Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
The description has it sounding like a digital but after checking with Hix, it is a Analog and was made in 2000. Hix also said that the warranty was not transferable.(The person who bought it knows little of Heat Presses)
The reason why it is appealing to me is that it is within an hour drive, quite cheap (compared to brand new), the size I need and I found a repair man close to where I'll be living shortly in case something happens to it.
From what I understand, these presses are quite durable so i'm wondering if it would be a good buy?
Also, where do you get those heat test guns that I keep hearing about, any big name retailers(as opposed to ordering them online)?
Nine years - on a well made press - can be considered not too old. Some people have their presses on here for that long or longer and seem happy. Hopefully some folks who have had their presses for that long or longer will chime in here for you.
I have also heard that the warranty is for the original owner, and you already called Hix, which was a good move. Some people don't know to do that, but since you have a repair person handy, that relieves alot of that issue. Presses are not complicated machines. There are usually common things that go wrong with them.
If it is a good price or not depends on how much they go for new, with a full warranty... compared to how good of condition this one is in. Try to find others for sale, same model, and compare what they are going for on the street.
There is a function on Ebay where you can look up past/sold auctions on an item, and if they exist, you can see what the others sold for on Ebay in the past. That's a really good thing to check out.
Since it is only one hour away... I would really, really suggest you tell the seller you would like to check it in person before you bid on it. A faulty press is no bargain at any price. If they say no, I would be leary. If they just can't arrange a convenient time prior to auction end, then I would make the sale conditional on you being allowed to check it before accepting it, after winning the big. Get that in writing. You can make a claim to Paypal if things go south, and having the in writing will help you out alot. You can get other people's thoughts on that, too, to be sure it's something you want to do, if you aren't sure.
What to check for when you go to see the machine in person:
Think about taking some time when you are there, around an hour should be what it might take. Don't let them warm it up before you get there. I think you will want to time to see how long it takes to heat up to full heat. Mine is about 10 minutes (Mighty Press Lite). Once it reaches the temp, the green light goes off.
Bring with you a cotton tee and some printed transfer paper. Cut the transfer paper into smaller boxes, about 9 boxes. Place those boxes around the shirt in different areas, spread them out on the tee shirt, so you can press them, and see if they all press the same, with the same results. If they do, you know the upper platen is heating evenly across, and that is a great sign. If you get varied results, like say some stick and do not peel, some look some look great, some look bad, then there may be an issue with the heating element. One thing to mention for a hot peel is that as the paper cools, it sometimes can get harder to peel, it sticks, re-heating real quick (10 seconds or so) to peel the boxes that might cool off some might be needed, and not a reflection of the press functioning or not.
After 20 minutes, repeat the test again. Check to see if the results are the same. If they are, it is a good sign the heating element is able to hold *consistant* heat without flucuations. That is important.
Another thing you can do is bring an IR Gun to check the temp on the upper platen to see if the heating element is in sync with the temp control. You can get those at Harbor Freight, some folks have gotten them at Sears, and if I remember right, some have gone to like a Home Depot, not sure on the Home Depot, tho.
Look over the electrical cord and attachments. Check the arm and pressure knobs, make sure they function and are sturdy. Check that the rubber pad on the bottom platen is in good shape, check that the upper platen is relatively clean (a sign it was cared for), and minor scratches won't really affect the funtion of the press.
Good luck to you. Hopefully these things will give you a good idea of what the press is made of. Hope it works out...
Before that auction gets above what it should, I would try to find what is your max bid. I would venture a guess that it maybe above $300, as press new press prices have increased this year. That is a big press... so check it out. Get a great deal, and don't overpay.
__________________ Please ask Q's in the threads as I may not see your PM. A many wonderful folk will be willing to help you. Apologies to those not answered, as I sign on sporadically these days. Thx 4 undrstnding. Have a great day.
Nine years - on a well made press - can be considered not too old. Some people have their presses on here for that long or longer and seem happy. Hopefully some folks who have had their presses for that long or longer will chime in here for you.
I have also heard that the warranty is for the original owner, and you already called Hix, which was a good move. Some people don't know to do that, but since you have a repair person handy, that relieves alot of that issue. Presses are not complicated machines. There are usually common things that go wrong with them.
