The best way to avoid cracks and thick heavy t shirt transfers is by preparing the artwork before you even print your transfer.
Rasterization is the process of adding breaks to the transfer to allow it to breath, increase stretchability and softness, and limit cracking and wrinkling which can happen when transfer has large solid areas of ink.
Rasterization is particularly important with certain types of heat transfers like White Toner and even direct to film. But how do you do this while keeping the artwork looking good at the same time?
There are multiple ways to rasterize an image. The three main ways would be knocking out or removing the sections of the design that are the same color as the shirt, adding holes or lines, and adding a distress filter.
There are multiple ways to rasterize an image. The three main ways would be knocking out or removing the sections of the design that are the same color as the shirt, adding holes or lines, and adding a distress filter.
Remove the Shirt Color from the Image
Color removal should always be the first choice although it’s not always possible based on the image or design itself. This option works by removing the color of the shirt, which does make the transfer itself look questionable.
If you have a design that’s going on a black shirt, you don’t print the black areas and instead use the color of the shirt to fill in the design. This creates natural breaks without taking anything away from the design. It also saves on ink or toner.
There are various methods to remove the shirt color from a design. If you’re using an iColor white toner printer like the iColor 560, for example, you can use the built in Color Removal in the Pro Rip or ProRip Essentials software.
Add a Distressed Filter
You can also add natural breaks to a design by applying a distress-type filter. This will give the transfer a vintage-type look. Again, ProRip and ProRip Essentials offer a one-click option for adding a distress filter to art work making this very easy. It can also be done in most design software.
Strategically Add Lines or Holes
Finally adding holes or lines to create breaks.
This is usually the least desired option, but when done correctly it’s not only high effective but virtually unnoticeable - especially at a natural standing distance.
Take a look at a few of these examples. This picture was taken about 3 feet from the shirt.
Take a look at a few of these examples. This picture was taken about 3 feet from the shirt.
Here is what the transfer looks like from about 2 feet
And here we are just 12” from the shirt.
If you respect social norms most people probably aren’t standing less than 2’ from you staring at your shirt...but in case they are here's an extreme close up of the image.
I have individual tutorials and blog posts on each of these types of rasterization where you can learn how to design your artwork using each technique and also best practices including why it’s not recommended to ever rasterize text and more advanced techniques for rasterizing with different transparencies to get the best results.
And if you're looking for a no maintenance t shirt transfer printer, the iColor 560 White Toner printer is a great option and DTF alternative. You can shop my recommended iColor 560 starter bundle here and learn more here.
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