The Basics!

Hello Everyone Dezaray here!

Welcome to this little vinyl world I have created around my family and myself. I am the owner of Cutz Vinyl! I have been asked to start really dedicating some time to our blog here on the site and I am very excited and nervous at the same time because I am no professional writer and by no means the absolute expert in Vinyl but this should be a fun and exciting journey for all of us!

We decided to start by answering a newbie question!  People are always quick to laugh and judge in the large groups but this is a great question for beginners.  We all started somewhere so lets help each other!  

What in the world is the difference between 651 and HTV?

Let’s start with the basic difference. 651 is adhesive and HTV stands for heat transfer vinyl!

Adhesives are sticker vinyl for mugs and key chains and basically anything you can stick it to.  Heat transfer is for shirts and fabrics and can be ironed but the preferred route is to press it!

Adhesives come from many different manufacturers, ORACAL, FDC, EnduraGloss, EnduraPatterns, Avery, 3M and many more.

ORAFOL produces ORACAL, which is one of the most well known names in the industry for sign and car vinyl.  This is why you see it everywhere; it's a wonderful product!  

   There are two types that are very popular in the Craft Industry; yes we are all part of an industry that started only 9 years ago, Welcome!  

ORACAL 651, which is considered permanent or outdoor, and ORACAL 631 which is indoor or removable.  

631 - INDOOR/Removable.  Used for wall decals and anything that you want to be able to remove and not peel the paint off.

651 - OUTDOOR/Permanent.  Used for mugs, plates, decals, wine glasses, sometimes as stencil vinyl for wooden signs.  This will not come off as easy and if there is paint on your item it will probably come off with it.

This is also called Sticky Vinyl or Sticker Vinyl!

You will need transfer tape or application tape to apply this product. Some people use contact paper.

Heat Transfer also comes from many different manufacturers like Siser, FDC, Specialty Materials to name a few.

All three of these companies have been around for a long time! Siser invests the most money in marketing and that is why you hear their name everywhere! Don’t get me wrong they carry absolutely wonderful products I’m just saying they are everywhere including my dreams! Siser makes EasyWeed, I know you have all seen that name! 

Side note, if you haven’t noticed by now I love the exclamation point. I am super excited to be talking about this stuff!!!!

Back to the HTV.

OK here is where it gets crazy there are what seems like a bazillion types of HTV.

Basic HTV or EasyWeed. This is the standard type of HTV, this is where most people start, here or glitter that is!

Glitter, Sparkles, do I need to say more?

Stretch, this is like EasyWeed except it is supposed to stretch more so it is good for Women’s shirts, and anything that you think will be stretched a little more than normal.

Metallic, Holographic, Patterned, these are all just colors essentially.

Flock is like velvet, it is thicker and gives great contrast!

ALWAYS lay this material upside down on your mat, the side you want to see when you look at the shirt should be facing the mat. And DO NOT forget to mirror this stuff! Remember you are applying the side you see up on the mat.

Unless you are using Patterned HTV which we now have a TON of because we print it ourselves!  

For Patterned HTV, we actually print on the front and it has a backing.  Sounds crazy but its basically the same steps as adhesive until you press.

1.  Place design side up on mat.

2.  Do not mirror, cut regular and weed away excess.

3.  Apply TTD Mask, squeegee down.

4. Flip over and peel backing away from mask, this helps stop wrinkling.

5. Flip back over and press!  VOILA!

Keep an eye for the temperatures, times and the hot or cold peel for all of the different materials.

Hot peel means peel the carrier sheet away while it is still hot and cold peel means let it cool!

You might want to invest in a Teflon sheet! This covers the product while you press or iron.

OK I think that’s the basics. Ask me some questions so I know what I did right wrong, what you hated, liked you know just anything! I’m going to go try to sleep while my minnis are in bed! Night