Like a lot of comments here, I bought these as an alternative to Shrinky Dinks. (Shrinky Dinks changed their inkjet plastic formula and they kind of suck now.)I kept my expectations low and tried my hand with this new plastic.For people too lazy for a thorough review: Overall an ok craft product. Silhouette cutting is doable. Once baked the plastic is slightly thinner than brand plastic and flexible. Fuzzy texture on both sides. 3.5/5For the OCD crafters who need a thorough review grab a snack and get comfortable, because this will be a long one. lol-----My experience:**Printing:**- As recommended, I lightened my images by 50% and printed on the standard setting with my Canon inkjet printer. No smearing, no paper jam. Print quality will probably vary depending on your printer, but mine was great. So far so good!**Cutting:**- For those of you that are looking to cut these with a Silhouette machine: it's doable, but you'll need to work to get the results you want. Keep in mind that I do not have a deep cut blade, so for those of you that do check out the recommended settings in the asked questions section.- I tried my first sheet with the basic shrink plastic setting (the one Silhouette expects you to use with their brand sheets) and it took forever. I ran it through my machine with double cuts 8 times and it never cut through. I ended up having to snap the pieces out. This wouldn't be a big deal if the back of the sheet wasn't covered with whatever they use to make the plastic printable. It leaves a thin layer around the edge, like the thin membrane you find around hard boiled eggs, so I trimmed off what I could with scissors and ended up completely pulling this layer off on a couple of my other pieces. -- This will become a problem later, but can be avoided.- My second run went a little more smoothly setting my blade to 10 with the shrink plastic setting. Had to run it about 10 times and it still didn't cut all the way through. Snapped my pieces through, trimmed whatever thin skin again and got ready to bake.**Baking:**- I preheated my oven to 350° and baked my first batch for about 3 minutes. They shrunk slowly and got stuck in the "cup" position at around the 3 minute mark. No worries - I added another minute and they flattened out ok! I moved them to my counter and pressed them down with a cook book. First batch good to go.- Second batch shrunk faster since the pan is already hot from the first run. Remember when I said I peeled off the backings on some of my pieces? Those pieces flipped and curled in on themselves on the blank side. Might have been able to uncurl and flatten them out, but the plastic cools off so quickly outside of the oven that I took the loss. Keep in mind: this plastic CAN NOT be reheated once the plastic cools like the Shrinky Dink brand, so act fast if this happens.- For my third batch I ended up laying a second piece of parchment paper on top of the pieces to keep them from curling, like the instructions recommend. Shrinks perfectly fine without any curling and worked on the pieces without backings!**Results:**Size and consistency:My pieces shrunk about 50%. I made a 5inch (12.7cm) test piece that shrunk down to about 2.5inches (6.35cm).Turns out this isn't really as helpful as I was hoping since the 9 pieces I cut out of a single sheet ended up having different levels of warping. Some of my pieces came out fine, while others were slightly stretched or squished.This might not be a deal breaker if you don't care about consistency, but definitely will be if you're buying this to make matching earrings or pins for Etsy.Another thing to note is that this plastic is slightly thinner than Shrinky Dink plastic. It's thin enough to have a good amount of flex. (See photo)This could be a winning or losing point for crafters. Long, narrow pieces have a lot of flexibility and small round/square shapes will have less flex, but still have a bit of bend. Flexibility might be great for accessories that need to hold up under some pressure, like key fobs, but might not be great if you're looking to have some solid hanging charms.If you want a thicker finished product, buy Grafix' regular non-inkjet plastic.Texture:(See photo)Like other comments have mentioned, the pieces will have a textured front and back from the printable material coating the plastic. If you end up peeling some of it away and bake the pieces, it will be really obvious. The texture will also be present around the edge. You can take an emery board and file off any edge fuzz or uneven plastic, but unless you're aggressive with your sanding you won't be able to have a flat clean edge like you would with Shrinky Dink plastic.Sealant:I think this really depends on your printer ink, but I used a matte fixative and it sealed my prints ok. I'm currently waiting on the layer of mod podge to dry, but it seems to be doing ok without any running. I'll update in the event that the mod podge tears away from the surface, but I doubt that it will with how textured the baked product is. lol-----Wow you made it!Personally, if you're buying this to use for craftables with your kids, it's great. If you're looking to use this to sell on Etsy, I'd buy it with caution. Hope this review was helpful ^^
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How much does the Shrink Film shrink?
There are many variables in how much Shrink Film will shrink, i.e. type of oven, temperature used, and time; in general Shrink Film will shrink to about 50% of its original size and become thicker.
How thick is the Shrink Film?
All Shrink Film styles are .010' prior to baking (or the thickness of a business card).
Can I use an embossing heat gun to shrink my Shrink Film?
Yes, we suggest using tweezers or a stylus to hold the film while you heat.
Can I put my Shrink Film in a Laser printer/copier?
No, Shrink Film will shrink when exposed to heat. Laser printers/copiers generate heat while they process. Putting Shrink Film in either could cause serious damage to the equipment.
I printed on both sides of my Shrink Film and it smeared, why?
Grafix has several styles of Shrink Film, check your packaging to make sure you have the Inkjet printable style (either purple or pink packaging), if not try using permanent markers or rubberstamps.
If you want to learn more, please visit our website copolyester shrink film.
How do I know which side of my Inkjet Shrink Film to print on?
Both sides are printable.
My Inkjet Shrink Film will not load in my printer, what do I do?
Try changing the printer settings to a thicker paper option ' photo, glossy, etc. The available options will vary according to your printer model. If this solution does not work, we suggest contacting the printer manufacturer for additional assistance.
My Shrink Film curled up, what do I do?
Shrink Film will curl up, then flatten back out, this is simply part of the shrinking process. Be patient while shrinking and wait for it to flatten out. If your film curls and sticks to itself, simply remove from the oven and using toothpicks or tweezers un-stick and return it to the oven. Placing a heavy weight vellum or piece of parchment paper on top of your projects while shrinking will minimize curling and sticking. Keep a spatula handy when shrinking so that you can use it to flatten projects as they are removed from the oven and still hot.
What type of markers/media work best on Shrink Film?
Permanent markers/pens work the best on non-Inkjet styles of Shrink Film.
Do I need to seal my Shrink Film designs?
It is not necessary to seal your finished pieces. However, you can protect pieces that will be handled often with a polyurethane sealer.
Want more information on Household Products PVC Shrink Film? Feel free to contact us.