Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
Is there such thing as a cheap but good heat press.. I mean, I am not doin gcommercial work nor will I be doing high volume. I want to be able to do a dozen presses a week!!! thats it, and maybe not even that many... But I would like a press for myself....Any suggestions?
I recently bought the 12x15 6 in 1 heat press from USCutter. So far I've only used it for shirts. It works well so far, only time will tell. I've only done a handful of shirts but for less than $400 to do hats and shirts, I fgured I'd try.
Jon
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Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all for the glory of God. http://www.misfitsforjesus.com
They do not make the press. It is chinese made but seems somewhat sturdy for the price. Like I said I haven't used any of the other attachments yet but it works for me. I have mainly just messing around with it. I believe it would do well for a dozen shirts a week.
Jon
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Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all for the glory of God. http://www.misfitsforjesus.com
If price is a concern , I would buy a used name brand press. This is advice I wish someone would have gave me.I bought a no name press and it was junk, I had no place to turn for service. Thanks to paypal I got my money back. I purchased a used name brand press and have a service department if I need to contact them. ...God luck. ... JB
Update..... I tried to buy a used press off of ebay..paid via paypal and never got the press. a month later paypal gave me most of my money back, they have a limit that I didnt know about...so I was out 133 bucks and no press! I decided to go with a new press. bought it using the forums discount through specialty-graphics. I highly recommend them. Fast shipping and even got a follow up call! I went with the mighty press 15 X 15. It worked great right out of the box and I mean right out of the box, I was taking off the shipping plywood on the bottom of the press and my wife was plugging it in. minutes later we had done our first transfer and we have been using it like crazy ever since. The size is great but I wish I could have gotten the 16 X 20. I can see how it would make aligning the shirts a lot easier. But still the size has been fine and the price was what I could afford. I had to see how vinyl would press so I bought some samples and I and now I am thinking about buying a vinyl cutter, maybe a US Cutter PCut. Again price is an issue. I am doing this stuff for my martial arts business so I dont do a lot of volume and I dont want to invest a lot of money.. but the vinyl cutter is going to be my next purchase. If anyone has any suggestions dont hesitate to share... I am curious about contour cutting. I will need the cutter to do a lot of differant shapes and designs not just letters, does that mean I need a contour cutting machine or is the contour cutting just for things printed that would have to otherwise be cut by hand?
Anyway sorry for the rambling.. Thanks to everyone.. this forum is fantastic!!!!!!!
If you went with Specialty-Graphics why not buy from them now they have some of the best cutters around. If you check out other places here on the forum you will see why every one buys one. I have Us Cutter with lazier point and still have not did any contour cutting with it so if this is what you think you will need to do sooner or latter then buy the good one
__________________ Never say "no I can't" when you can just takes time and patience!!!!
Lol, I was going to point you to Specialty Graphics for the press, that is where I got mine. A Mighty Press Lite, but you bought one even bigger than I would have thougth. I laughed a little when you said you wished you got the 16x20, that happens to alot of folks. What also happens is they buy an inexpensive cutter, and get to using it, and loving it, and wish they spent a little more money on a better cutter.
Decide exactly what you want in your equipment. Lower dollar cutters get the job done, and there is the Laser Point cutter (us cutters) for around $500 with a stand, but what I hear is, you get what you pay for with a cutter. With accuracy, smoothness, and ability to make fine cuts. Look up cutters like the uscutters.com, graphtec and roland. Those are the brands I see most mentioned. Good luck to you.
Lol, I was going to point you to Specialty Graphics for the press, that is where I got mine. A Mighty Press Lite, but you bought one even bigger than I would have thougth. I laughed a little when you said you wished you got the 16x20, that happens to alot of folks. What also happens is they buy an inexpensive cutter, and get to using it, and loving it, and wish they spent a little more money on a better cutter.
Decide exactly what you want in your equipment. Lower dollar cutters get the job done, and there is the Laser Point cutter (us cutters) for around $500 with a stand, but what I hear is, you get what you pay for with a cutter. With accuracy, smoothness, and ability to make fine cuts. Look up cutters like the uscutters.com, graphtec and roland. Those are the brands I see most mentioned. Good luck to you.
I agree,I bought a cheaper cutter and it worked great, but just was lacking the speed and consistency. I bought a gx 24 and now I'm cutting more accurately and quicker too. .... JB
Might be worth getting a quote locally to do the cutting for you and just press them yourself
Or look at it this way, not including vinyl, power, labour etc. If you use it for about 3 years doing 12 a week
12x156=1872 (shirts)
1872/$1500=$1.25 per shirt
That is assuming you do 12 per week every week for 3 years. That doesn't include the vinyl etc. How much is it costing you to produce them (not to mention the money tied up in the machine) Of course if you have the spare $$$ then why not, then you can approach other martial arts places or even sponser/advertise at a few tournaments to make a little extra
This one is $900 with the forum 5% discount. Its the Graphtec Craft Robo Pro, Ce5000-40. The price is a little lower, and I've heard this one recommended before, but doing some real research is the only way to decide for oneself.
The only reason I said what I did about cutters was bc of Ray's post on his press. The Mighty Press 15x15 is a press alot of folks here do use commercially, and he is very happy with it, and finding himself wishing for the bigger 16x20. Ray's the only one who can decide what his price point is, and what gives him the value he's looking for. The thing is Ray wants to do the contour cutting, so it has to have that ability.
I'm still waiting to hear from someone to try the contour cutting with the Laser Point (hint, hint Mrdavid ). It is only $500, and does the contour cutting. But how well?
I'm not sure what falls in between these two cutters pricewise, hopefully someone else knows another option to add to these. Good luck, Ray. Cutters are nice to own...
good and cheap heat pres ?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!? 
). It is only $500, and does the contour cutting. But how well?
