Swing or clam?

[twinsgran]

I'm getting closer to buying a heat press after reading lots of posts and visiting numerous sites. The major question that I keep asking myself is should I have the swing away or the clam? I've seen both on ebay at a good price and don't want to make a mistake at this point by rushing in.
I have a large empty room waiting, so space is not a problem. I would value your opinions.

[WorthDoingRight]

Hi,

It will probably all depend on what items you are looking to press in your press. If you are going to want to do thicker items such as slates then the swing presses tend to be more suited. However if you are going to be doing mainly flatter items such as mousemats and t-shirts then clam presses often have a larger platen which can be useful.

As a hobbyist, that likes to dabble I use my swing press more than my clamshell press and remember you need more room to accommodate a swing press than a clam - so that may also be a factor.

[twinsgran]

I'm buying mainly to do jigsaws and a few plaques so I will need a 38 x38. As I say, space is not a problem. An empty bedroom awaits! I'll also be gettng a mug press to go alongside it.

[WorthDoingRight]

If you are only going to be doing flat jigsaws then either will do the job but the larger platen of a 40 x 50 or 38 x 38 clam might suit your needs better than the usually smaller 30 x 38 swing press

[socialgiraffe]

Hi Twinsgram

Most important thing is to buy from a reputable supplier. They maybe more expensive than the cheapies seen on ebay but they are better quality.

If you are only doing the items above then a clam is plenty suitable. Vision is restricted for positioning the items on a clam shell so if that is going to a problem a swing away is better. That said, I have a clam and it has suited my needs 100% as I only do similar flat items.

[twinsgran]

Just had a thought, if I wanted to do A3 puzzles, would the 38 x 38 be big enough?

[socialgiraffe]

No twinsgran

As you probably already know, A3 is 42 x 29.7cm

[twinsgran]

Oh, the company quoting me for the puzzles say their A3 ones are 36 x 25. I didn't think to check what size A3 was.

[socialgiraffe]

I would say that if the puzzles are 36 x 25 a 38x38 heat press might be a bit too small. You are very reliant on this being a top heat press and that the element runs the entire size of the platen, you have also said you are going to purchase a cheapie from ebay so it probably wont.

I purchased a DF50 40cm x 50cm from BMS which has never let me down and also gives a nice even temperature. I know they are out of stock of these but I would suggest going for something about that size if you want to do A3 size pressing

[beefyor1983]

http://www.printerowners.co.uk/hardware ... -press.htm
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200846185579? ... 1438.l2649

Does anyone reckon these 2 are the same i do!!! hmm its from china hmmm