I wasn't sure if I should share this photo with everyone. I'm glad that heat printing was selected as a method to apply these SuperBowl patches. However, I'm not happy that the wrong adhesive and/or incorrect application process was used. For the record, Stahls' had nothing to do with the manufacturing or application of these patches.
There are a lot of things that make heat printing work–and it all starts with the right adhesive. Now in the photo shown here, Victor Cruz’s Super Bowl patch (which I am supposing was heat printed) on his Giant’s jersey was falling off. It’s this kind of stuff that gives heat printing a bad name. I would like to state that this patch was not manufactured or heat applied by Stahls’. There could be several reasons why this happened. It could be that the adhesive on the patch was not the correct type of thermal adhesive for this jersey. Or it could be that it WAS the correct adhesive but that it wasn’t applied with the right amount of time, temperature and pressure. Time, temperature and pressure are the three main variables in heat printing and you have to use the right heat press to get it right. But if the adhesive isn’t right to begin with, this is what can happen. It is every garment decorator’s nightmare. But if you use Stahls’ products and apply them correctly, this should never happen to you. We manufacture adhesives that will stick and stay on just about any type of fabric–even when those fabrics are subjected to the rough and tumble of NFL football. We built our business on powerful thermal adhesives that are used on professional sports uniforms and performance wear around the world. Heat printing is the only way to go in many situations–especially when you need to apply a patch to an existing uniform. It’s just a shame it wasn’t executed in the proper manner.