# DIY? cheap heat press? ebay? OPTIONS FOR NEWBIES



## swissarmour (Apr 29, 2007)

im wondering about this machine i saw on ebay, there are many available and very cheap... its made to seal some sot of medical pill sealer or something

eBay: MTS HEAT PRESS MANUAL SEALER HOTRONIX XCL T-SHIRT (item 300113841914 end time May-29-07 00:09:06 PDT)

i know the best route to go is a name brand heat press... but at their going rate some of us cant afford it atleast at beginning stage...

what are the specifics one must look for when buying a heat press?

what are the contact surfaces out of?

what is working temp?

what kind of system for heating? typical electrode resistance?

how much pressure?

some heat presses on ebay like the ezpress look super cheap, wood? one central THIN screw to adjust pressure???

it seems as if all these requirements are very easily obtained from some diy heavy duty style press all ud really need are 2 thick gauge (heavy) metal surfaces and some sort of controlled heat element, keep in mind its something for starters and cmon some presses go for over 1000$ 

im just making this thread to brainstorm... is it plausible at all... 




i mean keep in mind after all

before the modern iron fro mthe fifties, people simply heated a full iron "iron" to iron thier clothes obiously for this one would like to be precise with the temp. 

for temp. reading even a laser thermometer would fend well, those heat presses doesnt seem to me as a modern marvel, who knows the idea of a 100 dollar t shirt forums sounds nice kinda like those cheap laptops y not?

all ud really need is something to heat up metal plates, pressure can be done with a typical 2x4 clamshell setup with some sort of fancy door hinge


----------



## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

swissarmour said:


> im wondering about this machine i saw on ebay


I'm not really a heat press guy, but if that was a Hotronix (Stahls') like it says in the auction title, that was a steal (that was probably just keyword spamming though).



swissarmour said:


> its made to seal some sot of medical pill sealer or something


Apparently. Although the only obvious difference is that the one linked to has a pillboard, and that they don't have a teflon cover. I think the pill sealers are just re-purposed.



swissarmour said:


> i know the best route to go is a name brand heat press... but at their going rate some of us cant afford it atleast at beginning stage...


Some people are glad to have bought something that tides them over, but the majority of people end of wishing they'd saved their pennies 'till they could afford something worth buying.



swissarmour said:


> before the modern iron fro mthe fifties, people simply heated a full iron "iron" to iron thier clothes obiously for this one would like to be precise with the temp.


The analogy doesn't hold any weight. Ironing clothes doesn't require any kind of temperature precision ("hot, but not so hot it scorches" is about as precise as it need be), and zero time precision.


----------



## Peanutz (Feb 14, 2007)

This is the press I have

eBay: STAHLS HOTRONIX 17" X 21" HEAT TRANSFER PRESS (item 110131668637 end time Jun-05-07 09:27:04 PDT)

It costs about twice as much as many other presses. (1500 new) The reason I went with a Stahls's Hotronix is because of the research I did. There are people who bought a Hotronix 20 plus years ago and it's still working perfectly. They have a reputation for durability. There are so many different things to pay attention to in the heat press business that the last thing I want is to have everything in place and working and then have my press brake and be out of commission for 2 weeks. 

You'll notice when shopping around for a press that the less-pricey ones are clams; the heating part swings up. This is good if you don't have a lot of space. You have a better chance of burning your arm with these models, but they still work well. I like my swinger model - it 'swings' from front to the side and allows you to get over the shirt - which makes it easier for me to line up a transfer.

Solmu has some good words of wisdom. That original Ebay press you were looking at seems like a PIECE - save your money and do it right the first time. I've never pressed a shirt with an iron before, but it's my understanding that they don't produce enough heat to do the job right so I'd abandon that idea.

Ryan


----------

