Full Version: OEM on acrylic what is needed.
From: Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY) [#7]
27 Jul 2006
To: logojohn [#1] 28 Jul 2006
I use a laser infra-red heat thermometer to check the press settings. The settings on my tutorial are made with a piece of masking tape over the platen in order to get a stable reading. [Since then I learned that if there is a blackened piece of paper sticking to the platen it reads about 18*F higher, do not ask.]
The silicon sheet is necessary to get good thermal transfer at ALL points. Your results are exactly what you will get with any surface aberration when not using a pad. If you still get it with the pad it is either too low a temperature or pressure. If it is huge areas of toner not sticking it is usually not quite enough heat.
If you start to get an impression of the pad on the acrylic, it is either too much temperature or pressure. Usually it is the excess pressure.
The best way to remove the paper is to lay the piece face down on metal. If it is 1/4" or under in thickness it will have curled. Press down the longer edges for about 10 seconds, curl gone and a lot of heat gone. Then let it stay that way for a few minutes and the transfer paper will start separating by itself from the contraction of the acrylic. After it cools, peel off the paper.