Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
New to T-shirts but had a Vinyl business for awhile now. I have all the equipment needed to make Vinyl Products and now looking into expanding.
I am leaning towards the Heat Press of the Vinyl for that reason but not 100% on the idea. I posted in screen printing it seems it would be a lower upstart cost if I was to go single color screen printer.
Any suggestions?
How about a heat press? I would prefer a used one simply because of my upstart funds and would most likely upgrade or stop in a year or two. Mainly looking into making my own business shirts then design/make some for my website. Not planing on large sports/company orders until I get the hang of how everything works and can afford a better machine with larger stock.
I know 15x15 is what everyone suggests ... but with a low upstart cost would it be a bad idea to go smaller with the itemms I had in mind?
Also besides e-bay (where it seems the used price is less then $100 then new which IMO just buy new) is there another pllace to watch for used presses?
I think 15x15 is a good size but if you're worried about cost get something smaller like 9x12. I have a 15x15 press and it works great only problem is it takes 15-20 minutes to heat up. I plan on purchasing something smaller that will heat up faster and use less watts and keep the bigger press as backup.
I've designed lots of tees and I don't think I ever went bigger than 8x10. I'm satisfied with the size and my customers have never complained either.
Smaller bad..very bad.. been there, done that. it is not about the heat temperature getting hotter faster, it is about using a professional system. I think, and i had one, a 9 x 12 is s trickily for the hobbyist. when i had to do my first 100 shirts I said never again and got a 15 x 15. I love it. A lot of us do print 8 x 10 but if you get any respectable size order and want to do a 12 x 12 design, you out of luck. I just did a bunch of shirts that were 13 x 14. I could never have taken the job with a smaller press. No, way, not going to happen.
Smaller bad..very bad.. been there, done that. it is not about the heat temperature getting hotter faster, it is about using a professional system. I think, and i had one, a 9 x 12 is s trickily for the hobbyist. when i had to do my first 100 shirts I said never again and got a 15 x 15. I love it. A lot of us do print 8 x 10 but if you get any respectable size order and want to do a 12 x 12 design, you out of luck. I just did a bunch of shirts that were 13 x 14. I could never have taken the job with a smaller press. No, way, not going to happen.
Thank you for the reply :-)
My current plan is to sell shirts already designed on my website. I would be happy to support custom orders but like in my Vinyl Business I know my limitations and accept them.
You couldn't really say it would be required since it would only be required to do designs larger than 9x12 or 11x14, etc.
...but it's almost universally considered the smallest size press you'd want to buy. Some people are happy with smaller, but most people seem to end up upgrading and wishing they hadn't lost money in switch.
New to T-shirts: suggestions on equipment? 
