Images_Digital_Edition_July_2019

STEP-BY-STEP: DOMING RESIN www.images-magazine.com JULY 2019 images 63 TIPS & TECHNIQUES 2 The doming resin is touch-dry in two to six hours, but needs a good 24 hours or so to cure completely before it’s applied to the garment. The domed stickers need to be kept covered and protected from dust as the resin cures The resin is checked for air bubbles after a few minutes. Any air bubbles can be removed by holding a blowtorch 5-10cm away from the design for a few seconds so as to apply a small amount of heat 1 The design is created in Adobe Illustrator, with the cut lines specified. The area of the final design needs to be wide enough to contain the resin (this design measures 4-5mm), so try to avoid creating very thin sections The new Roland TrueVis VG2 printer/cutter is loaded with heat transfer vinyl (HTV) and the design is imported into VersaWorks 6 RIP. The quality and media preferences are set, and the job started When the TrueVis VG2 printer/cutter finishes printing and cutting the design, the HTV is placed on a clean, flat surface and excess material is removed using a weeding tool 9 3 Joe modelling the printed design In a dust-free environment, the doming resin is carefully squeezed onto the surface of the printed sticker in an even layer. It spreads out and stops at the edges due to the surface tension of the resin 4 Transfer film, which is semi-adhesive, is placed on top of the design and a squeegee is used to stick the film to the resin. The backing sheet is then removed and the design is carefully positioned onto the garment 7 Because the heat would need to penetrate the doming resin if it is pressed as usual, the garment is turned inside-out prior to pressing (Joe used a Sefa Rotex Auto Swing X press). It is pressed for 18 seconds at 160°C – be aware that temperatures and pressing times will vary depending on the garment, the heat press and the vinyl 8 5 6