interested in getting a heat press

[mxracer394 22]

I have had a blast making decals with my SC cutter. now im interested in making shirts...basically just work shirts. I go thru Alot of shirts and figure I would probably come out ahead doing my own. What all will I need to get started

[OWJones 1,981]

 What all will I need to get started

 

 

With a heat press you have 3 main options for making shirts:

 

1) Heat press vinyl (HPV) -- best for solid, simple designs with a minimal number of colors.  Produces a result similar in appearance and feel to silk screening.   Pros -- Fairly simple process if you already know how to cut vinyl   Cons -- Can be pricey as HPV runs right around 5x the price of Oracal 651.  If you only plan to do one color, then it's not so bad - trying to do a 3-color logo on 100 shirts it starts getting crazy.  Best for short-runs of a shirt/hat as silk-screening starts becoming cheaper once you pass a certain point.  Requirements -- vinyl cutter, heat press, heat press vinyl, protective cover sheet, cotton or polyester substrates (hats/shirts/etc.) - can do other fabrics with different varieties of HPV.

 

2) Inkjet transfers -- best for multi-color or photographic designs on a wide variety of fabric types and colors.  These are basically the iron-on transfers that all of us remember from growing up.  Pros -- They work on most common fabrics and are available for light or dark colored shirts.  Cons -- Requires a little more care during washing/drying to prevent fading and cracking.   Requirements -- Inkjet printer with pigment based inks, transfer sheets, heat press, protective cover sheet, cottor or polyester substrates.  Optional: vinyl cutter for contour cutting to remove excess border

 

3) Dye sublimation (technically it's inkjet sublimation, but almost no one calls it that) -- Best color matching and allows you to put images on a lot more than just shirts.   Pros -- no noticable hand (feel) to the image - the dyes bond to the fabric and have no rubber or stiff feel like many iron-on transfers, can do coffee mugs, dog tags, cutting boards, phone cases, koozies, and hundreds of additonal items.  Cons -- Really only works on 100% polyester materials - can be used on 50/50 poly/cotton blends, but will be very washed out and will fade, high temp inks are expensive compared to normal inks.  Requirements -- Inkjet printer compatible with high temp inks (Ricoh or Epson), heat press, protective cover sheet, transfer paper, polyester substrates.

 

 

Based on that, from where you're at now (have a cutter - buying a heat press), your cheapest option is HPV as either of the other two options also requires an inkjet printer.

[PointOfExpression 53]

All I did was buy a heat press (250) and some vinyl and called it a day!

[mxracer394 22]

thanks for the replies. Will have my eyes out for a heat press

[xpaperman 719]

I just bought a bundle, cutter, heat press, starter vinyl etc on ebay from UScutter.  Just jumped right in, save a few bucks and have been having fun ever since.  

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

hotronix, mighty or knight if you can find a deal but for a cheap one ot get started this is what I started with until I could upgrade  http://sunie.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=1&zenid=gomfu0c7qq00cn0i05n5qb68f1

[gcextreme 475]

Id like to get a bundle too...but the bundle i see only has a 24" cutter and i want the 34" one..