How To Use Printable Vinyl

If you love DIYs and crafts, you then have come across printable vinyl, among other similar terms such as sticker paper. If you plan on using printable vinyl on your next design project, then hop on. In this article, I will take you through a step-by-step process, after clearing up what printable vinyl is, and how extensive the uses are so you are comfortable making a design on your own.

What many people call printable heat transfer vinyl is actually heat transfer paper. Printable vinyl is a polymer-based substance used in creating outdoor-friendly decals as it withstands harsh outdoor conditions. The vinyl can be permanent, temporary or even waterproof. I love printable vinyl because there is no limit to the colors I can explore with unlike with adhesive vinyl, and I actually don’t have to weed it if I don’t want to. All I have to do is print out my design on the vinyl, cut it, and stick it on a substrate, easy!

Printable vinyl and sticker paper are hard to tell apart because they almost look alike. Although the two are vibrant and eye-catching, sticker paper is designed for indoor use. It gets wet and cannot withstand constant handling and harsh weather. Another downside with it is that it's likely to get stuck in the printer and mess with the ink. A printable vinyl is a better choice even with the slightly raised costs. One way you can tell between the two is by looking at the thickness: sticker vinyl is thicker in comparison.

When learning to use printable vinyl, I’ve always struggled with where to best place the design on the shirt, the printer settings and misalignment. But I want to take away these questions for you and make your process much easier than my first ones using simple steps.

Wash the shirt in advance to reduce the concentration of any chemicals that might affect the adherence. Ensure it is completely dry before you start. Check the manufacturer’s instructions and acquaint yourself with its operations. Take a look at both sides of the vinyl: the printable one is usually blank, while the back side is gridded.

For Cricut Design Space, upload the design in the SGV format. For a file, remember to ungroup the design so that you can manipulate each of them individually. By choosing the “complex” option for “image type”, you retain all the colors and details in the design.

Make use of the tools at your disposal to play around with the design adjusting the size, or changing the background. When you are done and are happy with the layout, save and move to the printing stage.

For external designing software such as Canva, save the file as SGV because it has vector paths that make it easy to curve out, especially for complex designs. Before importing the design, “flatten” it by pressing a setting button on the design space screen. This ensures the printer reads it as a single piece, rather than different layers, simplifying the entire process.

On Canva. Click on the “make it” button to redirect you to the “Print screen”. Ensure everything is layered correctly before you set the quality of the print. Remember to check the preferences based on the vinyl’s finishing.

Now you’re all set for printing!

Your designs will appear on different mats with an extra border, and it is on the printer’s hand to know which one to pick. The extra boarders should be okay provided you got your sizing correctly when designing.

Select “Add bleeding” and leave it on before printing to prevent the cut from leaving extra white markings on the print. Still in the “Print Setup” screen, the “Use system dialogue” prompt allows for additional printing changes from the computer’s menu.

When loading the printer, make sure you place the correct side up. The ink always gets messy and hardly dries up when printed on the wrong side of the vinyl.

Once printing is done, leave it to dry for a while, just to be sure, then press it down with your squeegee for proper adherence.

Load the design on Cricut, adjust the settings, and push the flashing button to start. If you want to avoid cutting through the backing paper, select the kiss-cut option before you start the cutter.

Repeat the process for any additional layers.

Weeding isn’t necessary after a die-cut. For the kiss-cut option, you have to weed out the extra vinyl. I find it easier to do while it is still attached to the cutting mat.

If you would like to add extra protection to the vinyl, although it's not necessary, this is the right time for it. Place a clear lamination sheet on the vinyl within the border marks.

Fold back the edge of the backing sheet to expose the adhesive and press down both layers using a squeegee to prevent the formation of bubbles, while carefully pulling the backing paper.

If persistent bubbles are still present, pop them using a sharp pin, being careful not to create an extensive hole in the laminating sheet.

Later, cut out the extra layer using kiss-cut or die-cut settings for a clean-through cut, but either way, the pressure settings have to be adjusted to either low or high.

Although your custom stickers are ready to apply, if you use printable iron-on vinyl, you have to apply it using a heat press.

First, ensure the shirt has no creases and is dry. Roll a lint roller over it to remove any materials that might reduce the adhesive’s tack.

Remove the iron-on vinyl from its backing and align it with the target spot on the shirt, the right side facing up and cover it with parchment paper.

Apply the recommended heat and pressure for proper adherence before stripping off the parchment paper.

Manufacturers have a recommendation for the products you need to pay keen attention to like the curing duration and washing directives.

Customizing designs on printable vinyl to come up with great results is something you should be proud of. Put the customized products on shelves for sale, wear them, or gift them out. Either way, make use of the customized product and reap the fruit of the hard work.

Printable vinyl works great on smooth surfaces. It is best used on laptop covers, notebook stickers, household labels, water bottle decals, and t-shirts among others. Waterproof vinyl can be used on more outdoor projects such as car decals, bumper stickers, or washable items such as mugs or tumblers.

The different types of printable iron-on vinyl can be differentiated using their labels: "iron-on transfers for dark shirts" and "iron-on transfers for white shirts", so make your pick correctly.

I hope this tutorial inspired you to design using printable vinyl as then, we will have something in common: the elation to design the next project. Remember, the only limit is your imagination. Get creative and get printing!