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The August 1997 issue of Draperies & Window Coverings featured an article explaining the many merits and creative uses of iron-on products and how they are revolutionizing the fabrication of custom window coverings ("The Iron-ons Are Here!", The Big Picture). The article, written by Cheryl Strickland, one of the industry's most well known and respected workroom instructors and seminar leaders, included a brief description of how these products work. Through an editing error, this description may have caused misunderstanding and confusion through oversimplification and by incorrectly attributing a statement to Robert Döhlemann of döfix No*Sew Inc., Sanford, MI.
To correct the misstatement, döfix manufactures boiler steam irons in addition to its numerous workroom supplies and fabrication products and not steam presses as indicated in the article.
Further, Döhlemann emphasizes that the döfix iron-on products "are designed for the professional fabricator, not the home market." This distinction is important because, as stated in the article, maintaining a constant, uniform flow of steam heat is critical to achieving a perfect bond between a fabric and the adhesive iron-on product.
There are two ways to create steam. One is through a hand-held steam iron, which has a built-in water compartment or is fed with cold water through a hose; the other is through a boiler steam iron, which heats the water and creates steam in a separate boiler unit. Döhlemann explains that a hand-held iron operates at a much higher temperature (beyond the 212-degree boiling point of water) than a boiler type iron because it has to boil the cold water in the hand set itself. He adds that this high of a temperature at the iron causes problems when working with delicate fabrics.
Döhlemann adds, the reason that döfix iron-on products are recommended to be used with a boiler steam iron is that the large amount of steam they create assures the heavy-duty, commercial coating on its products will be evenly and quickly liquefied for maximum adhesion. Even though the döfix boiler steam iron is capable of producing a large amount of steam, the temperature of the hand iron remains the coolest possible because it only has to maintain the steam, not create it. This feature enables workrooms to use iron-on products even with delicate fabrics, Döhlemann says.
döfix introduced iron-on products to U.S. markets 12 years ago after successfully servicing the European industry for 10 years.
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