Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
This press i believe it is a no brand from china. I purchased one similar to this one (mine was a 15"x15") about 7 months ago and I haven't had any problems, yet. It is a decent press and I think it is worth it for the price, if its only going to be for hobby use. If its to start a business, just save up and purchase a name brand so you get better customer service, if the product ever defaults. Since I am starting my business now, I purchased the Phoenix™ Phire Auto Open Heat Presses 16"x16" from :
Some people have good luck with cheap presses, but some people have HORRIBLE luck with them. It's really a toss of a coin.
Buy a quality machine and KNOW what you're getting. If you're going cheap to save money, what if it's not up to spec and gives you horrible presses? Then you've wasted that money.
From what I've heard of the cheap ebay presses is that they use fewer heating elements, so you'll get cold spots on your top platten (the actual heating plate) which will give you uneven presses, which can affect your transfers. NOT something you want to take a chance on if you actually plan on making money. You don't want every other shirt returned to you.
That said, a LOT of people here recommend getting a 16" x 20" press, but we've been using a 15" x 15" press, which cost about $400 less than a 16" x 20" press of the same brand and have had NO problems at all. But we still bought brand-name.
So it's really up to you, but personally, *I* wouldn't take that chance.
Last edited by Chani; October 22nd, 2007 at 09:50 AM.
Some people have good luck with cheap presses, but some people have HORRIBLE luck with them. It's really a toss of a coin.
Buy a quality machine and KNOW what you're getting. If you're going cheap to save money, what if it's not up to spec and gives you horrible presses? Then you've wasted that money.
Might give you weeks of proper operation...until it catches your house on fire from substandard wiring, the teflon coating wears thin and you get sick from the lead based paint.
May I add a couple of comments I have made in the past regarding heat presses?
1- buy cheap...get cheap
2- Most brand name presses have lifetime warranty on the heating element - try that with the Chinese model..to say nothing of parts
If you ever need service on the unit above, good luck. Some have had good luck..others not so...I, for one, would not want a $350 door stop. Add a couple hundred and get a good reliable press
Keep in mind that the name brand units usually have lifetime warranties on the heating element. That may not seem necessary, but I can tell you from experience that it's worthwhile.
From what I have seen of the China Ebay offerings, there's little or no warranty - either on the heating element or any other portion of the press. Even though I considered these at one time, the risk of having something go bad 2, 3, 6 months down the road wasn't worth it. Especially when you're paying shipping both ways on repairs.
From what I have seen, parts to repair the imports are also largely nonexistent. If parts were readily available, I probably would have considered one more seriously.
Thanks guys. it does not say anything about a warranty so i guess ill pass. and this will not be a hobby it for my start up. i hear so much on 16x 20 so i figured `id get the biggest since i will probably be doing this for a long time. nut the pheonix fire are a little pricey, what about a 16x20 mighty mightwhich run some were around $850 almost everywere i checked. is there any other good16x20 presses out there for about $900
It's not a 16" x 20", but we bought the HIX HT400D press from Coastal (forum discount AND free shipping!) and it's been a VERY good machine for us. It's 15" x 15".
I might get shot for saying this here because there are a LOT of happy Mighty Press users here, but I've heard that they're Stahls' lower end press. I'm sure they'd be good for light-to-medium duty, tho. I'll freely admit that our HIX is a medium-duty press.
But you're MUCH better to buy a Mighty Press than a cheap Chinese Ebay press.
Ready To Buy Today Should I Buy This 
"I am keeping my small press for pressing the dollar bills that I will make from my large press!" -Lou
Sorry, I couldn't resist