If it is a good price or not depends on how much they go for new, with a full warranty... compared to how good of condition this one is in. Try to find others for sale, same model, and compare what they are going for on the street.
There is a function on Ebay where you can look up past/sold auctions on an item, and if they exist, you can see what the others sold for on Ebay in the past. That's a really good thing to check out.
Since it is only one hour away... I would really, really suggest you tell the seller you would like to check it in person before you bid on it. A faulty press is no bargain at any price. If they say no, I would be leary. If they just can't arrange a convenient time prior to auction end, then I would make the sale conditional on you being allowed to check it before accepting it, after winning the big. Get that in writing. You can make a claim to Paypal if things go south, and having the in writing will help you out alot. You can get other people's thoughts on that, too, to be sure it's something you want to do, if you aren't sure.
What to check for when you go to see the machine in person:
Think about taking some time when you are there, around an hour should be what it might take. Don't let them warm it up before you get there. I think you will want to time to see how long it takes to heat up to full heat. Mine is about 10 minutes (Mighty Press Lite). Once it reaches the temp, the green light goes off.
Bring with you a cotton tee and some printed transfer paper. Cut the transfer paper into smaller boxes, about 9 boxes. Place those boxes around the shirt in different areas, spread them out on the tee shirt, so you can press them, and see if they all press the same, with the same results. If they do, you know the upper platen is heating evenly across, and that is a great sign. If you get varied results, like say some stick and do not peel, some look some look great, some look bad, then there may be an issue with the heating element. One thing to mention for a hot peel is that as the paper cools, it sometimes can get harder to peel, it sticks, re-heating real quick (10 seconds or so) to peel the boxes that might cool off some might be needed, and not a reflection of the press functioning or not.
After 20 minutes, repeat the test again. Check to see if the results are the same. If they are, it is a good sign the heating element is able to hold *consistant* heat without flucuations. That is important.
Another thing you can do is bring an IR Gun to check the temp on the upper platen to see if the heating element is in sync with the temp control. You can get those at Harbor Freight, some folks have gotten them at Sears, and if I remember right, some have gone to like a Home Depot, not sure on the Home Depot, tho.
Look over the electrical cord and attachments. Check the arm and pressure knobs, make sure they function and are sturdy. Check that the rubber pad on the bottom platen is in good shape, check that the upper platen is relatively clean (a sign it was cared for), and minor scratches won't really affect the funtion of the press.
Good luck to you. Hopefully these things will give you a good idea of what the press is made of. Hope it works out...
Before that auction gets above what it should, I would try to find what is your max bid. I would venture a guess that it maybe above $300, as press new press prices have increased this year. That is a big press... so check it out. Get a great deal, and don't overpay.
I greatly appreciate the thorough response. I have some transfers from Howard's (a hot peel and Super Hold) and will most likely go forward with this.
Another question I have is that it seems that Digital is preferred over Analog. What is the major difference?
Nothing other than an automatic ding at the end of the press time. As far as I know, that's just one of the *bells and whistles*, like intermittent wipers on a car. It will not affect the function/quality of the press and the performance of the press in anyway.
A manual timer, like the one I am uploading for you, will do the same thing, just not be built into the press. I picked this one up for a few little bucks at Walmart.
__________________ Please ask Q's in the threads as I may not see your PM. A many wonderful folk will be willing to help you. Apologies to those not answered, as I sign on sporadically these days. Thx 4 undrstnding. Have a great day.
Nothing other than an automatic ding at the end of the press time. As far as I know, that's just one of the *bells and whistles*, like intermittent wipers on a car. It will not affect the function/quality of the press and the performance of the press in anyway.
A manual timer, like the one I am uploading for you, will do the same thing, just not be built into the press. I picked this one up for a few little bucks at Walmart.
Something weird I noticed, in the pictures on EBay it shows that it goes up to 999 seconds which is digital (according to this site under the "Special note" section: HT-400 and HT-600 Heat Presses) but when I called Hix, they told me that it was an analog.
Any idea whats going on?
Used Hix HT 600A Press..Your Thoughts? 
