How to choose a mug heat press. Flatbed heat press INKSYSTEM (40×40cm) for thermal transfer and sublimation printing Make a heat press for sublimation yourself

Precautionary measures

Violation of safety precautions while working with a 40x60 flat heat press can lead to serious damage to the body and cause irreparable harm to health.

Purpose of flat heat press 40x60
Flat heat press 40x60 designed for the production of an assortment of souvenir and gift products, such as gifts for birthdays, weddings, to commemorate graduation, prizes at competitions, etc. Using the 40x60 Flat Heat Press, whose design is optimized for use with heat-sublimation transfer technology, you can apply photo-quality images to a wide range of polymer-coated materials: T-shirts, mugs, tank tops, ceramic tiles, metal, etc. Be sure to read the instructions carefully before turning on the 40x60 Flat Heat Press.

Safety precautions when working with a 40x60 flat heat press

The 40x60 flat heat press must be placed on a strong, stable table.
. High voltage is used, so the heat press grounding is required.
. Before turning on for the first time, check for external mechanical damage and insulation damage to electrical connections.
. Never plug in the device if there are any defects in the electrical connections.
. Be careful. To avoid burns, do not touch the heating elements.
. When unplugging the heat press from the outlet, do not pull the cable - take the plug and carefully remove it from the outlet.
. When working with the device, your hands must be dry; it is recommended to wear thin cotton gloves.
. Make sure that the cable is not in contact with sharp planes or heated surfaces, as this may lead to damage to its integrity.
. Use only serviceable power extension cords and tees rated for a current of at least 10 A.
. Periodically check the cable for mechanical damage.

The principle of thermal transfer technology.

To transfer an image to a ceramic plate, mug, T-shirt or other material with a polymer coating, the mirror image is first printed on special paper with sublimation ink in an inkjet printer. The paper with the image is then secured (usually with thermal tape) to a plate or other object, after which the heated surface of the 40x60 flat heat press presses the paper against the transfer object and the dye transfers from the paper to its surface.

Characteristics of 40x60 flat heat press:

ATTENTION
. When the heat press is hot, do not touch the top plate with your hands.
. Do not place foreign objects on it
. Do not scratch the surface of the stove.

Preparing a 40x60 flat heat press for operation.

Insert the plug into a 220 V socket.
. Turn on the heat press power button. In this case, the current temperature will be displayed in red on the control panel.
. Set the temperature and time according to table 1.

Table 1.

Job

Using the handle (Fig. 2, item 2), lift the heating plate. Turn on the power button Fig. 1 and make sure that the power indicator lights up red. Using the “+” “-” buttons on the controllers, set the required time and temperature (Fig. 1). It will take 5-10 minutes to achieve the set temperature.
. Once the set temperature is reached, the 40x60 flat heat press will automatically maintain it.
. Adjust the pressure by loosening or tightening the adjusting screw (Fig. 2, item 1) Attention: if the pressure is too high, the tile may crack; if the pressure is not enough, the transfer may be unstable.
. Place a flat object on the lower plate, on top of it is paper with a prepared mirror image (Fig. 3). Lower the heating plate (Fig. 2, item 2)
. The timer will start, and after the set time has finished counting down, a sound signal will sound. Raise the heating plate. Remove the object and carefully remove the paper. The process is over.

(A visual criterion for the correct selection of temperature and time for the thermal transfer process is the color of the thermal transfer paper after transferring the image. The color of the paper should become light brown on the side opposite the image. If the color of the paper is darker, then the time must be reduced; if the color of the paper is white, the time must be increased).

Problems and methods for eliminating them.

1. The 40x60 flat heat press must be kept clean, periodically wipe the surfaces of the thermoelements with alcohol.

If you are engaged in printing on mugs, and even if you are doing excellently in this direction, sooner or later the thought of expanding your production will come to you. In addition to mugs, you will want to add T-shirts, puzzles, mouse pads and a bunch of other useful products. And if so, then you can’t do without buying a flatbed heat press.

And again, as with the purchase or, you will be overcome by doubts and countless questions - which heat press to choose, what to look for when buying, and so on, so on...

I hope that this article will help you resolve, if not all, then at least most of these questions.

I wrote about the choice between cheap Chinese and expensive European-American manufacturers. In this article we will simply look at the characteristics of presses, their types and differences. I won’t write about expensive industrial automatic presses. Firstly, I don’t know anything about them, and secondly, they are definitely not interesting for beginners.

So, let's go.

