T-Shirt Press... which one?

[ucmj22]

So I've been on the owner about getting a t-shirt press for the shop for a while now, and finally this morning they told me they couldn't decide because everytime they found one they thought would be good, they found bad reviews about it. It is now my job to research and decide. Anyone know a good one, and what to stay away from?

 

[Mike_Koval]

I recommend sticking with a name brand...

Sure you may find heat presses out there for $200-$500, but you get what you pay for. The problem with the lesser priced heat presses are uneven heat, uneven pressure and most of all lack of any tech support. A press like this, however, is not a bad solution to someone doing a couple of shirts a month.

While using a heat press is by no means rocket science, but should anything go wrong, you want a company that will stand behind it's equipment.

Feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss your options.

 

[ucmj22]

Whay are the top name brands? Each of my suppliers only carries 2 or 3. The owners said they dont want to drop a grand on a press. We would just be doing our own shirts at first as we have no customers really waiting on us to get this, But we have had 3 or 4 clients inquire if we could do short runs for them. We have a good relationship with a very large silk screen shop that we use for large shirt runs (doing one this week of 3000 shirts.)

 

[bob]

...The problem with the lesser priced heat presses are uneven heat, uneven pressure and most of all lack of any tech support. A press like this, however, is not a bad solution to someone doing a couple of shirts a month.
...

Lack of tech support? It's a heat press ferchrissakes, a lever, a couple of other primitive moving parts, and a heating element. A backyard swing is more complicated.

 

[Mosh]

we have had a hot-tronix swing for years and love it.

 

[ucmj22]

HotTronix - Check. Any other good names... or bad names?

 

[Finishline Signs]

I higly recommend Geo Knight. They are not cheap but their product and customer service is excellent. I did start out with a used JP12 (Geo Knight) before buying a cheap chinese press until we built our apparel business up. Then I purchased a DK20S form Geo Knight, it is a truly awesome press.

 

[Mike_Koval]

Lack of tech support? It's a heat press ferchrissakes, a lever, a couple of other primitive moving parts, and a heating element. A backyard swing is more complicated.

No kidding its not complicated, but lets say the digital timer starts blinking or maybe its not heating properly, someone still could need some tech support on fixing it.

 

[binki]

hotronix

 

[ProColorGraphics]

I have been using a Workhorse Products TransQuick digital press for about 4 years now and never had a problem. It is the digital version and was around $850 I think.

 

[rcook99]

INSTA 228 swinger is 4 yrs old and no problems. I also have a hotronix hat press which is very nice. If I had to replace my INSTA I would buy the Hotronix but you will have to get your boss to put out some serious cash if you want a quality press. Good luck.

 

[CES020]

Stay away from clam shell designs and get the swing arm if you can. So nice to be able to swing the hot platen out of the way while you load, unload, and adjust things.

 

["Deposit Please"]

Try hixcorp.com