# What's the best heat press and how much it costs?



## pasatouf (Jul 23, 2008)

What's the price for a good heat transfer?


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

You can get a Hix twin for about $4,000. Or you can get a Hotronix clamshell for about $1300. Or there are large commercial heat presses that go for $10,000.

We probably need a good bit more information before anyone could answer your question.


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## pasatouf (Jul 23, 2008)

The size i'm interested in is 15x15 or 16x20,it will be used for custom graphics on tees,vinyl signs.(small biz use).


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## plan b (Feb 21, 2007)

I would go with a mighty press middlee of the road price, its a great press, and light years ahead of the ebay ones.


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

In that case I would recommend a 16x20 but get an extra pallet that is smaller, like 11x15, it will come in handy on smaller tees. Stick with the name brands.


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## Yha Yha (Jul 25, 2008)

Is Mighty Press a Brand name?


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## COEDS (Oct 4, 2006)

Mighty press is manfactured by stahls, as is Hotrinix,phoenix phire, and a few more. I suggest a 16x20 press and my favorite is the Hix . I would also buy a clamshell type press. If I was doing sublimation, I would by a swing away for ease of pressing tiles and plaques, etc. ..... JB


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## pasatouf (Jul 23, 2008)

*Thankyou guys for your info,*
*what's the best place to buy heatpress&vinyl cutter.Is it a good idea to buy used ones?*


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## Girlzndollz (Oct 3, 2007)

There is a Preferred Vendor list on the left of the forum. Click that and you will see that some of the vendors also offer an extra discount to forum members. That can help alot when buying equipment at this level, especially two pieces at once. Buying new gives you the warranty. Alot of times, warranties are not trasferrable with used equipment. 

I have a Mighty Press, and there is a lifetime warranty on the heating element. That was the feature that sold me. I will only buy my press once, pretty much, bc the biggest part is covered for life. I bought with a preferred vendor, got and extra discount and free shipping, as well as 2 free teflon sheets. I thought it was a fabulous deal. Good luck to you with yours, I hope you end up just as happy.


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## pasatouf (Jul 23, 2008)

Would you please refer me to the people you bought your heatpress from with the lifetime warranty on the heating element?


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## msfrater (Jul 28, 2008)

pasatouf said:


> The size i'm interested in is 15x15 or 16x20,it will be used for custom graphics on tees,vinyl signs.(small biz use).


where in Canada can i go to find a mighty press or a press printer. i will be visiting and will like to buy one. thanks in advance.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

msfrater said:


> where in Canada can i go to find a mighty press or a press printer. i will be visiting and will like to buy one. thanks in advance.


You may want to start a new topic for your question  That way people will see "Canada" in the thread title and may have more answers (you can also search the forums for heat press canada for vendors that have already been posted)


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## Girlzndollz (Oct 3, 2007)

pasatouf said:


> Would you please refer me to the people you bought your heatpress from with the lifetime warranty on the heating element?


 
I bought my press from Specialty Graphics, a forum Preferred Vendor... click that link, and you'll find the discount code for forum members at the bottom of the page. The lifetime warranty on the heating element comes from the manufacturer, so you'll get that regardless of who you buy from, but I liked Specialty and the price was definitely right.


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

pasatouf said:


> Would you please refer me to the people you bought your heatpress from with the lifetime warranty on the heating element?


I believe all the major brands offer a lifetime warranty on the heating element. I have a Phoenix (private branded Hotronix) with a lifetime warranty on the heating element. Check out the preferred vendors on the left side of the page, most offer discounts to forum members. I called Josh at Imprintables and asked for a good deal, he happened to have a display model that came with a nice discount and full warranty. Looks brand new and I saved hundreds of dollars.


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## lovebaseball62 (Jul 9, 2008)

My Hix Swingman 20D is awesome and I did the research and for the $$ you cant beat it. Go to bestblanks.com...ask for Harold at extension 204....he is great and recommended it and I am 100% pleased!! (its a swing away NOT clamshell!! much better!!)


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## Masterkoin (Jul 23, 2008)

Swing away is much better than clamshell? I'm still new and trying to figure this out, but clamshell looks much more portable and easier/faster to operate. Am I missing something?


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## Girlzndollz (Oct 3, 2007)

It is usually a matter of preference and work space. A swing away needs room to clear all the way out of the way, a clam shell requires less space to operate. A swing away gives you more room to work, without a piping hot upper platen burning your knuckles. Some folks prefer a swing away for dye sub, for thicker items. I have a clam shell, I did not have the room to accomodate the swing of a swing press.


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## COEDS (Oct 4, 2006)

I have both a clam and a swing away. they both are great machines and have there purpose. i like the claam for production work,because their are less steps in producing a finished product. i like the swinger for sublimation of tiles. .... JB


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

I was almost sold on the swingers until I ran across the thread where several people mention their arm gets tired swinging it back and forth all day.


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## COEDS (Oct 4, 2006)

wormil said:


> I was almost sold on the swingers until I ran across the thread where several people mention their arm gets tired swinging it back and forth all day.


