A Carrier, also commonly referred to as a liner or backing, is the temporary support layer (made of polyester film or silicone-coated paper) that holds a heat transfer material—such as flex film or HTV—in place during the printing and cutting processes. Once the design is heat-pressed onto the final substrate, the carrier is peeled away and discarded.
Why It Matters: Impact and Use
The carrier is the unsung hero of the garment decoration workflow. Understanding its technical properties is vital for achieving high-level production.
- Workflow Efficiency: The carrier allows for “pre-alignment.” Because most carriers are transparent, you can see exactly where the design will land on the garment before you commit to the press.
- Design Integrity: The carrier holds all individual pieces of a weeded design (like the dots on the letter “i”) in their exact relative positions. Without a carrier, you would have to manually place every single element of a logo onto the shirt.
- Cutting Accuracy: In Heat Transfer Vinyl (HTV), you cut the “media” layer but leave the “carrier” intact. This is known as a “kiss cut.” The carrier must be durable enough to resist the blade while being flexible enough to feed through a plotter.
Different carriers HTV’s
Technical Types: Pressure Sensitive vs. Static
The choice of carrier significantly impacts your weeding speed and ability to fix mistakes:
| Carrier Type | Characteristics | Best Use Case |
| Pressure Sensitive | Features a “sticky” adhesive backing. | Small, intricate designs. If you accidentally weed away a tiny detail, the stickiness allows you to “stick it back” onto the carrier. |
| Static | Smooth, non-sticky backing. | High-volume production. Designs weed much faster because there is no adhesive resistance, but you cannot “re-stick” pieces if they are pulled off by mistake. |
Application Tip: The “Mirroring” Rule
When using media with a carrier (like flex film), you must mirror your design in the software. You cut through the backside of the vinyl; the carrier side stays face down on the cutter mat and then face up on the heat press.
