Shiny Side Up or Down? How to Know Which Side of Your Heat Transfer Vinyl (HTV) to Cut.

Hi there everyone!

Today we'll be showing you a surefire way to know which side of your heat transfer vinyl to cut, including whether the shiny side goes up or down!

When it comes to Rozzy Crafts HTV, the rule about which side to cut is the same for all colors and types: "Cut your design in reverse on the side that does not show the final color."

For some colors, it is very easy to see which side does not show the final color. Take a look at these two sheets of Rozzy Crafts Red HTV:

Both of these sheets are red HTV. One is facing up and the other is facing down. Since red is the final color, we know to cut on the white side. That's easy.

For other colors, however, it is not as easy to tell which side is the final color and which side is not. Take Rozzy Crafts Gold HTV, for example:

It's not very clear in this picture, but in person you can see that the surface of the sheet on the right is very glossy, while the surface of the sheet on the left is more matte. For colors that don't have a white backing (like gold), you should always cut the side that is glossier.

But what if you can't tell which side is glossier? No problem! That's why we have a surefire method for telling which side is the side to cut.

For this trick, all you need is your sheet of HTV and your weeding tool:

Pick a side of the sheet that you suspect might be the cut side (e.g., the white side of the sheet of red HTV). Take your weeding tool and scrape/dig in the corner of the sheet. If you can get your tool under a layer of vinyl and pull it back, then that's the side you should be cutting:

However, if you're scraping/digging the corner of your sheet and you can't grab any material, the other side is your cut-side.

SO, to summarize: You want to cut the side of the HTV that you can easily penetrate with a weeding tool. When you feed the sheet into your cutting machine, make sure that that side is facing up.

If you have any questions, comments, ideas, or just want to say 'Hi', leave us a comment below!

Happy crafting!