I just got a Mighty Hat Press so that I could do a bunch of short sleeve sublimation prints. It worked great! I know it is also good for doing upper neck prints. What else have you guys been using these presses for?
Also, I know Cond'e doesn't even carry hats at this time because they have had melting and other issues with them due to the extent the hat needs to be in the press for sublimation. They are still testing different hats b4 putting them back in stock.
Otto has over a dozen 100% polyester front hats that I wanted to buy but my Cond'e Rep told me to be very weary because even though the polyester will hold up during the heat process. the actual backing and other properties of the hat do not fair so well.
My question is, what are the hats you guys are using when sublimating? Can you actually do the baseball, and golf style polyester hats or am I going to be limited to the trucker hats.
Re: Just got Cap Press! What else can this thing do?
Sleeves, shorts, small butt logo prints, socks, tongues on shoes,... basically, any small graphic - especailly on items that are curved. You can also use it to press a small heat transfer under the tag in the inside of the shirt so people can know where they can reorder shirts. Basically, your own custom tag without having the expense of getting it created and sewn in.
Re: Just got Cap Press! What else can this thing do?
Thanks for all your ideas!
Now what about these hats? I want to place an order for some Monday. The heat transfers on hats I believe is a no brainer but I wanted to have some 100% polyester hats on hand for my customers that want sublimation. which ones are you guys using that hold up to the process?
Also, does the the 6 panel design cause a problem for heat transfer and sublimation due to the seam in the middle of the hat. Do I need to go with the 5 panel? I know seams and piping create problems on the flat press. I fix those with Vapor Foam but I am not sure how or if that is an issue with the hat press.
Re: Just got Cap Press! What else can this thing do?
Has anyone sublimated to the Flexfit athletic mesh hats? They're 97% poly so they should take sub ink... I'm wondering about how even an image sublimates on the hat press though...
Re: Just got Cap Press! What else can this thing do?
I sublimated on them, the print looks amazing, That's the good news. The bad news for me was the hats I purchased were structured and it put a seriouse crease at the top of the hat where the press plate permanently creased the structure section of the hat. When I reduced the pressure I couldn't get a good print. You defiately need a little more pressure on the 6 panel hats with sublimation and the structure hats don't like it. I bet if you used an unstructured poly mesh hat the problem would be solved. Haven't tried that yet.
Re: Just got Cap Press! What else can this thing do?
Being based in Europe I am not familiar with what is available stateside, but some of the low profile hats out there will leave in crease in the hat, unless you reduce the size of the lower platen. Some of the hat press manufacturers offer a narrower lower platen that will reduce the effect of the creasing, for others it will be a case of getting a saw out to modify.
Re: Just got Cap Press! What else can this thing do?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cjoe Design
I sublimated on them, the print looks amazing, That's the good news. The bad news for me was the hats I purchased were structured and it put a seriouse crease at the top of the hat where the press plate permanently creased the structure section of the hat. When I reduced the pressure I couldn't get a good print. You defiately need a little more pressure on the 6 panel hats with sublimation and the structure hats don't like it. I bet if you used an unstructured poly mesh hat the problem would be solved. Haven't tried that yet.
Just got Cap Press! What else can this thing do? 
