[Doomzday4176]

Hi! I did quite a bit of research, and found nothing so I turn to you again. So after a year of perfectly using my Oki and Laser Light/Dark Transfer Paper for shirts and hoodies. I've decided to expand into caps. Now I was given an older cast iron hat press which works decent for now, but I have a couple questions on tips and/or tricks to pulling this process off, since for now I'm just doing a small amount.

1. With Forever Laser Transfers (or any laser paper) should I not even bother trying a 6-panel cap? I ordered 5-panels and outside of time and temp tweaking, they turned out decent, but 5-panel caps are very limited in variety. And the only videos I seen with 6-panels only demonstrate with heat transfer vinyl, which are nice but I love my full color designs and logos. Is there a trick to pulling this off or is vinyl the only choice? And would attempting the bill of the hat with Forever Paper give me the same conclusion?

2. My heat press is old, but works well. The platen, while in great condition, is the only one that came with it. Any (structured) hat i've used, doesn't exactly fit. There's quite a gap in the middle. In short, the curve of the hat is greater than the curve of the platen. Now one thing I did that semi-worked is i tucked a folded washcloth in the gap. I was wondering if anyone found a more efficient method or rigging, or if i must resort to waiting to buy a press with interchangeable platens?

Any other advice/tips welcomed. I have a lot of experience designing with different software if anyone needs advice. Thank you in advance

 

[Amw]

Hi! I did quite a bit of research, and found nothing so I turn to you again. So after a year of perfectly using my Oki and Laser Light/Dark Transfer Paper for shirts and hoodies. I've decided to expand into caps. Now I was given an older cast iron hat press which works decent for now, but I have a couple questions on tips and/or tricks to pulling this process off, since for now I'm just doing a small amount.

1. With Forever Laser Transfers (or any laser paper) should I not even bother trying a 6-panel cap? I ordered 5-panels and outside of time and temp tweaking, they turned out decent, but 5-panel caps are very limited in variety. And the only videos I seen with 6-panels only demonstrate with heat transfer vinyl, which are nice but I love my full color designs and logos. Is there a trick to pulling this off or is vinyl the only choice? And would attempting the bill of the hat with Forever Paper give me the same conclusion?

2. My heat press is old, but works well. The platen, while in great condition, is the only one that came with it. Any (structured) hat i've used, doesn't exactly fit. There's quite a gap in the middle. In short, the curve of the hat is greater than the curve of the platen. Now one thing I did that semi-worked is i tucked a folded washcloth in the gap. I was wondering if anyone found a more efficient method or rigging, or if i must resort to waiting to buy a press with interchangeable platens?

Any other advice/tips welcomed. I have a lot of experience designing with different software if anyone needs advice. Thank you in advance

Use something like a print perfect pad from stahls or the like.
Mouse pads also work to take up the extra space.

But you all ready answered your own question. You need a press with changeable platens to fit the various styles of hats you want to press.

 

[sandhopper2]

I fill the gap with Koozies some cut down some full used heat tape to make the stack stay in place

 

[Doomzday4176]

Thank you both. I know the simplest solution is to buy a cap press with interchangable platens. But seeing I'm doing an average of 2 caps a month with Laser prints (most want embroidered) it doesn't seem cost effective at this time. Which is why I'm searching for a work around to both questions.

But I will try trimming mouse pads or the koozie idea. I didn't think of using heat tape to keep it there without having to constantly adjust each hat, thats definitely a big help.