How to Print on Nylon – Jackets and More

How to Print on Nylon

Synthetic materials, like nylon and neoprene especially, are incredibly difficult for apparel decorators to work with for 2 reasons:

1. There is no “texture” to adhere to – several technologies used to place an image on a garment or other item use a water based ink. Of course, nylon and similar materials are specifically made to repel water, which means there’s nothing for the ink to bond to – so no printing on most synthetic materials.

2. Nylon has a low melting point – almost every apparel decorating method uses some kind of heat curing process, like putting the t-shirt or jacket or cap into a heat press. The issue with especially thin materials, ie printing on nylon, is that the time and temperature it takes to cure or set the image onto the garment will also melt or discolor the material.

DigitalHeat FX has solved the issues when printing on Nylon

The first part of the solution for consistently printing on nylon and getting a high-quality image, in the end, is using the Digital HeatFX system to do it. Laser EZ Peel papers from DHFX is a real one-size-fits-all kind of application – you’ll use the same paper set to print onto cotton, polyester, dark garments, like garments, koozies and yes.. even nylon. That combination of the OKI 920WT or OKI 8432WT White Toner Printer and the Laser EZ Peel papers is where the process starts, so the same transfer you make for a t-shirt can be applied to a nylon jacket.

The second part of the solution is the technique perfected by the team at DigitalHeatFX. That includes the right heat press, the right temperature and the right cure time – tried and tested.

Watch the videos below to see how you can create custom nylon jackets or neoprene coolers with Laser EZ Peel and Digital HeatFX, then Contact Us!