This tutorial will help you make your very own robotics team shirt. If you'll be traveling and competiting with the Lindblom robotics teams, you'll need to wear a shirt so that we can tell you're part of the team! 

You want to use high pressure when pressing heat transfers: closing and opening the heat press should be difficult, but possible. Place your shirt blank inside the heat press on top of the red foam pad and try closing it completely until it latches. Use the black knob to adjust the height of the top portion of the heat press until you have a pressure that works for you. Turning the knob to the left raises the plate and lowers the pressure. Turning it to the right increases the pressure. 

Plug in the heat press and use the switch on the right of the control panel to turn it on. The heat press should be open. The heat press will begin heating up. The heat press will get hot! Do not touch the metal plates. There are stickers on the top of the top plate of the heat press that change color to indicate when the heat press is hot; if they are red, the press is at a temperature that will burn you (or at least be very uncomfortable). You can continue to the next step while the press is heating up. 

Use the buttons on the heat press control panel to select the time and temperature you'd like to use. 

For LMSA robotics tee shirts with dtf transfers or heat-transfer vinyl, we use 325 degrees Fahrenheit and 15 seconds. For heavier fabrics, a longer press time or higher temperature will help. 

Wait until the heat press is fully preheated before continuing. 

The red pad on the bottom plate of the heat press is on a slide so that you can pull it out like a drawer to place blanks on it more easily. 

Pull the bottom plate drawer out and place your shirt blank on it so that the area you'd like to press if fully supported by the red pad. 

Push the bottom plate back in until it clicks securly. Then, lower the top plate of the heat press to close the press. You do not need to latch it fully at this time. Hold the press closed for 5-10 seconds to iron your shirt so that is has a flat, smooth surface for your transfer to adhere to. Open the heat press when finished. 

Choose the appropriate shirt ruler from the bag at the heat press station (there are different ones for different shirts and art positions: Adult front, Adult back, v-neck front, etc.). 

Pull out the bottom plate so you can more easily and safely access your shirt. Align the ruler with the collar and center of your shirt. If you are having trouble finding the center of your shirt, you can fold it in half and press a crease in it to help you align the center of the ruler.

Take your transfer and align the top of the shirt art to the bottom of the shirt ruler so that your art is straight and looks how you'd like it to look on the shirt. The smooth plastic layer should be on top, with the ink and adhesive between it and the shirt itself. 

When you are happy with your alignment, remove the ruler!

Push the bottom plate back in until it clicks into place. Then, lower the top plate of the heat press completely until it is clamped shut. Press the "start" button to run the timer that you chose. When the timer goes off, press "reset" to stop the beeping, then open the press. 

Pull the bottom plate out so you can access your shirt more easily. Let it cool for ~3 minutes, until you can touch the front of the shirt comfortably. 

Gently peel the plastic carrier sheet from a corner. If the art does not appear stuck to the shirt, wait another ~2 minutes, then try to peel again. If the art is still not sticking, repeat step 7 and let the shirt cool again until you can cleanly remove the plastic carrier sheet. 

Place the teflon sheet over your shirt and new shirt art. Push the bottom plate back in until it clicks securly. Close the press and press the "Start" button to start another timer, then "Reset" to stop the beeping. Open the heat press, remove the teflon sheet, and enjoy your new shirt! 

If you need to put art on another part of your shirt, repeat steps 4-9.