Detailed description
A patch quote that looks cheap is usually a quote for a different attachment. Heat transfer, sew-on and adhesive backing are three different products built from the same artwork, and only one of them suits the garment in front of you.
Where it is used
It goes onto polyester sports fabric, cotton drill, nylon outerwear, canvas bags and caps. The one combination that fails most often is a heat transfer onto a coated or water-repellent fabric, because the coating releases before the adhesive cures.
The material question
This is a heat-transfer construction: the design is printed or moulded onto a carrier film and applied with a press. Adhesion depends on pressure, temperature and dwell being right on your press, not only on the film, so the first application is a trial rather than a production step.
How it is quoted
Sampling takes seven days from approved artwork, and the sample is produced with the production tooling rather than by hand, so what you approve is what the run produces. Bulk runs fifteen to twenty-five days after approval.
What ships with the goods
Wash-test results are reported per lot where the customer specifies a cycle count, and the test method is named on the report rather than described as 'washable'.
Checking it on arrival
Wash three pieces before you approve the bulk. One wash tells you whether the bond is right; three washes at the temperature the garment is actually laundered at tells you whether the edge will lift in service.
If the attachment method is open, send a sample of the garment and we will tell you which of the three constructions will survive its wash cycle.
