Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
I know it has been posted before, and I've been reading posts all day. Whooo!! My head is spinning!
Anyway, I am trying to find out which press to buy with a 15"x15" area (or something close to that), that plugs into regular outlet -not 220, does not require an air compressor, & can travel to craft fairs easily.
I have been doing screen printing now for awhile, but pre-printing a design and bringing it to a craft fair & then being left with alot of pre-printed leftovers is not ideal! So I think it is time to try some heat pressing.
Also for later purchases, I want to buy a printer to print out of my computer. Do you have to switch the ink for it to work or will regular inkjet ink work? And also why doesn't anyone ever talk about laser printer transfers? I like laser printers better than inkjets. Do laser transfers not work as good?
Sorry about so many questions!
Last edited by swannn32; September 2nd, 2006 at 04:50 PM.
I have been looking at Coastal's starter kits with the printer & the heat press combo. I have read alot of Lou's postings and looked at his videos (which were very helpful) so I know he uses Mighty press.
Coastal has a starter kit where I can get the Mighty Press 15x15 & an Epson c88 ink jet (no paper) for $757 with free shipping.
the heat press will be a common dominator as you may venture off into all types of transfers beyond jet transfers in the future.....it does happen. So the heat press machine is a sure thing.
So I will probably make my own plastisol transfers pretty often at first. I just liked the idea of printing something once and being able to have it on file for my craft fairs without having to pre-print a whole bunch of shirts. Hopefully it will cut down on wasted inventory and "yard sale" tees.
The idea that I can use the heat press for one time "photo" shirts will be great and there are so many other things you can do with a heat press that I probably have not even thought of yet!
yes, a heat press can be used to create all types of stuff.
You can use it to bond Other Fabrics and materials in creative combinatons along side plastisol ink/designs to decorate garments, accesories and so on...
as for digital photo/tansfers like the jet and clc, you can go beyond t-shirts too.
If you buy from Coastal ask for some free paper also.. They are a great company to work with. I would say the price for the combo is fair. I have new videos up now. Little better quality. let me know what you think folks. I hope they are helpful for you all getting into this business.
Which Heat Press, Printer etc.??? 
