August 12, 2020

4 Ways To Customize Your Back-To-School Experience With HTV

It’s still a little unclear on what exactly the back-to-school experience will look like this year. All we know for sure is that parents, students, and teachers must prepare to adjust to a new normal….again. 

Back-to-school shopping checklists also might look a little different this year due to PPE items being added and non-essential items being taken off. However, there are a few items that I think will stay on the list no matter what.

Help students get excited for back-to-school by customizing school essentials with HTV.

Check out these fun projects for some inspiration on how you can customize your back-to-school experience using heat transfer vinyl, a craft cutter, and a heat press.

What’s needed:

 

Backpacks

Whether students are lugging their school supplies to the dining room table or to the classroom, a backpack is a back-to-school staple. Easily turn an ordinary backpack into a custom backpack using heat transfer vinyl and a heat press! 

Products used:

Tips for printing onto backpacks:

  • Use a contrasting or tonal vinyl color
  • If the backpack is printed, use a thicker or darker-colored vinyl to avoid the print from the backpack migrating through the HTV
  • Use a heat press pillow to get even pressure when printing on or around pockets and zippers

 

Face Masks

Ahh...Face masks. These lovely little things have become an official part of our wardrobe and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change anytime soon. So let’s help students show off their personality and style while keeping their faces covered and protected with customized face masks.

Using a heat press and heat transfer materials, personalize a face mask with a student's name, monogram, favorite hobby or topic.

Tips for decorating face masks: 

  • Keep the design small
  • Position the design on the side of the mask to keep the nose and mouth area clear
  • Use vinyl that is thinner and lightweight
  • Use a Heat Press Pillow to raise the area of the face mask you want to decorate to get even pressure (Reminder: even pressure is key for long-lasting decoration)

 

Pencil Pouch

Another back-to-school staple is a pencil pouch. These are a great way to keep the students’ personal belongings safe so they don’t get mixed up with others.

Tips for decorating pencil pouches:

Binder pencil pouch with a clear PVC window.

  • Use a heat press pillow to get even pressure when printing on or around any pockets and zippers
  • PVC can be a little risky when it’s mixed with heat so make sure to choose an HTV that can be applied at 300 degrees or lower. A great HTV to use would be UltraWeed because it can be applied at 260 degrees for 10 seconds. 

 

T-Shirts

Keep the excitement going by using HTV to create fun back-to-school t-shirts!

For the design, use a mix of handwritten-looking fonts, design elements and clipart. Make the design 2-4 colors and use different HTV finishes such as Glitter, Flock, and UltraWeed HTV to create a colorful, mixed-media look that will be sure to stand out in any classroom setting.

Head to the HTV Fast Designer and check out the rest of our back-to-school templates under the School & Education category!

 

Written by HTV Fast Team