Impressions - October/November 2022 - 42

issues. The adage, " Time is money " is true. Downtime - whether
it's waiting for heat recovery or repairing an unreliable press, should
factor into your investment decision.
Do your homework before making any kind of purchase. Find
a heat press that has the key elements you require for quality and
reliability, and be sure to evaluate what you will be customizing
to ensure you get the ideal model to meet your specific needs.
Here are a few tips for choosing the right heat press for your
customization needs:
Entry-level - A smaller, manual machine that can be used
with color-copy papers, stock transfers or CAD-cut vinyl offers
the perfect option for customization for home, craft, school and
small retail environments.
Direct-to-Garment (DTG) - For pre- and post-curing
substrates, the clam-shell press style and a platen footprint matching
the DTG machine will provide immediate customization ability
on products from T-shirts and shoes to caps. Clam-shell presses
offer a smaller footprint and are the perfect complement to a DTG
printer. Choose one with an auto-open feature as an added benefit,
as well as one with a lightweight, ergonomic design.
Retail/sports environments - Manual swing-away heat
presses in retail settings offer the ease of dressing garments with
interchangeable platens for jersey lettering and numbering, transfers
and vinyl CAD-cut printing with unobstructed access to the
entire platen. The manual heat-press option offers many different
platen sizes, depending on your application requirement. Swingaway
presses have been strategically designed for uncomplicated
Find a heat press that has the key elements
for quality and reliability, and evaluate what
you will be customizing to ensure you get the
ideal model to meet your needs
operation with consistent, reliable results.
Sublimation Printers - With digital printers and a heat
press, you can customize just about anything. Depending on your
needs, choose a heat press with the right platen or one with interchangeable
platens. Using a large-format, oversized machine is
ideal for customizing oversized garments, allover printing, towels,
blankets, aluminum panels, wood or doormats. Having a heat press
that allows for a larger gap opening to print on both thick and thin
substrates provides added versatility in the customization process.
Production - For high-volume production, automatic machinery
is a necessity. Not only will your output be higher and
overall costs lower, but operator fatigue and chance of injury will
be minimized. In addition, interchangeable platen options, various
standard platen sizes and ease of repeated application will allow
your customization output to be consistent.
Whether you're an entry-level entrepreneur or a seasoned shop
owner, expanding your custom product offering this holiday season
could be a great business decision. With the variety of customizable
printing options on the market today, as well as the various
substrates that can be used, customization is limitless with the right
tools and imagination. 
Cris Saunders, director of sales and marketing for Insta Graphic Systems, has
more than three decades of experience in the decorated-apparel industry.
Formerly with Printronix, she has held various positions with Insta and currently
oversees machine marketing and worldwide sales. For more information, email
sales@instagraph.com.
P.42
IMPRESSIONSMAG.COM OCT./NOV. 2022
http://www.IMPRESSIONSMAG.COM
Impressions - October/November 2022

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