DSF

Hi,

I am new to heat pressing and want to know which heat press you guys would recommend?

I have a budget of between £1000 - £1500

I have looked at Adkins, Pressmech & Stahls' Hotronix,

I've been on the site for hours reading but can't decide which is the best quality, will hopefully last the longest & gives best results. I'm sure they are all great presses but would like to ask before i take the plunge. I've been on you.tube and can see a lot of videos about the Stahls & Adkins but can't find anything about the Pressmech which left me wondering why there are not any videos although i have read tons of good stuff about them.

Thanks in advance for any information

If you wish to use it for products other than garments then a swing-away press would be better than a clam press. Something worth considering.

pressmech are certainly built to last and seem to have good back up for spares - make sure you have a tame gorilla (ideally a silverback) to hand to help you to get it into your workspace and up on the bench ;o)

Pressmech is a small UK based independant manufacturer and doesn't domuch in the way of marketing (that I have seen) other than a few trade shows. They don't look as sexy as some of the others, well to be honest they do look as though they haven't changed in 30 years but they are high quality, solid and reliable. They make a range of plattens to make particular jobs quicker and easier.

If space is at a premium and you don't have room for a swing away press - see if you can't rejig the workshop layout, swingaway is, in my humble opinion, a much better bet than a clamshell.

Pressmech would be top end of your budget at around £1500 inc vat but that would come with a selection of plattens - give them a ring and they will talk you through your options.


Arthur

My next press will be a Pressmech; deciding which size I'm going to need is the decision and I need to work out. But since this is a new venture which may or may not work out for you, I would lean towards the Adkins since it will be easier to re-sell. If you are going to be a success, go for the A3+ Pressmech.

I have my Pressmech for a few years now, during that time I sold my Adkins press as it was gathering dust. Never looked back.
Pressmech is far more flexible and worth the extra.

This isn't in your list but is within your budget, a very solid piece of kit might be worth considering.

http://www.dyesublimationsupplies.co.uk ... Heat-Press

Stahl's hotronix fusion which is both swing and slide is super smart and quite the impressive choice, I'd love one however an Adkins beta swing which I use is very reliable and has great spares and support backup if ever needed. The press mech doesn't win awards for attractiveness but does everything you need and is a popular choice, the bag press version looks very versatile. I think the comment on resale value is very valid for all three but the Adkins is most commonly found one, as a new venture you will also find them available secondhand too for a lot less than new which might be a consideration worth investigation.

I hate the space that my swing away uses, and I hate it when I have accidentally caught the edge of a T shirt plastic bag on it and have not noticed - and then fuse that to a shirt.

But, I love the consistent quality that it gives me, especially with my transfers - vinyl imho you can get away with any press, as you can always turn the garment and repress if you have a weak spot, but transfers are a one hit deal, they have to go right the first time.

Mine is a Geo Knight, but if I were buying new again, I would probably go for a pressmech for the reasons that Arthur has already put

Am I right in thinking that Pressmech presses are designed and manufactured from scratch in the UK and that support exists long after the warranty expires? I'm fancying the Pressmech route myself.

Absolutely. We've always bought our pressmechs (4 of them) used from Ebay, so have no contract of sale/support from PressMech (or their dealers) officially. But we've had top support direct over the phone from Dickie, who essentially is pressmech, and from me describing what the inside of an old pressmech control module, could not only date the batch of presses it was from, and talk me through over the phone then and there how to tear it down, and replace the heating element, since then we've sent a few trashed ones from Ebay back to him and in a few days have had them refurbed and returned to us looking new, for a very reasonable price. They are easy to fix mind, but sometimes I'm too busy to bother - the reason we have spares, so if one does go down we're not out of action while it gets fixed. The newer elements are more reliable than the older ones, as they've beefed them up.
The control modules - timer and temp controller are stock Chinese parts, so not UK made themselves, but we live in a global market, and the advantage of this is you can source your own replacements.