 Re: Newbie - which heat press to buy?
There are a ton of things to consider when buying a press, however the main points are time, temperature & pressure. The preferred brand ranges, and you've pretty much covered all of them in your post. I would definitely recommend digital time & temperature & some kind of over the center pressure adjustment (there are even presses out now with a digital release/automatic opening feature). You should be able to find a digital press in the 16 x 20 size within your budget. If the press has the right kind of upper platen you will not need a swing away press. What I mean is there are clamshell presses now that will lock down on items up to 1" thick with no pinching effect (traditionally what clamshells are criticized for). Keep this in mind: a clamshell is space saving and more affordable -- a swing away is higher priced but allows for more layout room and keeps the heat of the upper platen off of you. The decision on that one is simply a preference. I'm sure the daily users here could sound off a little more on this one... |