Yes !! it's truly 2 extra steps for each pressing and that adds up on the wear and tear of the body, not to mention the extra time used. ..... JB


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## KarenGarcia (Aug 17, 2008)

Hi, I would like to ask Girlzdolls how did you get the discount and the free shipping and all that. What vendor did you use? That sounds like a pretty good deal and right now I am looking for a heat press but it seems like there are no discounts around, so if you can please let me know where I can find the best deal and the best price I would really appreciate it.
Thanks!
Karen.


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## Girlzndollz (Oct 3, 2007)

KarenGarcia said:


> Hi, I would like to ask Girlzdolls how did you get the discount and the free shipping and all that. What vendor did you use? That sounds like a pretty good deal and right now I am looking for a heat press but it seems like there are no discounts around, so if you can please let me know where I can find the best deal and the best price I would really appreciate it.
> Thanks!
> Karen.


 so sorry it took me so long, karen. 

I bought my press from Specialty Graphics. They are a forum member, so they give a discount to us. if you click the link on the left for preferred vendors, and scroll down to the bottom of the page, there are offers there from those who offer them to us. It was 5% at the time.

Specialty has some listings on Ebay, but I it was cheaper to buy from the website. I also got free shipping, and two free teflon sheets. Prices could have increased, last year it was $389. Everything has gone up everywhere, so I'll guess that did, too. I was really happy with my deal, and I hope you find something that puts a smile on your face. I loved buying my press, the price was great, discounts, free teflon/shipping, and made my life so much easier (was hand ironing at the time = hard labor, time consuming). 

My press still brings joy to my face.  Good luck and ....


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## KarenGarcia (Aug 17, 2008)

Hi Girlzndooz, I found the site and wrote then an email asking if they had any kind of discount like that. Even if they don't have something similar now they might have a special discount as you said for forum members so it's worth to ask.
I'm thinking about getting both the T-shirt heat press and the hat press, I like the Hotronix 16" x 16" Auto-Opening Clam Heat Press Is this a good brand and a good model? I'm starting out so I'm not sure. 
Thanks for this info!
Karen.


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## Masterkoin (Jul 23, 2008)

I have the 16x20 Hotronix auto clam and its a solid choice. I assume the 16x16 is just the same except smaller and lighter. I bought it before I had much experience and if I did it again, I would have bought a Hix. Most of the models are the same price or cheaper and I think they are better built.

If money isn't a concern, then I'd recommend the CHE 2400 by Hix Engineering. Its a new 15x15 that allows you to split the shirt over the platen. This makes things so much easier and allows you to do a lot of other materials without the headaches that come with them. There is a promo on it right now. Its $1800 and comes with $250 of free transfers. While I agree its a lot of money, after I tried it I was hooked and it was only a matter of time until I had to have one. Hix is already what I would recommend, but this bad boy is built even better than what I've seen.

You can check out the larger model of it here:
Heat Transfer Machine, Heat Press Machine

That one is bigger and is air assisted, but you can see the basic design. The 2400 has only been out a short while and the website hasn't been updated with it yet, but here is a flyer on it.

[media]http://www.renegadethreads.com/2400flyersheets.pdf[/media]


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## Girlzndollz (Oct 3, 2007)

KarenGarcia said:


> Hi Girlzndooz, I found the site and wrote then an email asking if they had any kind of discount like that. Even if they don't have something similar now they might have a special discount as you said for forum members so it's worth to ask.
> I'm thinking about getting both the T-shirt heat press and the hat press, I like the Hotronix 16" x 16" Auto-Opening Clam Heat Press Is this a good brand and a good model? I'm starting out so I'm not sure.
> Thanks for this info!
> Karen.


Geez, Karen (haha, I just heard frosty the snowman's voice in my head ), but you are right. I had not viewed the prefered vendors discounts page in a while, and it is no longer there. I wonder if they stopped the promo. (?) If they contact you, will you let us know what they say? 

That heat press is fine. Almost all of those name brand presses folks are really happy with here. So it's alot about what suits your needs $$ and size wise. MasterK seems to have given some good feedback as well. Good luck to you...


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## Girlzndollz (Oct 3, 2007)

I just took a peek, and it seems the discount was still working as of May... I thought I had seen people mention it. https://www.t-shirtforums.com/heat-press-heat-transfers/t44560.html#post283921

The fellow did buy the 15x15, and mentions he wished he had gotten the 16x20 for ease of aligning the shirt on the platen. While he said the 15x15 is getting the job done, I have seen other folks also say the same thing about platen size, so, if you can swing it, its something to consider before the purchase. Good luck again Karen... sorry about the discount if it's not out there anymore. :/


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## KarenGarcia (Aug 17, 2008)

Hi, thanks again for recommending Specialty Graphics. They are just great! I sent them an email requesting information about any kind of promotion and they answered me super fast (seriously like in 5 minutes!). They are offering not only free shipping but they also give you two teflon sheets for free, so I'm pretty happy with this special sale. I'll just decide on what size to get and I'll buy it from them for sure.
This is a great site for information, thank you guys


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## Girlzndollz (Oct 3, 2007)

Thanks for getting back to us, Karen, and good luck to you... Kelly


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