PointOfExpression

Help me decide!

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Alright everyone, I need some help! I have to many people asking me if I make shirts so now I am going to.

What is the main difference between the following machines (besides swing and clam)

http://www.uscutter.com/15-x-15-Clamshell-Heat-Press-110v-FLHP3802110V

http://www.ebay.com/...=item5d34d8d46f

http://www.ebay.com/...=item2a20f9e186

Help me decide! I will not be doing a lot of shirts, maybe 2 a day or so..

Which one should I get?

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I have one that looks exactly like the one in your last link, with the exception of the Gecko brand label.

I bought it locally, used, from a company that was going out of business. It works, but the temperature differences across the surface of the platen are so extreme that it made dye sublimation impossible as you couldn't get consistent color across a large area and certain areas would be very pale while other areas would almost scorch. Also the temperature display says it is Celsius, but my infrared thermometer confirms that it is in fact Fahrenheit - as 395°C should not be anywhere close to 395°F.

It may work better with heat transfer vinyl, I don't know how important temperature consistency is for that as I've never used that material. The previous owner said she used it for heat-press rhinestones, so it may be good for that, too.

I kept lurking on Craiglist until I found a Geo Knight K20S 16x20" swing away and it is a lot better. I had to drive 200 miles round trip to get it, but it was definitely worth the trip.

Having used both, I can say with certainty that I prefer the swing-away style, even though it requires a little more space, but it's so much easier to be able to access the full lower platen without having to worry about burning your hands. Also, my Geo Knight came with the heavy duty stand with casters, so it is much easier to move out of the way when I'm not using it, plus the 16x20" size gives you so much more flexibility over the 15" square models. You can't even do a full tabloid page on a 15" model and since my printer will do up to 13x19" transfer sheets, it just made sense for me to get a press at least as big as my transfers.

If all you're looking to do is heat press vinyl, then you're probably OK with a 15" model as that seems to be the standard roll size.

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