If you haven’t read my Infusible Ink basics post, go back and read that to make sure you’ve got a good handle on what Infusible Ink is and what it does. Since I found it has a bit of a learning curve, I want to show you a couple of things to watch out for and how to fix Cricut Infusible Ink problems.
If you’re like me, you’re probably a little bit impatient with your crafts. I like to use a hair dryer to speed paint drying for example. I’m also not great with reading instructions. I kind of browse, and figure it out along the way. I mean, I’ve been making things since I was a kid, right?
Even with reading all the directions, I had a couple of errors in my very first Infusible Ink project – but found a way to fix them (at least kind of) so I wanted to share!
I feel like it’s also my job to tell you that instructions for how to use Infusible Ink are kind of hard to find on the Cricut website. No instructions come in the box either – it just says to go to infusibleink.com. But that page is mostly just project ideas and some brief info.
To see step by step infusible ink instructions for all ink and base combinations, see this list at the Cricut help page.
Things that will cause problems with Infusible Ink
Here’s a good starter list that may help you fix Cricut Infusible Ink problems. If you read through the post and still have an issue I haven’t covered, leave me a comment so I can try to help!
| PROBLEM | WHAT CAN HAPPEN |
| Moisture or oils on your hands when you touch the transfer sheets | Can cause uneven ink transfer |
| Moisture in the material | Can cause uneven ink transfer |
| Using weeding tools on the transfer sheets | Can press tiny amounts of ink into the carrier sheet that then show up in blank areas of your project |
| Making the design larger than your EasyPress surface | You need to be able to press the whole design at one time or you risk overlapping discoloration |
| Lint or fibers on the surface of the blank | Can create dots of stain on the project |
| Not covering fabric with butcher paper | Heat can damage the fabric |
| Reusing butcher paper from another press | Can transfer ink picked up from a previous project |
| Not covering EasyPress mat with cardstock | Can transfer ink onto the mat which can be picked up by the next project, or at least stain your EasyPress mat forever |
| Shifting the design while pressing | Can smear the design and cause ghosting |
| Pressing with the wrong temperature or time | Colors may be dull |
| Using a non-compatible blank | Color will be dull, wash out, and may not transfer at all |
| Pressing over seams, zippers, or buttons | Creates uneven pressure that results in uneven coloring |
| Letting the design touch back down on the blank when you’re trying to remove it | Ink may still transfer from the paper |
| Folding the material on itself before it’s cooled | Ink can transfer while it’s still hot |
| Pressing over an area again | Ink will turn back into gas and lift up from the project and become lighter |
Cutting Infusible Ink Sheets
Infusible Ink sheets can be cut with the Cricut Explore, Cricut Maker, and even Cricut Joy. Remember that you will always mirror your design and place the sheet colored side up.
If you’re having a hard time getting the sheet to stay stuck on the mat, roll over it with a Cricut brayer or tape down the edges with some washi or painters tape.
Infusible Ink Cut Settings
In the Custom Materials menu, there is a setting for Infusible Ink. Just like when cutting vinyl, you want to cut all the way through the ink-paper part, but not through the backing. The clear carrier sheet is what holds your design in place after weeding out the extra parts of the design.
If this is your first time cutting Infusible Ink sheets with your machine, please do a TEST CUT first. Do this by placing a small shape on your canvas in Design Space. A heart, a circle, a letter, etc. Size it to about 1.5 inches and have your Cricut cut it from an ink sheet. Then check to see if the shape cut through cleanly, but leaves the plastic layer uncut.
Infusible Ink cutting all the way through
One problem that you may encounter is that the cut has gone all the way through the Infusible Ink and the plastic liner. This means one of two things. Either the setting has too much pressure or the blade is too deep. If your blade is too deep, you have probably already had problems with cutting other materials too, so you probably already took care of it with a new blade.
Try changing the pressure to “less” on your next test cut. If it’s still going all the way through, try a different setting like vinyl.
