What Are Heat Press Machines?

The heat press is probably the most expensive device you will need to start sublimation printing. The heat press is actually a type of flat iron. The press is made of two parts – the heating plate and the pressing surface. In most presses, during printing, the shirt is put on the pressing plate while the heating plate comes down on it under pressure.

The quality of the press is of great importance because in the end it is what produces the transfer of the ink to the fabric. A press with an uneven degree of heat or that does not provide the right amount of heat can destroy the print. In addition, there are situations in which there is no equal distribution of heat over the heating plate and the result will be that there will be parts of the print that come out well and parts that do not.

There are several ways to divide the different types of presses available on the market: manual or automatic, clam or rotary opening presses, one bottom plate or two plates.

manual or automatic

Manual presses are presses in which the process of closing and opening the press is done manually. In these presses, the direction of pressing pressure is also done manually and is based on hand feel. On the other hand, in automatic presses, the process of closing and opening the press is done automatically by electricity or air pressure. There are semi-automatic intermediate presses, in which only the closing part is done manually and the opening of the press is done by yourself.

From a practical point of view, automatic presses will allow for more continuous work with less physical effort for the printer, but in terms of cost, they are more expensive than manual heat presses. When it comes to a printer at the beginning of its life, it would probably be better to start with a manual press and as the work output increases, switch to an automatic press.

clam or rotary opening presses

A second division into which the types of presses can be divided is the way the press is opened: in clam presses, the press is opened at an upward angle, and thus the heating plate rises and enables work under it. When buying a press of this type, you should pay attention to the opening angle of the press and check whether it is comfortable enough for you. Please note that during the work you will have to work under the heating plate while working and if the opening angle of the press is not high enough – you risk burns…

A second type of press opening is swing, in which the heating plate does not move up and down but in a sideways rotational movement. The great advantage of this opening style is the possibility to work on the shirt that is placed on the lower plate without fear of burns and without interference so that you can look at the entire shirt and see if we have placed the graphic in the right place.

On the other hand, presses of this type have a main drawback and that is the space they occupy. Since the opening of the press is to the side, and sometimes even backwards, the press cannot be close to the wall and it needs space on its sides.

one bottom plate or two plates

Another type of presses are presses with two bottom plates – and this is compared to the normal presses with a single plate. This means that while pressing the shirt, the operator can mess with the arrangement of the shirt that is on the parallel plate. In most cases, such presses will also be automatic presses, and their main advantage is, in short, the preparation time required before pressing the shirt with heat, because while one shirt is being pressed, the printer can already prepare the next one in line.

On the other hand, these presses are more expensive than the manual presses and also take up more space. In addition, most double presses work on air pressure, so in addition to the press, you have to purchase and place an air compressor to operate the press.

Warranty and Price – Things You Should Consider Before Buying a Heat Press Machine

One of the most important considerations before buying a heat press machine is the warranty. The longer the warranty, the better. The warranty of a heat press machine tells you what the company will do if something goes wrong with the machine. For example, it may cover a service call or parts replacement. Generally, a manufacturer’s warranty is good for one to two years, depending on the company and the product.

Another thing to consider is the price of a heat press machine. There are many different factors that can affect the price, for example: the size of the press plate, the features the press offers (automatic opening for example) and of course the brand (according to most Chinese presses are significantly cheaper than the American or European ones).

What should you pay attention to before buying a heat press?

When you approach to buy a heat press, you should pay attention that we know what our needs are and why the press is going to be used for us. A business that is just starting to print shirts will not need a pneumatic press with two plates because it is too much of an expense, on the other hand, even an old business can choose a small and compact press if its goal is to use it at fairs or for printing at events. That is why it is important that you first define what your need for a press is.

The second thing to pay attention to is the work space – how much space will you be willing to ‘give up’ in order to put the press there.

Another thing to pay attention to is the degree of comfort in using the press. When you own a large business that prints a lot of t-shirts, you will probably prefer an automatic machine that will make it easier for your employee, on the other hand, for businesses that are just starting out – a manual press would probably be better, which would also be cheaper.

Another thing that is important to emphasize is: buy a known brand – even if it is a little more expensive. The known brands often put more emphasis on the heat distribution of the press and its durability. This does not mean that there are no good Chinese companies! There are excellent companies that will also often sell at higher prices than the other Chinese presses.

And one last thing, don’t just buy, first check the convenience of using the press, read a bit on the internet about the brands, check what you really need and only then buy. From personal experience I can say that at the beginning of my journey I bought two presses, one expensive and the other less so (I could buy three cheap ones for the price of the expensive one…), today – after 10 years of work, the more expensive press still works…

Conclusion – Have The Best Heat Press Machine For Your Business Needs!

If we summarize things, we can refer to several points that should be paid attention to when buying a heat press: First of all – your need: what is the amount of work planned for the press? Where are you going to use it? What is the print size you want? A second thing to pay attention to is the warranty – are you buying from a reputable company that can provide repair service? Is there a warranty on the heater of the press? Last but not least, how much money do you plan to spend?