Digital Art Solutions: Ordering Rhinestones and Supplies

Rhinestone Types

Molded Glass

Premium Quality Korean Rhinestones

The most popular type of rhinestone for apparel heat transfers. Molded glass rhinestones are manufactured mostly in Korean and China. Premium quality Korean manufactured stones have very high reflective properties that offer a cost effective alternative to Swarovski or other machine cut lead crystal stones. Premium quality Korean Rhinestones sold by Digital Art Solutions are the highest quality Korean molded glass rhinestones available. There are huge variances in quality between DAS Premium Korean rhinestones and “Economy” grade Korean or Chinese rhinestones.

Machine Cut

Expensive but Highest Reflective Properties

These crystals are composed of Lead Crystal and are typically produced in Austria or the Czech Republic. The two most popular brand names are Swarovski and Precosia. Machine Cut rhinestones are consistent in shape and have the highest reflective properties. They are also the most expensive, costing over 10 times as much as Korean molded glass rhinestones. Machine Cut Lead Crystal rhinestones are not suitable for children’s apparel due to the high concentrations of lead.

Molded Acrylic

Inexpensive Plastic Rhinestones

These are very inexpensive plastic rhinestones that are found in retail craft stores. They typically have the lowest reflective quality. Acrylic rhinestones are not recommended for apparel that is going to be sold.

Rhinestone Properties

Adhesive

Not all "green back" is equal

There are huge variances in quality between hot fix adhesives. "Green Back" adhesive is generally considered the benchmark for adhesive as this is the color of the adhesive used by Swarovski, but not all green back adhesive has the same level of adhesion and durability. The rhinestones we sell have the highest quality green back adhesive to insure the best possible adhesion and durability. “Economy” grade Korean or Chinese rhinestones may not have consistently good adhesion and many result in stones falling off garments.

Consistency

Consistently sized and shaped

Machine cut rhinestones have the most consistent size and shape. For this reason they work very well with the DAS Stone Stencil system. Consistently sized and shaped rhinestones will insure that the stones fall into the stencil holes with the adhesive side down. Most low quality Korean or Chinese “Economy” stones do not have consistent shape and in many cases have adhesive overlapping the bottom of the stone or chips. Low quality stones will result in more upside down stones when using a stone stencil system. DAS Premium Korean Rhinestones work the best with a stone stencil system due to their consistent size and shape.

Color

Bright and colorful heat transfers

Rhinestones come in a wide variety of colors. The most popular and inexpensive color is Clear Crystal. AB rhinestones are also very popular because the produce an iridescent effect. Colored stones are more expensive. Pink and Peach stones are the most expensive because they contain small quantities of gold that is required to produce the proper colors. There are large variances in colors between different types and manufacturers of rhinestones. Premium Korean Rhinestones have excellent color values that produce very bright and colorful heat transfers.

Size

Small variances make a big difference

Rhinestones sizes are described by a prefix "SS" which stands for stone size. There are small variances in diameters between the various brands and types of rhinestones. In some cases, there are variances in size between different colors from the same manufacturer. A combination of ss6, ss10 and ss16 sized stones work very well with a stone stencil system because there is a significant difference in diameter. A single stencil can be made and the largest sized stones can be brushed into the stencil first, leaving only the smaller holes for the next stone size. Premium Korean Rhinestones have a consistent size across the entire color range so that one stencil will work with every color stone.

Heat Press Material

Stock up on supplies now

The new DAS E-store will be open 24/7 to help you order some of your consumable products like Twill and Heat Applied specialty materials.

Heat Press Material Purchase Online

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