Infusible Ink not weeding
The more common problem, at least for me, is that the ink sheet doesn’t cut all the way through the paper layer, making it very hard to weed. The “paper” splits, only part peels up, and it can get frustrating for sure.
I always set my pressure to “more” when I’m cutting with Infusible Ink and that seems to give me a clean cut every time. You can also go into the specific material setting and increase the default pressure for the Infusible Ink setting.
Here’s something else that can help. If the paper layer is peeling, you can try grabbing the stuck part with a weeding hook to get it up off of the carrier sheet. And if you’re having trouble with small inside cuts of Infusible Ink not coming out, as long as the layer with the ink has been removed and there’s just a white spot left, the transfer should look fine still in the end.
Infusible Ink gets Hot!
And here’s another tidbit I discovered – after preheating my bag, it was still so hot that when I was cleaning it off with the lint roller, my nail dragged along it and the bag picked up a streak of nail polish! So, besides being careful to not touch the bag because it’s hot, be careful with your manicures!
Also – I learned I was supposed to remove lint BEFORE heating – (see bullet point about lint above.) But the basic warning here is that things will be hot, so be cautious.
I tried to clean off the streak with acetone. It significantly lightened but didn’t disappear completely. So I just put the design on the other side of the bag.
Watch the video to see the whole process.
**NOTE** My friend Karley worked at Cricut and gave me another tip that will help with future layering projects. On this design, take all the plaid pieces off their liner and put them on the larger liner that has the black pieces. That way there’s not an extra layer of liner that can also cause a lighter transfer!
Fixing Infusible Ink that’s too light
When I made this bag, the plaid mountains didn’t transfer well and it was way too light in the middle of the design. If you are making a project and wonder “Why is my Infusible Ink not transferring?” you may have one of these issues.
Sublimation Ink not Transferring
If your Infusible Ink isn’t transferring, make sure that you’re trying to apply it to an appropriate base. Use a Cricut base, a high polyester percentage, or something marked for sublimation.
There can also be problems if you press on an uneven surface or over a seam. For best results, press on a flat surface of the material and use an EasyPress mat underneath.
I was worried that there was no way I could line up all those burst lines exactly, but I did want to try to press it again.
So I removed all the black pieces from the plastic sheet. Then I took just the plaid pieces and secured them to the bag with heat resistant tape – making sure to not overlap with any of the black design.
Repress Infusible Ink Design
I covered the whole design with the plastic sheet and pressed again for 30 seconds with more pressure. Sure enough, that did the trick!
Don’t do this again though, because that plastic carrier sheet has now picked up a bit of the black ink, and that will go into your fabric if you press again.
It also did lighten up the black a little bit – so it really isn’t ideal to press twice. But I feel like this was a good fix for the plaid design and making that color more vibrant.
Next time I will apply little more pressure when putting an Infusible Ink design on a bag, and I’ll move everything to a single carrier sheet. Hopefully, this will help you fix Cricut Infusible Ink problems too.
Open the Mountains Design Space project.
Shop in store or on Amazon Infusible Ink products
Infusible Ink Problems
Learn how to avoid common problems when using Cricut Infusible Ink
Instructions
- Remove moisture or oils on your hands when you touch the transfer sheets
- Increase pressure of cut if the sheet is hard to weed
- Use fingers to weed
- Size the design to fit under your EasyPress
- Remove lint
- Cover press with butcher paper, but don't reuse this paper
- Cover EasyPress mat with cardstock
- Keep EasyPress still while transferring
- Press with the correct temperature and time
- Don't press over seams
Recommended Products
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You can also see how I made round Infusible Ink coasters here.
My first project with infusible ink didn’t come out bold. So I cut another piece but on top of the bag and it still didn’t come out
My guess is the color looks faded because the shirt was so dark. Cricut makes a gray shirt, but it’s on the lighter side. Think of it as trying to color with markers on a dark piece of paper – it won’t show up the same as on a white background.
