Heat press machines are essentially bigger and better versions of pressing an image onto a T-shirt with an iron. If you like creating custom clothing, whether for yourself or a business, grabbing one is essential. You don’t need to drop serious cash for a heat press either, as some starter presses barely cost into the triple digits.
If you're looking for a quality option, the best is the Fancierstudio Digital Heat Press. It heats up quickly and can last for many years and many printings.
There are three main types of heat press:
Heat presses come in a range of sizes:
Heat presses can have digital or analog controls:
Heat presses need to get hot to successfully transfer your designs off the paper and onto your object. That said, different objects and images have different heat requirements to be transferred as perfectly as possible. As such, look to get a heat press with a wide temperature range and one with highs of 350-400 degrees at minimum.
On top of raw heat, you also need to apply that heat for a set period of time. Too little and the transfer won’t complete; too long and your object will burn. As such, all heat presses come with a timer, but better heat presses have timers with larger maximum time limits and especially timers with alerts so you don’t accidentally miss the timer reaching zero.
The easiest way to gauge any item's quality is to check its warranty. The longer the warranty, the more faith a manufacturer has in its products. Look for heat presses with at least one year of warranty coverage. The best have lifetime warranties, but these typically have high costs.
Starter heat press machines typically start around $100 and go up to roughly $200. The best and biggest machines for nonbusiness owners top out at around $500-$600. Business owners can spend $3,000-plus on a heat press.
A. Just about anything made of thick fabrics that don’t melt at high temperatures such as cotton, nylon and polyester. Clothes such as T-shirts are the classic option, with less common ones being placemats, tote bags and even pillowcases.
A. There are two main avenues for getting designs. The easiest is to use an inkjet printer to print designs you find or make yourself onto special transfer paper. Otherwise, you can use a die-cutting machine to print designs onto heat-transfer vinyl.
Fancierstudio Digital Heat Press
What you need to know: This press is roomy and easy to use, perfect for small businesses or busy home-based creatives.
What you’ll love: It's a clamshell-type press with digital controls and a printing space of 15 inches by 15 inches. It has a silicon pad glued down enough to stay put but not enough to be difficult to remove and replace.
What you should consider: It’s heavy enough to make hauling it out and storing it away a chore. Some consumers had issues with uneven heating.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
What you need to know: This small heat press is excellent for pressing the occasional design into fresh T-shirts.
What you’ll love: There’s no bottom plate, you just set it on top of the item you want to press your image into. It has a safety pad to rest it on while heating up and cooling down. The press plate is 10 inches by 10 inches.
What you should consider: Its temperature range of 210-410 degrees is narrow. You have to apply pressure with your body weight.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
F2C Digital Heat Press Machine
What you need to know: This is a slightly less expensive heat press for busy creatives and small business owners.
What you’ll love: It's a clamshell-type press with digital controls and a printing space of 15 by 15 inches. It has a maximum temperature of 400 degrees and a timer that goes up to 9,999 seconds. It has a one-year warranty.
What you should consider: Some purchasers struggled to open the press once it was done. It doesn’t come with instructions; you need to request them from the manufacturer.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
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Jordan C. Woika writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.