All flatbed (or flat) heat presses differ:

a) by the mechanism for opening the top plate (folding, rotating)

b) by the size of the heating element (i.e. this very stove)

c) according to the location of the slab (longitudinal or transverse)

d) by power (which directly depends on the size of the heating plate, as well as on the type of heating element)

e) there are also minor differences in adjusting pressure, setting temperature and time, and other useful little things.

It is on these points that we will build our choice.

a) I will not agitate you for any specific type of opening of the press plate. It's a matter of taste and habit. The only downside to rotary presses is that to operate them comfortably, they require a little more space on the side and rear of the press to remove the heating plate. But, with the lid removed, nothing will interfere with you when laying out a T-shirt or other workpiece.

b) But you should think carefully about the size of the heating plate.

If you will only do sublimation printing on T-shirts, puzzles, watches and other blanks, and the maximum size of your printer is A4, then perhaps you should limited to a press with a small plate (for example, 28 x 38 cm). Save on both press and electricity in the future.

If you plan to subsequently purchase an A3 printer or buy a cutting plotter to do thermal decaling, then this size of the heat press plate will be too small for you. Here, at a minimum, 38 x 38 cm or larger will suit you.

Just don't go overboard with the sizes. When I went to choose my first flat press, purely out of “greed” and with a reserve for the future, I bought the largest one that was available with a plate size of 40 x 60 cm. And when in the evening I decided to test it in action and turned it on, I was simply blown away traffic jams. I didn’t even think about power when choosing. I, of course, solved the problem with the traffic jams, but later I realized that I could easily get by with a 38 x 38 cm slab in my work. A large slab not only It consumes more electricity and takes longer to heat up; it is also quite large. You have to get used to it so as not to get burned.

c) It is also impossible to give unambiguous advice regarding the location of the press plate. Again, this is a matter of taste. Personally, I didn’t like working on a heat press with a cross plate. When applying a picture to a T-shirt lying across, I always had to go from the side so as not to make a mistake when aligning the sheet with the picture. But, again, this is my personal opinion, which may not coincide with yours.

Well, if the heating plate is square, then there is nothing to choose from.

d) As I already wrote, the size of the plate and the power of the press are directly related. If you have free electricity and it doesn’t bother you to wait an extra couple of minutes until the large stove heats up, you don’t have to think too much about this point. Although, I repeat, you need to get used to large abs.

e) Now regarding minor differences in designs. As in the famous slogan, convenience comes from the little things. Useful small functions are always pleasant at work. And in this regard, expensive models of famous brands have always been at their best. But time does not stand still and every year there are fewer and fewer differences between the models. Nowadays even the cheapest mug press is equipped with an electronic timer and a sound signal. And it’s hardly worth paying extra for automatic ejection of a mug from a press.

I think we have figured out the appearance and functional features of flatbed heat presses.

Now about hidden defects, or, simply, defects. Most of them are caused by cheap presses made in China. But if you don’t have the money to buy an English Adkins or a German Schulze, there’s nothing to do - you’ll have to choose an inexpensive “Chinese”. Moreover, the choice in this segment is large and there are many worthy models.

A serious defect in a flat press is the curvature of the plate or uneven pressure over the entire plane. Squat down in front of the press so that the level of the lower plate of the press is at the level of your eyes. Now slowly begin to lower the heating element (top plate) and watch carefully. The contact of these two plates should be uniform over their entire plane. If there is a rubber mat inside the press, remove it. Without it, you will be better able to see all the flaws. Take something long and even, like a ruler, and applying it alternately to the bottom and top plates, see if there are any holes or other irregularities on the surface. If you find something like this, do not buy such a heat press. Such a purchase will subsequently bring you nothing but disappointment.

Another serious drawback that you may encounter is uneven temperature heating of the stove. Simply put, the temperature at different edges of the plate and its center can differ greatly, sometimes by tens of degrees. And this is not an inevitable marriage in your work. Of course, not everyone has the opportunity to take their temperature in a store. The only thing I can advise is to definitely ask for a guarantee. You shouldn’t even contact a company that doesn’t offer a money-back or press repair guarantee. This is especially true for equipment purchased by mail.

An important feature of all heat presses is the ease of use (or lack thereof). Cheap models are cheap because they saved on everything during their production. When you make one or two T-shirts per shift, you may not experience much inconvenience. When the volume of orders exceeds a hundred, your hands, constantly closing and opening the press plate, will “beg” for mercy. Semi-automatic and automatic models from well-known manufacturers will take on the lion's share of physical labor. This will be especially appreciated by women who work with a heat press. But the cost of such machines is two to three times higher than the cost of similar cheap models from China. And for a beginner, often limited in funds, this is a serious argument.

