Wildgoose 4,200 Posted January 28, 2015 I noticed that Hotronix has a pretty cool laser alignment tool out for about 300 clams. I was thinking why not try this out with something cheaper. I went to Lowes and found this contractors laser level with a cool little clamp and hooked it up to an old lamp post that I had laying around. For doing lots of repetitive shirts it worked great. A bit of work to get both laser lines lined up square to the lower platen but once it was lined up it saved a LOT of time. So handy in fact that I took it back and have decided that I will go ahead and spend the $300 for the real thing with more laser line options and independent adjust-ability. Will give a review after I get the new one and put it through a few paces. I spent about $70 on the contractors version and other than being hard to get perfectly square it did a good job too. If you were only using one line it was easy to align but the perpendicular line made it hard to get everything tweaked to a true square to the world and have a center line as well as a height line. If it were possible to shine it straight down it would be easy but at an angle it is a bit of fun and then you bump it and the swear words start. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mfatty500 454 Posted January 29, 2015 You my friend have waaaay to much time/money on your hands, if it's that crooked, someone might notice it, but once someone is wearing it you will never notice it, if it is out of alignment. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lablover 218 Posted January 29, 2015 Yup, I can see trying this....I'm bonn mount the post on the wall and shot the laser straight down on the press. Very cool idea my Friend Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sue2 920 Posted January 29, 2015 That's assuming you get the shirt on the press straight & in the same position each time! And , yes, once it is on a body "Straight" is a moot point. All alignment goes out the door! Sue2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wildgoose 4,200 Posted January 29, 2015 You do need to line it up on the press straight but that's also much easier because one of the laser lines runs down the middle and you can line up the build crease or make your own center crease if it's not visible. Biggest thing I do is many multiple orders of shirts and if you don't keep the height about the same it shows up when they have several hundred and they are all over the place. I find myself spending a lot of time with a ruler gauging the distance from the collar and the laser saved literally hours of press time on just this one order of 170 jerseys. I'm a bit anal and hate crooked designs so it matters to me if it is on straight, maybe you guys don't care but I do. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jarrotto 78 Posted February 17, 2015 We were thinking about getting the laser alignment tool from Stahls as well. I was impressed when it first came out on the dual air fusion, then even more impressed when I saw the portable version. Seems like it would save a good bit of time on alignment as my wife and I always had to make sure every design was centered and straight. I Look forward to your review of the tool when you get it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wildgoose 4,200 Posted February 17, 2015 I have it and just haven't had a decent sized order yet. It is fairly easy to set up and the lasers are a tighter beam than the wall laser I was trying to use previously. I like that you can set several different layouts like a front and back and a center of crest print etc... I know $300 is a lot of money but for me I spend so much time making sure my designs are straight that I think this will save me much more than that in labor time over the coming year. The only complaint I really have is the placard they send it it to line it up has several spiral hinged areas and it doesn't lay very flat on the platen so it's only so-so for fine tuning the alignment. No big deal I just use a clear lined ruler instead. I tend to use the standard 3" down from the neck and 4" down from the back color which surprisingly is what they have on the set-up guide which made me feel good about the locations I have been using all along. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jarrotto 78 Posted February 17, 2015 That's awesome. I'm sure it will be a very useful tool. Definitely something we will look into should we ever get back into HTV. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wildgoose 4,200 Posted February 17, 2015 I got by for years without it and then tried out the cheaper one from the lumber store. It worked but was really hard to line up both axis' at the same time. Each one is individually set with the Hotronix which is nice. They have a limited range of motion that is a little lacking until you get used to them. The funny thing is that I took the other one back to the lumber yard before my new one came and the three jobs I did without it I felt totally lacking! It's so reassuring to have the center line and the others there that I really missed having them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
