clam shell 38x38 heat press required

[Daninho]

Hi,
i want to buy a heat press for hobby use, to print myself and my 4 year old nephew some shirts because i bought a cheap plotter soem weeks ago and now i want to try shirts. Now you could say that i should buy a super budget press for like 150 Euro on amazon but i am not like that, i want the best value for the money and i studied alot of videos in the last weeks about heat presses. Ive learned that is important to have good quality heat plate for an even temperature, even in the corners. Also the pressure should be very even as well. With this knowledge in mind it is pretty hard for me to chosse the right press since i dont want to make a mistake here. My absolute limit is 350 Euro which is about 300 pounds incl shipping. Since i am from germany i found out that signzworld has alot of machines for good prices, some of them look more professional than others for nearly the same price but that probably means nothing. I found out that the Galaxy Neptun press would be a very good press but its out of my limit in terms of pricing, i can not justify such a press just for fun use. Thats why i found these alternatives and maybe somebody is here to tell me which one is the best in terms of quality, even pressure and temperature. The japanese style Heat press HP3803 seems to be pretty good value for the money according to this forum.

1.) https://signzworld.co.uk/shop/microtec- ... p-15-20ms/

2.) https://signzworld.co.uk/shop/38-x-38cm ... s-machine/

3.) https://signzworld.co.uk/shop/automatic ... gn-ch1702/

If somebody has other suggestions in this price class please tell me Maybe some videos on youtube are biased because they get sponsored from company X and want to show how inferior cheaper presses are in terms of uneven temperature and all that, thats why i am asking the real users.

greetings from germany

[GermanDyeSub]

Hello,

Another one from Germany here?

It depends on if it will be for hobby or professional use.

The more you press, the more you will wear the press itself. For longevity and specific information, please give us further information.

[Daninho]

Hello,

Another one from Germany here?

It depends on if it will be for hobby or professional use.

The more you press, the more you will wear the press itself. For longevity and specific information, please give us further information.

Yes, from Hessen. No, its for Hobby use like i mentioned above but the thing is that i still want a press with even temperature and pressure, i dont need stuff like auto opening or a slide, neat to have but for hobby use not really neccessary. I want to use flexfoils but maybe i will try sublimation as well later. So basically i want the machine with the best heat element for the money, its hard to know what is the best currently. Those presses are all made in china and sold under different labels. I found out that Secabo for example uses Microtec presses for their product line. For example the Secabo C5 clam is a current microtec model but with less functions, it dont have out opening and a slide but its sold for 450 Euro in germany? The same model with auto openening and a slide is much cheaper from microtec.

[GermanDyeSub]

Since your budget is quite low, you will probably get a non-branded or self-branded (like the one you mentioned) but keep in mind they are made of cheap components. Some last longer than others, some break down within months. Support is non-existent if there would be any problems with your machine. If I was in your situation, also taking into account that you may use it professionally in the future, I would up my budget and get a decent press built for longevity.

[Daninho]

Since your budget is quite low, you will probably get a non-branded or self-branded (like the one you mentioned) but keep in mind they are made of cheap components. Some last longer than others, some break down within months. Support is non-existent if there would be any problems with your machine. If I was in your situation, also taking into account that you may use it professionally in the future, I would up my budget and get a decent press built for longevity.

I think 350 Euro is really enough, its more than the average home consumer because they buy 150 Euro presses or use hot irons. Thats exactly why i asked people here about advices and experiences with those heat presses, there must be a "bang for the buck" machine, that is better than the others in that price range. In the end the higher priced machines are often china machines as well, for example Galaxy presses or Secabo Germany. I saw a used Thermopress "the hot one" on ebay the other day which is identical to a Schulze XXL clam shell press but its was 500 Euro. The danger with those used machines could be that the spareparts are super expensive because in the end its a 1300 Euro machine. A china machine could be repaired with their spare parts i guess, for example new display or relais, you can probably repair it by yourself when you order the spare part from china. So you have to ask yourself if that is neccessary for just for fun use. Maybe some people would think i gone mad

[Justin]

Signzworld will give you 10% discount if you join our Premium Membership for just £10

[Daninho]

Signzworld will give you 10% discount if you join our Premium Membership for just £10

Thanks for the tip but i think it would not work out for me because i will probably never need anything from signzworld again, i just need a press. I can buy flexfoils and such things in germany as well. Then there is the hustle to terminate that contract. I asked signzworld for 15% on the Neptun press because they have the 28x38 model in the black friday offering for 15% but not the 38x38 i want, unfortunately they didnt responded I think i will go for the used but "better quality" route now and have a look at local classified ads. I saw some of those adkins swivel machines for sale, the really old ones for like 200 Euro but they dont have digital displays, only dials. There is also a Thermopress Tp20, not sure about this model since i am a beginner. Is this brand any good? It says its a german company.

[Daninho]

I found some used heat presses, i could this have for 400 Euro

https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTYwMFgxMjAw ... 7/$_57.JPG
https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTYwMFgxMjAw ... -/$_57.JPG

You think its any good? It was used professionally but the heat plate should have a life time warranty. Its a german manufacturer.

There is also this for 200
https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-anz ... -168-20103
and this gigantic dinosaur from the 90s for 150 Euro.
https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-anz ... 44-282-312

or this nostalgic looking thing for 80 Euro
https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-anz ... -282-16177

[p3ngu]

I had similar dilema this year and bought a second hand Stahls machine for £350 its old but great quality and reliability.

[Daninho]

I had similar dilema this year and bought a second hand Stahls machine for £350 its old but great quality and reliability.

I hoped that more people could say something about the machines in the links i have posted so i did the same and was lucky to catch a Stahls basic clam 40x50 in like new condition for 126 pounds. The guy was the boss of a print company and they print packages for Jägermeister and other famous brands on huge print machines, he showed me the factory. They tried to offer the customers new things like shirt print but it was not worth it for them so they sold everything including plotter and other stuff. He said they used the heat press like 5 times in total. So i am kind of happy and paid much less than i planed for a even larger machine. Of course the clam basic is made in china and i would bet its made by galaxy heat press but i can not proof it, although the similar looking galaxy neptun press dont offer detachable bottom plate like my Stahls. For 126 pounds (150 Euro) it was a no brainer for me. Better than a 150 Euro no name press on Amazon. In fact there is no 40x50 press for 150 Euro on amazon. I had to drive a bit and spend some money for petrol but thats ok, i mean this is an over 600 pound machine. I am glad that i spend only 126 pound for it because it wont be used much, i would have angered myself if i would have spend 300 pounds like i planed.

There is still a white Stahls "sprint" STX16 semi auto heat press from 2006 offered for about 80 pounds. A pretty good offer as well i would think, that was even closer to my city but i went with the clam basic because it was much newer and larger, i dont need auto opening as well.

There is a Stahls cap press offered as well in my City for 140 pound, i will try to get it for 90 pounds and i am good.