In short
- Start with 75 µm double-sided matte, hot/warm peel, from one supplier
- Fine (80–170 µm) TPU powder for detail, medium for heavy cotton
- Change one thing at a time and keep the roll’s label in your preset name
Film
- Coating: double-sided matte holds ink better and does not stick to the platen; single-sided is cheaper and fine for sheets on flat feed.
- Thickness: 75 µm is the sweet spot for desktop Epsons. 100 µm feeds better on long rolls but curls more after curing.
- Peel: hot peel is fastest, cold peel gives the softest hand and best fine detail. Warm peel is the safe middle for mixed work.
- Static: cheap film holds a charge that scatters powder into the margins. Anti-static coating is worth the 10 %.
- Finish: matte film → matte transfer; glossy film → glossy. Match it to what your customers expect.
Powder
- Material: TPU (polyurethane) is the standard — soft, stretchy, washes well. PES/co-polyester is cheaper and stiffer.
- Grain: fine (80–170 µm) for text, halftones and thin lines; medium (170–250 µm) for solid fills on heavy fabrics. Coarse is for big, thick prints only.
- Colour: white powder for everything; black powder only for dark designs on dark shirts (hides in the edges).
- Melt point: low-temperature powder (≈ 100 °C) for polyester and nylon so the fabric does not scorch.
The cheap-consumables tax
A roll that saves $10 costs a day of troubleshooting. Cheap film changes coating batch to batch, so your ICC profile is right for half the roll. Cheap powder clumps in humidity and bridges gaps. Buy a known brand, buy the same one every time, and write the batch on the preset.
