Newbie Question relating to Heat Presses.

[Nelixuk2003]

Hi Everyone.

Been lurking for a little while and thought it was about time to ask a question.

I am considering purchasing a heat press, its not for business purposes but could potentially see more than home use due to the daughter being a member of a local club and was thinking that we could print the kit for the club on an ad-hoc basis.

My question, well its more some clarity, I have seen the typical t-shirt prints used for Hen party's and stag do's, many of which are printed at home and an iron used to transfer it to the shirt, these tend to have a finish that you could most likely peel the printed text/image off of the material...... I take it this is Vinyl transfer/print and can also be accomplished with a heat press? I have also seen the Kit that it professionally printed for the club, obviously this is far far superior, but the print looks almost as it the material has been dyed and not printed, most definitely could not peel it off, Am I correct in assuming this is Dye-Sub printing/transfer using a heat press?

I'm looking at a PixMax press that's 50x50cm, to be used to print t-shirts, hoodies and possibly jogging bottoms, would this be a good enough press for this job. I know that you get what you pay for but as this is not business use I don't want to over spend

Thanks

Nelix

[pw66]

An iron is of limited use for vinyl transfer, as it is hard to keep enough consistent pressure on for long enough.

Dye sub needs a proper heatpress. The process only really works on white 100% polyester fabric (for full colour prints), but good black/dark prints can be achieved on lighter coloured garments, which is ideal for sportswear.

40x50 is a more usuall size for a t-shirt press, being more akin to the proportions of the shirt front. A cheaper press can be ideal for home use, BUT the problem you may encounter is inconsistent temperature accross the heat platten. Consistent temperature is critical for sublimation, but less so for vinyl.