How Foil Transfers Arrive
The metallic areas are printed as their own DTF transfer. Nothing is laid over the design by hand.
- If your entire design is metallic: you get one file and one transfer. Press it once, exactly like a standard DTF transfer.
- If only part of your design is metallic: you get two transfers. One carries only the metallic areas with the full color removed. The other carries the full-color CMYK artwork with the metallic areas removed. When the metallic areas sit inside the color artwork, the easiest way to make them line up is to export both files at the same canvas size, unmoved and un-cropped. When the metal outlines the color artwork or runs past its edges, the metallic file is genuinely larger than the CMYK file, so each one is sized to its own artwork instead.
What You Need
- A heat press
- Your foil transfer from Golden DTF
- Your full-color CMYK transfer, if only part of the design is metallic
- A garment or substrate
- A Teflon sheet or parchment paper
Application Instructions
Step 1: Pre-Press Your Garment
Press the garment for 3-5 seconds to remove moisture and wrinkles. This gives you a flat, dry surface to register against.
Step 2: Press the Foil Transfer First
Place the foil transfer face-down on the garment, positioned exactly where the metallic areas belong. Close the press with the following settings:
- Temperature: 170 degrees Celsius (338 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Pressure: Heavy, roughly 100 kg of platen force
- Time: 18 seconds
These are our published settings for cotton. Heat-sensitive fabrics such as polyester, blends, and rayon need a lower temperature to avoid dye migration, and the metallic will be softer and less reflective as a result. Always test press the actual blank before a production run.
Foil always goes down first. Gold and silver foil is opaque, so once it is on the garment you cannot see through it to line anything up on top of it. Press it first and you still have the full garment as a reference.
Step 3: Cold Peel the Foil Carrier
This is a cold peel, do not peel while hot. Open the press and wait 20 to 30 seconds for the metallic to cool, then lift the carrier film away at a shallow angle and the metallic layer stays on the garment.
Step 4: Re-Press the Metallic
Cover the peeled design with a Teflon sheet or parchment paper and press again at the same settings, 338 degrees Fahrenheit for 18 seconds with heavy pressure. Do this two to three times. This is the step that stops the metallic cracking or wrinkling after the garment is washed and dried, so do not skip it.
After re-pressing, the metallic takes on a slightly matte gold finish. That is normal, and it is the durable state.
Step 5: Press the CMYK Transfer On Top
Skip this step if your entire design is metallic.
Lay the full-color transfer over the pressed foil. The CMYK film is translucent, so you can see the metallic underneath and register the two halves accurately. Once it is aligned, press with the following settings:
- Temperature: 300-325 degrees Fahrenheit
- Pressure: Medium pressure
- Time: 15-20 seconds
Hot peel the PET film carrier, then cover the design with a Teflon sheet or parchment paper and press again for 5 seconds to lock everything down.
Tips for Best Results
- Foil works best on flat, solid designs and bold text. Fine detail lines and very small text do not read as cleanly in metallic.
- Never press the CMYK transfer first. Foil is opaque and CMYK is translucent, so foil-then-color is the only order that lets you see what you are aligning to.
- Matching canvases are the easiest way to register, not a requirement. When the metallic sits inside the color artwork, export both halves at the same canvas size and do not move, crop, or resize either one afterwards. When the metal outlines the design or extends past the color, the two files are different sizes on purpose, so size each one to its own artwork and register them at the press.
- Use a Teflon sheet between the transfer and the heat press upper platen to protect both surfaces.
- Expect a slightly matte finish, not a mirror. The re-pressed metallic is meant to look softly matte. A wet mirror shine straight off the press is the state that cracks in the wash.
- Cotton, polyester, most synthetics, and silk are compatible. Tri-blend is not recommended.
- Wait 24 hours before washing. Turn inside-out, cold water, tumble dry low.