Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
I just got my Cap Press this past weekend and I love it. I immediately did a 24-hat order without any casualties, using sublimation. The customer loved them.
I had decided on the Hotronix AutoOpen hat press and tried to buy it from Imprintables, but they were out of stock, and I needed it soon. So I tried BestBlanks and went with them because they had it in stock. When I got the press, they sent me the wrong one. They guy said it was a mistake and he would have FedEx pick it up next day and send me the right one. About a week and a half later, it still wasn't picked up and still no new one. I called and he said they won't send the right one until the wrong was picked up and he didn't know why it hadn't been picked up. So anyway, it was Monday and I told him I had to have it by Friday, and he said it was no problem, and sent it UPS Ground. Well, as soon as I checked the tracking #, it was scheduled to arrive on Monday.
Just so happens the NMB Printwear show was in Fort Worth that weekend, and I was going to it. I found a show special Hix 250B Cap Press for about $300 less than the Hotronix, and bought it, and spend the weekend doing caps that I had promised the customer by Monday. I bought it from TexSource, and the owner, Alan, seemed like a very good guy, who cares about the individual. I also bought a screen printing dryer from him too. I sent the Hotronix back when it finally showed up, about a month after ordering it. I'm sure BestBlanks is a quality supplier, but you know the old cliché, "You only get 1 chance to make a first impression", and it wasn't a very good 1st impression.
I love the Hix. It's easy to use and compact. My other heat press is a Hix 400D so I know it's a good quality machine. I'll try to post a couple pics later.
looking forward to pics rusty - i'm in the midst of shopping for and deciding on a cap press at this moment. my heat press and mug press are both geo knights and i've had really good luck with them, but had also been looking at the hix. did you also get the various size platens with yours??
looking forward to pics rusty - i'm in the midst of shopping for and deciding on a cap press at this moment. my heat press and mug press are both geo knights and i've had really good luck with them, but had also been looking at the hix. did you also get the various size platens with yours??
I don't have the other platens yet because they didn't bring them to the show. But I probablay will as I figure out more of what I will need. The one that came with it worked fine on the hats I did this weekend.
I had decided on the Hotronix AutoOpen hat press and tried to buy it from Imprintables, but they were out of stock, and I needed it soon. So I tried BestBlanks and went with them because they had it in stock. When I got the press, they sent me the wrong one. They guy said it was a mistake and he would have FedEx pick it up next day and send me the right one. About a week and a half later, it still wasn't picked up and still no new one. I called and he said they won't send the right one until the wrong was picked up and he didn't know why it hadn't been picked up. So anyway, it was Monday and I told him I had to have it by Friday, and he said it was no problem, and sent it UPS Ground. Well, as soon as I checked the tracking #, it was scheduled to arrive on Monday.
I sent the Hotronix back when it finally showed up, about a month after ordering it. I'm sure BestBlanks is a quality supplier, but you know the old cliché, "You only get 1 chance to make a first impression", and it wasn't a very good 1st impression.
Strike 3 - You're out, for Best Blanks...
Strike 1: I paid for a cap press on April 11. They send me the wrong press. I realized people make mistakes, and I didn't think it was a big deal, if they corrected the problem. Strike 2: It took them 2 weeks to pick up the wrong one that they had promised to pick up the next day. And therefore 2 weeks of waiting before they would even ship me right one... that I had paid for about 3 weeks ago. Strike 3: They did not get the right one to me by the date they promised. At this point, I just bought my cap press from somebody else and was trying to cut my losses with Best Blanks. Strike 4: I had the 2nd shipped press returned to sender, never taking possession of it. The UPS tracking # showed that it was delivered to their facility on May 10th. As of May 16th, I still had not received my refund. They've had my $850 for over a month now (since Apr 11), and have done nothing for me. I decided I was going to have to get serious about this and called and asked what the problem was. They tried to blame the manufacturer and said they were waiting on them to do an inspection of the press before they refunded my money. I said, "It takes them 6 days to look in a box and see if a press is in it?" And 2ndly, I never received the press, so even if it is in 1000 pieces, it's not my fault. They promised to refund it the next day on the 17th. Promises, promises... Strike 5: It's now the 18th, and still no refund. I called them this morning again. Again they promise that it will be credited to my card by the end of the day. More promises. We'll see. Strike 6: There were 2 additional cap platens I had ordered that I also needed to return. They were supposed to have issued a call tag last week to pick them up on this Tuesday, the 15th. It didn't happen, which by this time would have been a shock if they actually did. I had to email and call again, and finally by the 3rd time, they issue a call tag to have them picked up on Thursday.
Oh, I guess with 6 strikes, that's 2 outs. This has been one of the worst experiences I've ever had with a company. They make a lot of great promises when you are on the phone with them, but don't seem to be able to hold to many of them. I felt like Jerry Seinfeld in the episode where he had made a car rental reservation and when he gets there, they are out of cars, and he said, "You're really good at taking the reservations, but you're not very good at actually RESERVING the car, which is the most IMPORTANT part of the reservation!" At this point, I just have to laugh, or else I'd be irate and screaming . All I can do now is cross my fingers, and hope they give me my $850 back today that I "loaned" them 5 weeks ago.
I've been somewhat critical of some of Imprintables products in the past, but I do have to give a lot of credit to them (and Josh) for providing great service. If you have a problem, they will make sure it gets taken care of. I guess sometimes you don't appreciate that until you have an experience like this with another company.
without first rate customer service, good prices don't mean much! the problem i had in the past with spectra was a product issue - and i still don't use it - but the service from josh at imprintables was impeccable!
i'm really sorry to hear you've had that experience from best blanks - i've bought from them in the past, but not likely i'll do so again....
No, it's not auto-open. I really didn't figure I'd use the auto-open feature much anyway, and was concerned if the Hotronix had a way to disable it. I like to open the press slowly, especially when sublimating.
Got My New Cap Press 
i typed that in last nite and it wouldn't load.... i guess i should step away from the puter after 16 hours or so 
. All I can do now is cross my fingers, and hope they give me my $850 back today that I "loaned" them 5 weeks ago.
