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Any advice on a good price and brand for a flash unit would be appreciated. Yes I have been on e-bay. Looking for something new that does a good job without extra bells and wistles. The unit seems so simple but pricing seems to be in the $300 dollar range.
Are you talking about a camera flash unit or something for screen printing (I'm asking because this is posted in the Graphics/Design part of the forum )
Thats what you're going to pay for a flash unit. Thats actually on the cheap end. I bought a Ranar 18X18 for $600, but had to go down to the 16x16 because of electrical problems, and I believe that one is $400.
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You can google how to make one for half the price, if you have DIY skills.
It's easy to convery a couple of paint-strippers (although only of you are experienced in building things....I don't want you to burn down your house).
The only difficulty is how your electricity supply is set up....two paint strippers can trip your circuit breaker, depending where you are.
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what...like a tv???? Dont be silly...its a constant temp heat shelf worth about a buck fifty. The unit really has no moving parts but is more expensive than a press. Lets see it for what it really is dude!!!!
Thats what you're going to pay for a flash unit. Thats actually on the cheap end. I bought a Ranar 18X18 for $600, but had to go down to the 16x16 because of electrical problems, and I believe that one is $400.
Do you not think that price is just stupid for what a flash unit actually does and actually is?????
How many people by flashcure units? Not a lot. They are a specialty item.
It has to maintain a very specific temperature window, at very high temperatures....this isn't a "buck fifty" piece of kit, unless you want your prints to be uneven, under gelled, or burnt.
Even a homemade one will cost you about $150 in parts.
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It's also worth bearing in mind that it's one of the most important pieces of equipment you'll own. If the unit screws up without you noticing, you'll know about it by the fact that every shirt you print gets returned by irrate customers.
i bought a press from a company here in the uk, and it came with a so called 'flash unit', it is in fact nothing more than a heater element from a cooker grill. very basic, but until i get more work through the door, it seems to suit fine, i'm sure it probably cost about £50 to make tops. i've had no shirts come back, in fact i met someone the other day who'd washed his shirt about 30 times since he'd had it and the print is still going strong.
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it's a sneeky sneeky world we live in.....
Well, if anyone has come with a good answer to this, I would like to know as I am about to purchase one myself. Figured I could use a heatgun for now, but that will certainly slow down the process! And where are the instructions for building a unit...my hubby is a whiz at this kind of stuff!
any flash unit under $1200 will yield uneven heat distribution. also your flash needs to be able to reach 900 degrees for any real production. cheap flashes range in the 450 degree range. good luck.
900 degrees? I cure my ink at 300-320 degrees... What good does it do for the unit to get that hot? Wouldn't that scorch the shirt? ha burn the whole place down even...
Flash units 
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