Hi, im replacing my plattens and have seen a few references to using aluminium ones.
If a can obtain some ally (uk slang sorry!!) sheets and cut them to the size and shape of my original plattens, will the print face need to have a covering material something like rubber or will i be able to put my t shirts directly on to the aluminium plattens,
thanks to you all for your invaluable info on this forum,
Do you mean a rubber pad like a heat press would have?
Nah, that would be a pain to clean.
The aluminum platen I bought is a regular wood platen with an aluminum sheet wrapped around it with a point at the top (for locating the center point of shirts).
I spray the adhesive. Pull the shirts over and print.
Nothing rubber, that I can see at least.
__________________ Insanity is when you keep on doing the same things, hoping for different results.
it is best to have the rubber yet you can do without. Cleaning is not an issue with press wipe. If you buy a new M&R press the aluminum palettes come with rubber. Action engineering palettes come with rubber.
I just cut a whole sheet of 4X8 1/4" aluminum into a ton of new pallets for my M+R press.
Wondering if Fluid, or anyone else may have reccomendations for what type of rubber to use, To deal with the heat etc.
I was told silicone is the way to go, but that shi{r}t costs a lot!
Hi thanks for the replies, i just really need a platten that doesnt warp, i replaced the ones from my machine and without really knowing much about anything proceeded to warp the new ones by leaving them under the flash for too long.....
and thought now i gotta do the whole replacement bit again id rather use something that will keep its shape,
i havent seen the plattens from my press anywhere, they kind of look like an oblong table tennis bat with a hole at the top to secure registration......dont even know what make the machine is, i bought it used.
if you leave it under for too long. Flashing is for gelling the ink so you shouldnt have issues. Have been using the same palettes for 6+ years with no issues
ah ok, my curer is fixed at the oposite end of the press as to what im working so the platten is under the flash whilst im loading a shirt on, would this be too long,
there are no casters on the flash so rolling it out of the way isnt really an option either......unless i fix some to it i suppose......so much to learn......and until tomorrow to learn it many thanks for taking the time to reply
fish
When we print manually we load a shirt, print the white, turn and flash. While flashing we load the next shirt and print., turn and flash The amount of time to load and print is usually enough time for a proper flash.
adjusting the height of the flash with the palette will help or hurt depending on how hot the flash gets. I believe ours is about 1 inch over the palette yet the flash just plugs in, no temp control (M&R Blue manual Flash Unit)
Do aluminium plattens need a rubber face? 
Re: Do aluminium plattens need a rubber face? 
many thanks for taking the time to reply
Your not alone 