What about Infusible Ink Markers on Round blank Coasters? One only one, the part of the design didn’t transfer. I have no idea why. I did them all exactly the same way. Is there anyway to fix this?
Hi Stephanie, I really love working with infusible ink. It’s super easy and the prints are really fun! I’ve run into my first problem which is what landed me here. I’ve crafted a super cute shirt using the ink sheets. Part of the design has letters. While weeding, a letter popped out of place. Bo big deal, I put it right back where it goes and completely my project. Heat press and all. Once finished I’m proudly gazing at my beautiful design when I realize that “P” is now a “d”. The word now says “dositive” instead of “Positive”. Let’s grasp & laugh together for a moment! We all know it can be difficult to remove the d from our lives but I assure you, once the d is gone, it’s nothing but positive! I hope you have some advice on how to help me with this one. I’ll be happy to email a photo of that shameful d. Have a great day.
Hi, Thanks so much for the helpful hints. Have done about 10 projects with infusibke ink and they all came out very pretty. Well, now I’m trying to weed one and some unknown reason, the ink part is separating and I can’t get it off the backing. Looks like a huge mess! Am going to have to go back and carefully get all the tiny fuzzy white pieces off. So frustrating. The machine cut fine, but the paper is not letting go of the carrier sheet. Have you ever had this problem? Thanks.
I am having the same issues. I am so frustrated since it has happened three times. I can’t find a solution anywhere.
Did you ever figure this one out? This happened to me too.
ME TOO! I am in the middle of a project and I am SO IRRITATED trying to find this answer!
Hi everyone! So sorry this has been an issue!
There are a few things that can help.
1: Change the cutting pressure to “more” before cutting. **You could also increase the pressure in the actual materials settings – contact me if you don’t know how to do that!**
2. Use a weeding hook to pull up the white pieces left behind.
2. If the transfer sheet is peeling, leaving paper behind, but the color is gone, you should be fine pressing it still.
Hi everyone! So sorry this has been an issue!
There are a few things that can help.
1: Change the cutting pressure to “more” before cutting. **You could also increase the pressure in the actual materials settings – contact me if you don’t know how to do that!**
2. Use a weeding hook to pull up the white pieces left behind.
2. If the transfer sheet is peeling, leaving paper behind, but the color is gone, you should be fine pressing it still.
I’m having same issue as the four people above. It’s not weeding properly, because part of the paper layer under the ink remains. Quite possibly the blade is not cutting deep enough. Help. What should the pressure be for the blade. I have the Maker, so the setting is automatic, but it doesn’t appear to be enough.
Please help me. . . I am so frustrated and wasting expensive ink paper.
I’m dealing with the same thing right now and I don’t know what to do, its driving me crazy
Hi everyone! So sorry this has been an issue!
There are a few things that can help.
1: Change the cutting pressure to “more” before cutting.
2. Use a weeding hook to pull up the white pieces left behind.
2. If the transfer sheet is peeling, leaving paper behind, but the color is gone, you should be fine pressing it still.
Hi everyone! So sorry this has been an issue!
There are a few things that can help.
1: Change the cutting pressure to “more” before cutting.
2. Use a weeding hook to pull up the white pieces left behind.
2. If the transfer sheet is peeling, leaving paper behind, but the color is gone, you should be fine pressing it still.
I made a dark grey t shirt with infusible ink transfer. The colors looked faded. Can I redo it with white infusible ink?
I’m not quite sure what you mean, there isn’t any white infusible ink – but putting infusible ink on a white shirt will always be more vibrant than any other color shirt (and make sure you’re using very high polyester.) Good luck!
I recently tried a new infusible ink project. Some of the tops and bottoms of my lettering did not come out. Can i redo only the tops and bottoms that did not transfer without any issues?
You can definitely try placing those letters again and pressing again, like in the video on this post. And next time, try adding more pressure, and that usually makes the color more even!
