process: When the proper curing is complete, remove the shirt from the press and let it cool down.  This is a "Cold Peel" process.  Take hold of a corner of the GPI Foil and slowly peel it away until it fully releases from the shirt.  You will see some remnants of GPI Foil sticking to the shirt in areas where there is no ink, this is normal.  You can remove the majority of these remnants with a lint roller, lint brush or tape.  Try not to touch the areas you just foiled to allow the GPI Foil to set completely.
 

Washing:  As the GPI Transfer Foil is a surface application, it is advisable that you recommend to your customers that the foiled print be washed in cold water on the gentle cycle with the garment turned inside out to avoid abrasion.  Then, either hang dry or tumble dry on the lowest heat setting on the dryer.