Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
I currently have a business with my own tshirt brand and so i have been outsourcing screen printing so far. I want to have more control over my ranges and output and also experiment with new designs.
Im looking to move into heat press im thinking about purchasing my own equipment.
Please can anyone help in recomending the best/cheapest equipment in terms of heat press, cutter, and anything else i may need to think about before i go any further. Also how much i would be expecting to invest in this equipment?
If anyone could give me any advice at all it would be greatly appreciated.
Also as an additional question...i saw a tshirt the other day and it was a full colour design...(illustration) printed onto what looked like a glossy paper/plastic. does anyone know what this is? and how it is done?
I currently have a business with my own tshirt brand and so i have been outsourcing screen printing so far. I want to have more control over my ranges and output and also experiment with new designs.
Im looking to move into heat press im thinking about purchasing my own equipment.
Please can anyone help in recomending the best/cheapest equipment in terms of heat press, cutter, and anything else i may need to think about before i go any further. Also how much i would be expecting to invest in this equipment?
You are in the UK so what might be cheapest for me in the States might not be for you, but... if you can access this equipment, with the word "cheap" in mind, but still quality as folks on the forum do say they like their equipment, then I would say this:
Press:
Sunie (look on Sunie.com). Folks here like the 15x15 very much. Look up the term "sunie poll" for a thread asking owners for feedback.
Cutter:
If you want to contour cut, you can try the US Cutter Laser point.
If you do not want to contour cut, you can try US Cutter lower model cutter, it runs between $350-400, I think.
Look on the US cutter site to see the models.
Forgive me but what is the difference between contour and non contour?
A contour cut is when the machine is able to locate a printed piece of art on your media and cut around the edges. You print alignment marks at the same time as you print the design so it knows what it is looking for.
A non-contour cut is when you are cutting into a solid material, like vinyl and the cut shape itself forms the design without a print.
__________________ Equipment: GX24, 15 x15 heat press, Corel 12 Useful Info: 2 years Epson tech support - Mac & PC
I just wanted to clarify...
If your print shop was doing screen printing, they were not using a cutter, contour or otherwise.
Screen printing is an ink applied directly to the shirt.(I don't do this one, so I can't tell you more)
Vinyl is a product that is cut then heat applied. Multiple layers can be used to create multi-colour effects. You will need vector software like Corel or Illustrator to create the designs.
Heat transfers, are printed on your home printer and are heat applied to the shirt. You need a different transfer material dependent on the colour of your shirt. This can be contour cut, by hand or machine depending on complexity & quantity or left as a complete sheet.
There are also more advanced full colour solutions available, using EcoSolve inks. These machines are very expensive and will print & cut. Because of cost, I think most people would agree it is not a beginners choice. But, it does produce great results and is relatively easy to learn.
I hope this helps. There is more information on all these topics on the site.
__________________ Equipment: GX24, 15 x15 heat press, Corel 12 Useful Info: 2 years Epson tech support - Mac & PC
Forgive me but what is the difference between contour and non contour?
Yes, to add to Honey's answer... say you have a Superman logo (just to help explain)... with a contour cutting capable cutter/plotter, you would be able to send that logo to the cutter, and it can "see" where to trim the outside edges and inside lines to remove any extra vinyl (or whatever product you are working with) so all you are left with is the outer edge of the logo and the "S" shape in the middle.
Contour cutting means the machine can "see" the design (because you told it where to look), and cut the extra areas that you don't want in the design out for you.
It's an automated way to trim the design so you don't have to cut the extra away by hand.
Illustrator should work. Most cutters will either allow you to cut directly from Illustrator or Corel, or will accept a file type that one of these programs creates, such as .eps
But, check with the manufacturer before purchasing just to be sure.
I know the Roland GX24 has a plug-in to make it work from Illustrator. That cutter does contours and is the #1 cutter on these forums I think... so lots of support available if you need help.
__________________ Equipment: GX24, 15 x15 heat press, Corel 12 Useful Info: 2 years Epson tech support - Mac & PC
Ridgely lists the steps of how to contour cut with Illy, and your cutter might need software. It's one of the questions Ridgely asks the poster in this thread.
From here, I would search "Illustrator contour cut" and I am sure you'll get some more returns on the subject. The more you read, the better, because there are so many informative posts on the forum, reading more posts will give you a more rounded view of how to do something, plus folks toss in tips and shortcuts, solve issues, and basically help along the way. Each thread can have it's own flavor and way of helping...
Help on choosing the right equipment please 
Re: Help on choosing the right equipment please 