I noticed that when I took the infusible ink out of the box there were parts of it that the paper seemed to be lifting off the carrier sheet After I had pressed my design and I looked at it, the places that were lifting off the carrier sheet were now light in comparison to other parts of the design. Has anyone else had this issue? Is there a way to flatten the infusible ink before cutting it?
That’s probably one of the most annoying things about infusible ink 🙂 It curls so much! You could try laying out the piece you’ll use and put some heavy books for a whilte first. The other thing that helps is really give it some good pressure while you’re applying it.
These are great tips! Thanks!!!
I recently made an infusible ink project with a ceramic coaster and the lines from the transfer sheet transfers to the coaster and ruined my project. Anyone else experience this or know how to avoid this?
As in, the grid lines left a mark on the coaster? How frustrating! That hasn’t happened to me but I wonder if there was something wrong with the roll of transfer tape.
I had this problem on infusing a mug – not only the gridlines but the “infusible ink” wording too! Wonder if my oven got too hot. Have messaged Cricut for ideas to troubleshoot it.
Definitely frustrating – sorry that happened! Here are a couple of things that might help. 1) The ink sheets sized for the mug press don’t have those lines on the plastic so using it won’t cause that issue. 2) If you have the pattern you want already in a sheet that does have the lines, cut away as much of the plastic as you can without damaging the design and secure it with heat resistant tape. 3) Use these instructions to lower the temperature of your Mug Press so that it won’t transfer the yellow marks. https://help.cricut.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500002844442-How-to-adjust-Cricut-Mug-Press-temperature
These are great tips! Thank you so much for sharing!
Always happy to help!
I just made a mug with infusible ink and the Cricut letters from the transfer sheet were also infused into the design. First time I’ve had that happen to me. I used a sublimation metal mug I ordered from Amazon.
Definitely frustrating – sorry that happened! Here are a couple of things that might help. 1) The ink sheets sized for the mug press don’t have those lines on the plastic so using it won’t cause that issue. 2) If you have the pattern you want already in a sheet that does have the lines, cut away as much of the plastic as you can without damaging the design and secure it with heat resistant tape. 3) Use these instructions to lower the temperature of your Mug Press so that it won’t transfer the yellow marks. https://help.cricut.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500002844442-How-to-adjust-Cricut-Mug-Press-temperature
I made an mug with pens and markers I’m not too crazy about it, if I use a dark latter infusible in transfer sheet will that cover it?
There’s a good chance it will work – and if you don’t love the pen design, I’d say it’s worth the shot! Let me know how it comes out!
I have used infusible ink on a red 100% polyester shirt. Only 1/3 of the design printed. I did it three times. . Could there be sizing on the shirt preventing it from absorbing?
What color of infusible ink did you use? And did you use an EasyPress? I can help troubleshoot from there.
AFTER WASHING A SHIRT IONCE THE DESIGN SEEMED TO FADE. ANY SUGGESTIONS?
What was the fabric of your shirt?
Hi, I’m having similar problems to Kelly who commented above. I’ve made a couple of mugs using Infusible ink sheets and the grid lines have transferred onto the mugs from the backing of the ink sheets onto the mug.
It’s so frustrating because the print is lovely.
Definitely frustrating – sorry that happened! Here are a couple of things that might help. 1) The ink sheets sized for the mug press don’t have those lines on the plastic so using it won’t cause that issue. 2) If you have the pattern you want already in a sheet that does have the lines, cut away as much of the plastic as you can without damaging the design and secure it with heat resistant tape. 3) Use these instructions to lower the temperature of your Mug Press so that it won’t transfer the yellow marks. https://help.cricut.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500002844442-How-to-adjust-Cricut-Mug-Press-temperature
Thank you! I had a terrible first attempt last night. Looking for a better round two! @birthdaybox.yxe
I used Infusible inks on a shirt, it turned out amazing! Problem is I washed it one time, and now it’s faded. I don’t know why or how to fix this issue. Please help!!
What kind of material was your shirt made of?