Amongst the various methods used in fabric printing business is the fabric transparency transfer method using inkjet transparency film. This method is used quite often in the t-shirt printing business. T-shirts with attractive images or text printed on them are very popular and using the transparency transfer method, one can give the printed image a transparent background effect, making it blend well with the fabric itself rather than looking like the image is laid over the fabric. The image is printed on the film using a popular type of printer called the inkjet printer, hence the name.
Transparency film for inkjet printer is widely available both online and offline, with most suppliers offering bulk purchase discounts for commercial buyers. The price varies from brand to brand, also depending on the size of the film as well as the amount purchased. The most common sizes available are the standard 210mm x 97 mm A4 and 8.5” x 11” letter, which are very adequate for most t-shirt printing needs. In fact one rarely ever needs larger sized transparency film in the t-shirt printing industry. Even in the rare, exceptional cases involving very large images or extra large sized t-shirts where larger sized transparency film is required, it is often more feasible to use two or more standard A4 or letter sized films for the purpose. If however one can find a good bargain on larger sized transparency film, it is a great idea to purchase that in bulk since it can always be cut into smaller sizes for most or used in its own large size.
The price for A4 and letter sized transparency film varies between $30 to $60 for a 50 pack depending on the supplier and the brand. Popular brand names in the field of inkjet printing like Epson, XEROX and HP are also amongst the major producers of transparency film for inkjet printers. Other reputed producers of inkjet transparent film include 3M, Sparco and Q-media. However, it is noteworthy that a big brand name will often mean a higher price. One can often find high quality film manufactured by relatively unheard-of brands at a lower price. Also, in this field, one can get away with using cheap transparency film since expensive film is often intended for projection transparencies which need to keep the same image preserved on them for a long time, while in case of t-shirt printing, each print on the film will only be used for one or two transfers, before getting reprinted. Thus, going for low quality and cheaper inkjet transparency film can actually mean even better results! Low quality film, especially the cheap Chinese variant, can be found much cheaper, with a 100 pack costing the same as a 50 pack of high quality film or even less.
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