Infusible Ink Troubleshooting

Why it happens: 

A blurry or faint offset shadow of your design may appear after the transfer because the design has somehow shifted during the transfer process. Any slight movement may result in this unwanted "ghosting" effect. This can also happen if the butcher paper you use has ink on it from another transfer, the design shifts, or the design falls back onto your blank while removing it after transfer. 

How to avoid it: 

1. Ghosting can be avoided by using Cricut Heat Resistant Tape to secure Infusible Ink Pen/Marker designs to your blank; Infusible Ink Transfer Sheet liners should be sticky enough to hold your design in place, but you can also use Cricut Heat Resistant Tape to secure your design before applying heat.
2. Ensure you are using a clean sheet of butcher paper with every project, any residual ink from another project WILL transfer to your current project during heating. 
3. Do not move Cricut EasyPress while pressing your project. This increases the likelihood that your design will detach and shift during transfer. 
4. Use great care to slowly lift Cricut EasyPress, butcher paper, and design after transfer. If you lift quickly, you risk the design lifting, then falling back onto the blank while still hot, resulting in an additional transfer. 

Carefully follow instructions for best results. Because Infusible Ink projects are permanent, there is no way to remove unwanted transfer marks or ghosting from a project.

Why it happens:

Even if you can’t see them with the naked eye, polyester fabrics have debris, lint, or dust particles that can activate when you apply heat, resulting in tiny blue specks. Any dye present in these particles permanently infuses into the blank during transfer.

How to avoid it:

Using a fresh adhesive, lint-roll the surface of your blank where you will apply your design prior to preheating to remove the lint. Be thorough! You may have to make a few passes to remove every bit of lint.

Why it happens:  

Uneven heating or pressure can result in areas that appear faded or inconsistent with the rest of the transfer. Wrinkles, seams, buttons, or zippers that pass under the heat plate inhibit even heating and even pressure and will cause this unwanted effect. This may also happen if you touch the printed side of the sheet with wet, moist, or oily hands.  

How to avoid it:  

1. Ensure your pressing surface is flat, firm, and waist-high and that there is no debris on or under your Cricut EasyPress Mat.  
2. Preheat your material to remove wrinkles and moisture from the blank prior to transfer.  
3. Ensure that your hands are free of lotion, oils, or other moisture before touching the printed side of Infusible Ink Transfer Sheets. 
4. Do not press designs over wrinkles, seams, buttons, or zippers. 

Why it happens: 

Polyester fabric is a heat-sensitive fabric and may melt if it comes into contact with a hot surface, leaving a shiny or discolored mark. 

How to avoid it: 

To prevent this unwanted effect, be sure to use the Cricut Heat Guide or Cricut Heat app for precise time, temperature, and pressure settings for your project. Use a Cricut EasyPress Mat with a Cricut EasyPress, and be sure to use a piece of butcher paper over your design that is larger than the Cricut EasyPress heat plate to ensure it does not come into contact with your blank.   

Tip: Cricut blanks are designed to reduce the possibility of press marks. However, we still recommend using a piece of butcher paper between Infusible Ink and Cricut EasyPress that is larger than the heat plate to prevent press marks on Cricut blanks.  

Why it happens:  

Blow out is a burst of ink outside of the intended design area. This happens when moisture in the blank quickly turns to steam, displacing the ink and preventing it from transferring to the intended spot.   

How to avoid it: 

Preheat the blank as instructed prior to transfer. This removes moisture from the blank in preparation for transfer.  

Why it happens:  

There are several reasons why colors may not appear vibrant after transfer, including incorrect temperature and time settings (whether too low or too high, too short or too long), incompatible blank, or an unrecommended heat source such as a household iron.  

How to avoid it:  

Carefully follow all instructions for preparing and completing your Infusible Ink project, including using compatible blanks and recommended heat sources, times, and temperatures. Infusible Ink instructions have been rigorously tested to provide the best experience.  

When Infusible Ink Transfer Sheets make contact with moisture, you risk damaging and/or reducing the amount of pigment embedded in sheet. Before touching a transfer sheet, be sure that your hands are free of excess lotion, oils, or any moisture. 

Why it happens:  

Infusible Ink may transfer to your Cricut EasyPress heat plate or EasyPress Mat if precautions are not taken to protect these. Be advised: if this does happen, subsequent projects will be infused with residual ink. 

How to avoid it:  

Prepare and layer project materials as instructed to protect Cricut EasyPress, Cricut EasyPress Mat, and your work surface from unwanted transfer.  

Note: Infusible Ink transfer may be removed from Cricut EasyPress heat plate by wiping it off while the heat plate is still warm. It may also be removed from Cricut EasyPress heat plate by pressing it several times on a clean sheet of cardstock or butcher paper (on protected EasyPress Mat), as if you are performing a transfer, until the unwanted transfer is completely gone. However, it cannot be removed from Cricut EasyPress mat.