Impressions - March 2023 - 36

a perfect connection between top and bottom casting, a proper pressure
on the platen and a smooth handling of the machine in general.
" Th e quality of the heat press and especially the platen is just as
An example of a heated lower cap
platen, from Geo Knight & Co. Photo
courtesy of Geo Knight & Co.
important for cap and label heat presses as standard size presses, "
agrees Insta's Farmer, noting this is especially the case with intricate
or detailed graphics-which many back-neck or tagless labels tend
to have due to the small size of the text-imperfections in the application
can be even more noticeable.
" When it comes to caps, which are curved and often made of stiff -
er materials, " Farmer says, " you need consistent, even pressure across
the entire platen to ensure the transfer applies correctly. Th e proper
distribution of heat and pressure across the platen is largely due to
the heated platen itself, but it is also aff ected by having a quality base
for the heat press, the correct silicone pad on the lower platen, and a
fi rm base where the lower platen is attached. "
Finally, as with " label " presses, " hat " or " cap " presses can also be used
for a number of other applications beside those for which they've been
nomically designed. Specifi cally, in the same way label presses work
great for decorating hard-to-isolate places, hat presses also work well
for heat-pressing designs on smaller, more fl exible items, like handkerchiefs.
" Stop looking at a cap press as just a 'press for caps,' " HIX
Corporation's Coëme suggests. " Th is is a very versatile machine that
can press anything that is curved and small. [It] is light and portable
and works great side-by-side with a standard clamshell or swing-away
15- to 20-inch press. "
Bottom line, as with label press, you're getting that much more bang
for your buck in terms of your initial investment-always a good thing!
You Decide
Speaking of fl exibility, for those decorators who want to be able to
off er as diverse a product line as possible without having to invest
in an entirely separate pieces of equipment, there's the option of a
multi-purpose or hybrid press. As the name implies, these presses-
which at fi rst blush look much like a conventional swing-away press-
can be used to heat press a incredible variety of items through the use
multi-purpose or hybrid press. As the name implies, these presses-
which at fi rst blush look much like a conventional swing-away press-
can be used to heat press a incredible variety of items through the use
of various add-ons and/or attachments.
Because multifunction presses employ the same drop-down mechanisms
found in conventional, swing-away presses, you also have the
ability to heat press much thicker items than, say, a hoodie or T-shirt,
right out of the gate-in contrast to clamshell style presses, in which
height adjustments are severely limited by the kind of linkage employed.
Th e swing-away presses manufactured by Geo Knight &Co.,
for example, can be used to press fl at items up to 2 inches thick,
opening up a world of possibility, whether it be decorating gift boxes
or picture frames.
Because multifunction presses employ the same drop-down mechanisms
found in conventional, swing-away presses, you also have the
ability to heat press much thicker items than, say, a hoodie or T-shirt,
right out of the gate-in contrast to clamshell style presses, in which
height adjustments are severely limited by the kind of linkage employed.
Th e swing-away presses manufactured by Geo Knight &Co.,
for example, can be used to press fl at items up to 2 inches thick,
opening up a world of possibility, whether it be decorating gift boxes
Beyond that, with multifunction presses, like the HeatPressNation
HPN Signature Series line of 8-in-1 multifunction heat
presses or the Ricoma iKonix 4-in-1 multifunction heat
press, you have to ability to 1) swap out both the upper
and lower platens to create a hat, or cap, press 2) swap
out the rectangular top platen with a circular top platen
tion HPN Signature Series line of 8-in-1 multifunction heat
...as with " label " presses,
" hat " or " cap " presses can be
used for a number of other
applications in addition to
those for which they've been
nominally designed
" hat " or " cap " presses can be
used for a number of other
applications in addition to
those for which they've been
P.36
ImpressionsMagazine.com March 2023
2023
The DC16AP Digital Combo
can also be used to press caps, labels,
plates and mugs. Photo courtesy of
Geo Knight & Co.
http://www.ImpressionsMagazine.com
Impressions - March 2023

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