Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
I started with a Hix Hobby lite..9x12 over 7 years ago and it is still working!. I use it when doing something that will fit..after a couple years I got a 15x15 ..didn't get a larger one since I am toooo damn old to move the heavier ones!
my personal experience is that you want a press LARGER than the largest image you'll want to print. if she's doing 12" images.......a 12" press is kinda dicey....if the heat coils don't go ALL the way to the edge you're not gonna get a good press. even if it does, if you don't get the shirt and transfer lined up EXACTLY with the edge, you're not gonna get a good press bigger IS better......
She won't be doing bigger than 8.5x11, shouldn't that be enough for starters?
The image will never be 8.5x11 since the printer can't print to the edges anyways.
13x13 is the minimum that you should get. 15x15 if possible. I have the 13 as a backup press and it works for most photo transfer jobs. The larger press will make lining up the transfer easier.
ssssshhh...dont want to spread bad information BUT...I used the hobby lite for over two years and I pressed lots of 8.5x 11 shirts and had no complaints. I did transfers, sublimation, name badges, etc...and so tell your wife to go forth and play
Just posted this to another thread, and thought it might be pertainable to your question, since the JP12 and the Hix are both swing-away, 9 x 12 presses:
I am a newbie to the boards, and just recently purchased my first press. I bought the Geo Knight JP12, which is only 9" x 12" and is a swing-away press. For my purposes, doing children's clothes, I thought the size was sufficient. However, just did a few adult Large shirts, and they were a problem -- I needed the transfer in portrait style, and had to put the shirt horizontally on the lower press. This meant that a bunch of fabric had to be bunched up under the arm holding the upper platen. It was definitely not the optimal way to press shirts! If I had larger sizes to do on a regular basis, the JP12 just wouldn't cut it! When I was doing the adult shirts, I cursed my decision to buy that model and size, and wished I had a 15 x 15 (at a minimum) clamshell where there is nothing in your way from positioning the shirts!
Once I was doing the small shirts again, I was just OK with my original decision, but then again, I'm not doing a large volume of shirts, either.
Just thought you might gain a little insight on the smaller hobby presses...
ssssshhh...dont want to spread bad information BUT...I used the hobby lite for over two years and I pressed lots of 8.5x 11 shirts and had no complaints. I did transfers, sublimation, name badges, etc...and so tell your wife to go forth and play
Hey...I'm thinking of buying the hobby lite and was wondering if it's really that hard to press adult t-shirts on it based on what some other people have said. Is it hard to do it or is it just more time consuming because you have to put the t-shirt on in a different way? I wanted to buy a bigger one but the house I live in is old and the outlets can only handle 15amps
One more question.....it says the press uses 7 amps...does that mean that it uses 7 amps to turn it on and heat it up and then the amps go down or is it 7 amps continuously? Sorry if that sounds like a stupid question, just wondering how it works or if someone can point me in the right direction to get the info. Thanks
ssssshhh...dont want to spread bad information BUT...I used the hobby lite for over two years and I pressed lots of 8.5x 11 shirts and had no complaints. I did transfers, sublimation, name badges, etc...and so tell your wife to go forth and play
thanks Charles. I was starting to worry that my purchase of the Hobby Lite was not a good choice. I'm not going to be doing thousands of shirts a month so I feel assured that the Hobby Lite will work just fine and I like the swing effect to keep away from the heat!
-regina
*Hix HTL 9x12 
bigger IS better......
Re: *Hix HTL 9x12 
