Heat transfer vinyl is a way for you to use your cutting machine and vinyl to create beautiful fabric creations. Unlike traditional ways of transferring a design to a piece of fabric (i.e. using printable transfer paper), it feels soft to the touch instead of glossy. It doesn’t crack or feel stiff like the alternative does. This makes for a clean design that you can transfer right onto the fabric of your choice. Using this type of vinyl is simple and easy for anyone!

Is HT vinyl the same as iron on? It’s similarly applied, but the material itself is quite different. This type of vinyl is made of a polyurethane material that is soft and smooth to the touch when transferred to the piece of material. Iron on transfer paper creates a sticky, rubbery and hard surface once transferred. Also risk of the image or design cracking is extremely high with iron-on transfer paper. Because of this, there is no cracking, fading or worrying when washing your garment.

How do I know if my vinyl is HTV? One of the main differentiating factors will be the backing of the vinyl. The self-adhesive vinyl will show a grid-like pattern on the back that assists with cutting, also it’ll feel different to the touch compared to HTV. HTV will have a glossy plain white backing with no grid lines. It’s very important that you look at the label or description of the vinyl in order to find out what type it is. There are multiple types of vinyl that you can find online or at any art store and you want to make sure that you pick up the correct one for your project. It will say “Heat Transfer” or even “Iron-On Vinyl”.

Do you need transfer paper for your HT vinyl? Our vinyl comes with a plastic sheet that covers the top of the vinyl so that you’ll be able to weed away the pieces you don’t need. It’s suggested that when you’re using an iron or heat press to secure the vinyl to the fabric, you use a sheet of parchment paper or thin fabric to protect your heat source and the vinyl. If, for some reason, your vinyl does not come with the carrier sheet you can purchase high heat transfer tape to cover the top of the vinyl before removing it from your cutting surface.

The beauty of using this is that you can buy heat transfer vinyl in so many different varieties. You can find multi-colored vinyl sheets or even glitter vinyl sheets to use for your projects. There is so much versatility when using heat transfer vinyl and your end result will look professional and beautiful.

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