heat press quality

[cartersigns]

Just wondering those of you who use a heat press for doing t-shirts...what type of quality do you get from them? Do they hold up wel to being washed ect.?

Thanks

[Jackpine]

What type of transfer are you making? I use Siser, Colorprint solvent and Roland HTM. All are good, but the Siser and Colorprint are the best quality. Search Jeff Ellsworth, Heat Press Yourself.com, he sells materials and has demo videos at youtube.


try these links for presses also.
http://joshellsworth.com/
http://www.rjsign.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=RSS&Category_Code=PRESS

[cartersigns]

well, I've been looking at getting a Hotronix Auto Clam from Stahls'

http://www.stahls.com/stahls/ooe_navigation/v4prodinfohome.asp?mscsid=FXHNG2XEW68D8PKFJHW578XV UGAHDJQB&hMT=0&nPID=54&nTID=22&hSubMenuIds=10,54

3rd one down on the page.

[rcook99]

I use an INSTA 228 digital swinger and like the fact that the top platen is out of the way. This helps from getting burned. I love it.

[Pro Image]

Hotronix are very sturdy machnines.............

Don't buy cheep you end up worse in the long run............

[cartersigns]

so is the quality of shirts you do with the heat press decent...do they stand up well when washed?

[Pro Image]

The only time I use it is for the name and # for little leagues and sport teams...........I don't print and seal...........I also use it for CadCut material from Sthals........It work great for those jobs........

[cartersigns]

I was thinking of using it mainly for 1 and 2 (maybe the odd 3) colour jobs using cut vinyl (the stuff they offer like CadCut, Thermo-Film, Gorilla Grip, ect.). I just want to make sure the quality would be decent and the shirts would hold up in the wash alright before I spend the money on the press.

[Rich]

I prefer to offer traditional screen printed t-shirts as they tend to hold-up much longer.

However I do have a Hotronix heat press from Stahls that has served me well for many years. It's ideal for short-run transfer work. For this type of work I recommend you wash the shirts inside-out.

[cartersigns]

ya, I was thinking for short runs...maybe 5 at a time sort of thing. I even thought of doing one with a customers logo on it to give to them when I deliver their other jobs for them. You never know what might come out of it...

I just don't want to invest the money if after 2 or 3 washes the shirts are going to look like crap. :cool:

[StitchWerks]

I have used cad cut materials, inkjet transfers, stock transfers and custom screened transfers and they all have benefits and drawbacks.

1. Cad Cut graphics are great for 1 or 2 color if you are layering. If layering anything over 2 gets real thick and uncomfortable. Very important you use the correct products for the material being applied to. Great for small runs or even better for sports teams.

2. Inkjet transfers are excellent for the one or two market that the customer KNOWS up front that this is a short lifespan for the quality of the image. Fast, inexpensive and easy to do. However if you don't have your printer set right or have a quality printer, Use the correct heat and pressure setting and you don't launder just right you will have poor results. I have some shirts that were done 3 years ago and still look OK. Lots of possibility for bleeding during initial washings. Once again great if customer knows ahead of time the limited uses and quality. Sublimation is great quality but limited to polyester materials only. Also requires special ink that if you don't do alot of sublimation it is too costly.

3. Stock heat transfers from many of the companies out there can give results that mirror screen printing. Limitation of these are that you are stuck with the design they offer without customization. But often times the customer finds a design they want and they are happy with what they get. Added benefit is that the stock designs come with great application instructions and are easy to do. Pricing is not bad and lots of times you can order just 1. Companies like Pro Transfer has lots of choices.

4. Custom transfers are a great selling tool for smaller companies or organizations that don't want 144 shirts sitting around. I have numerous customers who will order 150 transfers to get the better pricing on the tranfer portion and only have 30 shirts done at a time. I usually have them pay for the costs of the transfers plus a mark up and then charge them to apply the transfers on what ever they want. The balance of the transfers are stored at our shop until they need additional shirts. Also with the custom transfers they are usually provided with good application instructions. These are screen printed transfers that we order from many of the suppliers out there. Pricing can get steep for lots of colors if the quanitiy is low. Usually these customers are very happy with the results and pricing. Ask alot of your customers that have a gross of shirts screened to get the better cost and they will tell you that they always have an odd ball amount of one size sitting around unable to sell that usually end up eating the profits. I have custom transfers that we have done and the customer likes them better than screened shirts due to the fine detail quality that can be had with transfers. Quality and longevity is totally dependent on quality of shirt, proper application and proper laundering. I have seen some of our products that are 5 years old and the transfer looks great but the shirt is shot! You will get some cracking after a couple of years. But then again who would keep a shirt that long.

DTG or Direct to garment printing is fairly new and still working out the bugs. I was going to purchase one this year but still not completely sold on the cost and speed of application. Looks like a great product but I haven't had time to deal with it. Seems to work great on white shirts but still limited on darks.

Nothing replaces good ole fashioned screen printing. As with all embellishments the quality of the shirt or material, the proper application and the proper care is what determines the final results. Never use cheap T shirts or material. We only use 100 % cotton with a weight of 6.1 oz or better for all of our t shirt jobs. Just like signs, no matter how good your application is, if the substrate is cheap or not properly prepped the end result is another unsatisfied customer and another black eye.

Good luck

[Jackpine]

Mark ,StitchWerks, hit it on the head! The only one he left out is the ecosolvent ink transfer on colorprint and the other printable transfer material.

[cartersigns]

wow...great info Mark. I really appreciate it! :thankyou:

[robatmdc]

Just to add a bit to StitchWerks comprehensive list, check out DuraCotton HT for color laser printers. I've been using it for a month or so and am impressed by the quality of the transfer (rich color, subtle gradiation, fine detail and a soft feel) compared to ink jet transfers and it doesn't appear to fade as fast after a half dozen washings. A good choice if you already have a color laser and can live with the 8.5x11 format (at least until the large format color lasers descend from the stratosphere in price)

[StitchWerks]

Robatmdc,
With the DuraCotton HT does it have the bleed problems during the first wash that Inkjet does? The inkjet bleed problem sure can be a problem.

Cartersigns, glad the info helped. It is always fun to try new things. And I forgot to add that I use a Mighty Press Digital 16x20. Don't get to small of one because you will regret it. The 16x20 will work for all things including oversized jerseys.

[robatmdc]

no runs under cold or warm wash cycles that I have noticed (and no complaints). Haven't heard of anyone trying a hot wash cycle. A lot more discussion of HT on the T-Shirt forum, http://www.t-shirtforums.com/

[Taurusndixie]

Epson C88+ with factory durabrite inks hold up very well after washing with NO bleeding. It is dirt cheap to start with. Spectra bright paper from JBL graphics works great. However, you will need their color profile software. The longest lasting graphics on shirts I have found from a desktop printer ( not sublimation ) is an old discontinued Alps thermal printer with ribbons.
No profile needed, what you see on screen is exactly what you get on the shirt.

Good luck