There is a huge difference between iron on transfer paper for light shirts and iron on transfer for dark shirts. Today I am going to explain those differences. First of all, the paper you buy should clearly state on the front if it is for dark fabrics or light fabrics. You can see in these pictures this is in the top right corner.





The light paper comes 10 to a pack and the dark paper comes 5 to a pack, so bear that in mind when planning your projects.

The biggest difference between the two papers though is the paper for light fabrics is clear and the paper for dark fabrics is white. This will make all the difference in creating your shirt. When you are making shirts with any type of paper, it is important to trim the paper. Even the clear paper will leave behind a trace of the paper, so the closer you trim the better overall look you will have.

Since printers do not print white, you have to use the paper to create white on your projects. The paper for light fabrics is clear, so any parts of your design that are white will show up as the color of the shirt. When you have white sections in your designs and use this paper, it will be best to put it on a white shirt so your white parts stay white. Here is an example of this:



You can see the cream colored pins stay cream colored on this white shirt.

If you use the paper for light fabric with a design that has white/light parts on a color shirt, those white/light parts will be the color of the shirt. This is not wrong, just a different look then you might be going for. Here is an example of this:



You can see that the cream colored pins are now the grey color of the shirt.

The paper for dark fabrics is white. So the color of the shirt will not show through at all. But this is like printing to a white sheet of paper, so if you are unable to trim the design exactly you will have white around those parts. However, this is the only way to keep white sections of your design white on a color shirt. Here is an example of this:



You can see that the pins are white on this blue shirt, but there is also white around the lettering on this design. You just have to trim as best you can.

If you have a design with no white and black or dark colors only, you can use the clear paper to put it on a lighter colored shirt. This will give the illusion of floating text. Here is an example of that:



But remember this will not work with light colors in the design because the color of the shirt will over power it.

And a design that is easily trimmed out can be put on a color shirt with no problems using paper for dark fabrics. This will give you a very professional look. Here is an example:



Often if a design has text and someone wants to put it on a dark color shirt, I will suggest putting a border around the design. This will give an easy place to trim and I can put a little design inside the border so you don’t just have a stark white background from the paper for dark shirts. This is a great workaround for getting text on a darker shirt. Here is a mock-up example of this:



I hope this helps you choose which color shirt/type of paper you should be using in your projects! If you ever have any questions, please feel free to contact me and I am happy to help you decide what is best to use.

Happy crafting!
Rachel

Using iron on transfer is very different than screen printing. You cannot always get the same look, but the cost savings of being able to do it yourself is great. Screen printing is not a DIY project, but with a little practice you can get a screen printed look even with iron on transfers. Today I am going to show you how to get black text on a color shirt with no white around the text. This method really only works for dark text and a shirt that is not too dark. If the color of the shirt is too close to the color of the text, then the text will not show up well at all. Keep that in mind when picking out a shirt color.

Materials
1 Shirt in a fun color
1 Sheet iron on transfer paper for White/Light shirts
Printer
Iron
Pillow case
Smooth, heat proof surface

Instructions

First you will want to print your design. Be sure the paper you are using is for light/white shirts. I have a lot of fun options available in my shop, Scrapendipity Designs. Here are a few that would work great with this tutorial!

If you do not see a design you like there, please feel free to contact me. I am always willing to do a custom order. The design I used for this tutorial is not for sale unfortunately. Remember to pick a design that is either all black or a very dark color, this method may not have the desired results if your design is too close in color to your shirt color. You will have to print a mirrored version of the design. All of the iron on designs in my shop include this in the file you receive.

Once the design is printed,

trim the design. Cut a shape that is close to the design, but you do not need to be exact here.

It’s more important to have a shape that doesn’t have a lot of corners as that will make it more difficult to pull the paper up later.

Pre-heat your iron to the cotton setting with no steam.

Per the instructions that come with the paper, you want to use a smooth, hard ironing surface that is NOT an ironing board. Place your pre-ironed pillowcase on this surface and then place your t-shirt on your pillowcase.

Iron your t-shirt so you have a nice smooth surface to work with.

Place your design on the shirt, being careful to place it exactly where you want it to show up on the shirt.

Using firm pressure, place the iron on each part of the design for 20 seconds lifting the iron completely to move it to the next spot. Once you do the whole design once, turn the iron in a different direction and repeat. This will prevent getting spots where the iron vents are and helps apply the design more firmly.

Once the design has cooled completely (about 2 minutes), pull the backing paper off of the design.

Your shirt is done! This method leaves a glossy version of the design behind. If there are spots that are whiteish, you can put the backing paper back on exactly and re-iron, just remember to let it cool completely to get that glossy look.

If you want more of a matte finish to the design, instead of pulling the design off when it is cool, you will want to pull it off while it is piping hot. You literally iron the design and pull the paper up immediately. If it cools at all, this method won’t work right. It’s scary at first, but works great! There will be a little ink left on the backing paper with this method.

You are left with a matte version of the image and I have found that I have no issues with washing when I use this method. The flash I used to take this picture makes the edges show up more than they do in real life, I promise!

That’s it! Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions about applying black text to a color shirt (rachel at scrapendipitydesigns dot com). This is a great way to get a screenprinted-like look for a fraction of the cost!

Happy ironing!
Rachel