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SilentAlf
17-04-2013, 05:19 PM
Hi All,

Just got a swing heat press as i want to start printing on t-shirts and coasters/placemats, but i have never done it before.

Does anyone have any hints or tips? please :)

Many thanks,

socialgiraffe
17-04-2013, 05:29 PM
Make sure its hot :smile:

Presumably you have all the other kit and materials to start pressing so as long as you refer to the supplier guidelines then you will be fine. As with all things you will probably need to tweak but they are a good starting point.

jennywren
17-04-2013, 05:50 PM
Don't leave your hand when you close the press lol, you'll soon get use to the feel of it and start to gauge pressure. before I flash up the press I have a blank coaster to gauge the pressure and the same with the mouse mats, that way when I put on the press to work I have the pressure roughly to what I need.

SilentAlf
17-04-2013, 08:16 PM
The set up i have is a ricoh sg3110 printer with sub inks? i assume the ink is the same for pressing on t-shirts and coasters?

Jenny I will make sure my hand is not near the press lol :) Do you know a good temp and time for pressing coasters and t-shirts??

Sorry for the questions!

Renniwano
17-04-2013, 08:39 PM
If you are sublimating t-shirts these will need to be polyester and not cotton.. and for times for your blanks your best bet is the suppliers website :)

Maccbean
19-04-2013, 12:01 PM
Worse still, don't grab the heatplate to push it. I did that the first day I got mine and removed my fingerprints good time. I put a sign on that corner saying HOT and never did it again. :rolleyes:

Mossy88
19-04-2013, 03:53 PM
Make sure you check the bolts now and then on the plate to be tight enough, haha mine fell in half yesterday and couldn't pick it up of course as it was 190 degrees!

Prob because it was a cheaper one

tlworkwear
22-04-2013, 09:09 AM
Make sure you check the bolts now and then on the plate to be tight enough, haha mine fell in half yesterday and couldn't pick it up of course as it was 190 degrees!

Prob because it was a cheaper one

Ive actually had this issue recently and trying to figure out a decent fix for it. I have one of those 4 in 1 presses which means that when I have the normal plate on then it is just secured by wing nuts which keep loosening during pressing haha. I might try to find a couple of washers but not sure if that will do anything.

Mossy88
22-04-2013, 02:00 PM
Mines just a normal swing press but i guess every time you put it down it loosen a bit. awkward as hell to put it back together.

Jeff
22-04-2013, 02:26 PM
Mines just a normal swing press but i guess every time you put it down it loosen a bit. awkward as hell to put it back together.

Hmm, sounds like cheap quality...that can really be a pain in the a**, having to check the bolts everytime you use it...

Mossy88
22-04-2013, 04:09 PM
Hmm, sounds like cheap quality...that can really be a pain in the a**, having to check the bolts everytime you use it...

It was a cheapy one, it was a few months before it come apart. i dont no if it was something i did.

tlworkwear
22-04-2013, 04:51 PM
Yup mine was a cheapy too from Ebay, get what you pay for at the end of the day but its doing the job it needs to for now and the way I see it is if it lasts a year then it has more than paid for itself..

Jeff
23-04-2013, 11:07 AM
Yup, if you plan to use it just now and then or just for one specific purpose, then screw the storage life. Otherwise, I would definitely recommend better quality.

SilentAlf
24-04-2013, 09:56 AM
Thank you all for your advice.

Does anyone know the best template size to use for coasters 95mm?

bms
24-04-2013, 09:50 PM
Thank you all for your advice.

Does anyone know the best template size to use for coasters 95mm?


...errr 95mm square! :)

Always make your templates a couple of mm larger so you can position the coaster easily, do around 97mm would be fine.

SilentAlf
29-04-2013, 12:51 PM
When printing onto t-shirts using the swing press what fabric does the T-shirt have to be? and where can you buy them from?

tlworkwear
29-04-2013, 01:11 PM
When printing onto t-shirts using the swing press what fabric does the T-shirt have to be? and where can you buy them from?

You can press pretty much any fabric with the press mate, I mainly use cotton or a poly/cotton mix cause I mainly do vinyl but you can also use polyester for sublimation and even materials like spandex can be pressed. Hope this helps :)

SilentAlf
29-04-2013, 01:30 PM
That does help thank you. I think i need polyester as i will be using sublimation. do you know a supplier/wholsaler for polyester clothing?

tlworkwear
29-04-2013, 01:54 PM
I normally use ralawise but there are also Pencarrie, BTC Activewear and I'm sure there are a couple of guys on here that sell Polyester tees :)

SilentAlf
08-05-2013, 07:04 PM
Hi All,

I completed my first dye subli on a t-shirts today and it came out great!!

Only question i have though is that the outline of the A4 sized paper showed on the t-shirt!

I tried to iron it out but it was still there. Would this happen if the pressure on the heat press was high?

Many thanks

New Horizons
09-05-2013, 09:08 AM
Only question i have though is that the outline of the A4 sized paper showed on the t-shirt!

I tried to iron it out but it was still there. Would this happen if the pressure on the heat press was high?

Many thanks

Are you talking about the outline of the A4 paper or the outline of the press platen itself? The latter is quite normal and will normally disappear when the tee is washed for the first time. The edge of the paper itself may also leave a slight impression but that too will disappear. Getting the pressure right is something that will only come with experience. If you have insufficient pressure the image will not transfer fully. Have excessive pressure and you may find fleks of colour outisde the main image area.

subli
13-05-2013, 01:05 PM
Hi All,

I completed my first dye subli on a t-shirts today and it came out great!!

Only question i have though is that the outline of the A4 sized paper showed on the t-shirt!

I tried to iron it out but it was still there. Would this happen if the pressure on the heat press was high?

Many thanks

Giving the Tshirt a quick pre-press (light pressure, 4-5 secs) to remove excess moisture can help to reduce the pressure marks a bit.

pisquee
14-05-2013, 09:52 AM
ripping the edges off the paper also gives it less of a sharp edge, which can also help in not having such pronounced paper mark on the t-shirt

Steamy
08-09-2013, 07:04 PM
Have you tried putting a flat then a spring washer under the wing nut?

Geoff