Coaster Press

[purpledragon]

I am starting to narrow down options:

Adkins Beta Mini 38cm/ Xpres XP7005A swing away @£954

Stahls Hotronix MAXX 28x38cm @ £598.80 incl

or that CG £109 clam press is still inviting.

The Hotronix Maxx has that patented central clam action, does it come down extremely parallel with the bottom platen or does it touch the back of the platen first?

Will it work as good as a swing away or is it just marketing hype?

you seem (quite rightly too ) quite centred on quality ie you want a press that will have an even spread of heat etc . you shouldnt have any issues with an adkins or stahls for example but a press for £109 maybe a simple matter, to put it in a way that you can relate to , you are a photographer if i was asking you for advice on what camera to buy would you recomend a cheap vivitar or would you recommend a nikon ? im pretty sure you would advise the latter . the same applies to presses you get what you pay for £109 is dirt cheap and i doubt the seller is simply the generous sort so it must be quite a bit cheaper to them quality always shines through i believe both adkins and stahls have small presses try speaking to target transfers or xpres

[James990]

I would never recommend a Nikon, always recommend a Canon, they are by far much better than Nikons in every respect!

[purpledragon]

I would never recommend a Nikon, always recommend a Canon, they are by far much better than Nikons in every respect!

theres always one !!!

[Paul]

theres always one !!!

two


but withcameras there is another thing called skills. I am sure i will be able to take better photo with cheap camera then somebody with posh dslr but with no skills.

with press you want what brett said, best build quality you can afford.

[RogerC]

two


but withcameras there is another thing called skills. I am sure i will be able to take better photo with cheap camera then somebody with posh dslr but with no skills.

with press you want what brett said, best build quality you can afford.

Bet you can't..........it's all down to the quality of the optics and even a cheap DSLR (is there such a thing) has better optics than a cheapo camera.:biggrin: Anyway we all have differing opinions on 'off topic' matters but I feel we will all agree that when it comes to presses etc it's quality that counts.

[purpledragon]

two


but withcameras there is another thing called skills. I am sure i will be able to take better photo with cheap camera then somebody with posh dslr but with no skills.

with press you want what brett said, best build quality you can afford.

not sure i can quite believe all the replies regarding cameras get a grip people i used it as an example that the poster would relate to a vivitar is a cheap camera a nikon is a quality expensive camera the point was if you buy cheap the you would expect to get what you pay for if you buy expensive then you should expect to get far better equiptment i really didnt want to start a debate on if canon is better than nikon (they are not by the way in my opinon) or if you can take a cracking picture witha vivitar if you have exceptional skills again id dispute this anyway the comment about optics from roger is quite correct
Brett

[pisquee]

My only add to this is that there are exceptions to rules - there are definitely cases where amongst the crap of cheap products there are some which shine above their apparent value, but the key to finding where they are is research. I am not just talking about sublimation here, I've seen the same principal in consumer electronics, professional sound and video equipment (previous career), along with sublimation equipment and blanks. There are gems to be had for relative pennies if you hunt around. At the same time, there are high end pieces of equipment that sell on Ebay for a mere fraction of what they're worth - pretty much every PressMech, Adkins, Jarin, and Insta presses we've had we have got used for around 10-20% of their RRP, and the same goes for our wide format printers, wide format scanner, and rotary heart press. Some of the presses we flogged for a profit at the price they should have been, but the 2 PressMechs we have kept as we liked them the most.

[JMugs]

Pressmech....love mine...simple engineering by a man called "Dickie". Build in the UK.

[James990]

Nikon is an expensive camera full stop! Not worth the hype or money! Canon are far better in performance and in value for money! Wouldn't give a nikon house room!

[pisquee]

Pressmech....love mine...simple engineering by a man called "Dickie". Build in the UK.

Built in the UK, and very much resembling a vintage (green) Adkins press I once saw pop up on Ebay last year!
The man called Dickie knows his presses inside and out, and can talk you through taking them apart and fixing them over the phone.