Also, when purchasing a press, do not forget to ask the supplier about the availability of spare parts for it. Serious companies always have their own service centers and repairs, if something happens, you will not have any problems.

In conclusion, I would like to say the following - purchasing a heat press is a serious and responsible matter. The quality and quality of your press’s assembly directly determines the quality and quality of your products produced on it. Moreover, the price of the cheapest heat press is measured at two to three tens of thousands of rubles. But this is still not small money. What can we say about more expensive models.

Therefore, take a little time to read this article and approach the choice of a heat press seriously. And then your purchase will not disappoint you, but will serve you faithfully for a long time.

Anyone who has ever seen the technology of applying images to ceramic mugs knows that this process requires only mugs of a certain model, adapted for a heat press, factory-coated with special polyester, and the mugs, as a rule, are only white, since polyester is transparent and the cost of a prepared clean mug starts from $3-4.

Mugs are very expensive to ship - heavy - and often arrive broken... Heat press, the cheapest of which costs from $800 and much more, for example http://www.adkins.ru/beta_range.php, special paper and sublimation ink or video a printer and, again, special paper... In general, the cost of the finished product starts from $9, hence the retail price - from $15 to 20.

Naturally, not everyone can afford this business, and today it is the lot of at least medium-sized companies and buyers with average and higher incomes.

There have been attempts to replace the heat press with a stainless steel attachment that is placed on a mug with a picture and then placed in the oven or oven. This, of course, somewhat reduced the cost - a press was not needed, but all other components remained the same, and annealing was inconvenient and required time and skills.

The Japanese turned all these technologies upside down and again made a revolutionary technological breakthrough.

The materials they invented are universal and work with ANY types of inkjet and laser printers and ANY types of inkjet printer inks, any uncoated mugs of any colors, shapes and sizes.

The A4 kit includes 1 sheet of film for printing the image and 1 sheet of double-sided heat-resistant ultra-thin film (white or transparent), coated with a special polymer to secure the image. To work with white surfaces, both white and transparent film can be used, with black and colored surfaces - only white.

The cost of the set is $8 (this is the maximum price, for a quantity order it drops to $5.5), 8 pictures are printed on it (minimum). With the most popular size of 7x8 cm, the cost of a regular inexpensive mug for application is $1-1.3. Advertising companies charge from $0.7 to $1 for printing an A4 sheet on an inkjet printer at photo quality.

Using some simple arithmetic, we get the cost of the finished mug with a picture at just over $2.5. That is, even if, according to Marx, you receive 300% profit, the cost of the finished product will be approximately $7.5.

Now about the transfer technology itself.

Full instructions can be found here: http://www.greats.ru/supplies.php

And in short, from all of the above technological operations and only to speed up the polymerization process, an oven can be used for 6 minutes or a conventional microwave oven for 3 minutes, but if the polymerization reaction is left to take its course, it will be completely completed within 3-5 days at room temperature.

The materials work on almost any surface - soap, candles, ceramics, plastics, your nails, porcelain, glass, leather, wood..., of course, these products do not require an oven or microwave.

The resulting images are absolutely moisture- and temperature-resistant, they are not afraid (of mugs, plates) of washing in the dishwasher; for many years the colors will remain as rich and bright as on the first day.

Thus, with the most minimal investment, anyone can open their own “magic” workshop and not only with mugs - in our country, for example, pictures on mobile phones are very popular, usually 3x3 or 3x4 cm and retail $4, and the cost is calculated in an elementary way, no one doesn't scare...

Write! We will help everyone with advice and materials!

Today, a variety of souvenir products with images printed on them have become very popular. These can be T-shirts, mugs, mouse pads, and much, much more. These limited edition items will certainly appeal to many. And especially if the client himself has a hand in their creation. Everyone dreams of owning a unique, yet inexpensive item, and it is in your power to make this dream come true.

There are various technologies for applying images to souvenir products, each of which has both its pros and cons, but, of course, one of the most successful today is sublimation or sublimation printing.

Sublimation printing - what is it?

Sublimation printing is the transfer of an image from special sublimation paper to a particular item. This transfer is carried out by heating and is accompanied by pressure exerted by a special sublimation press. In this case, the paint evaporates from the paper, introducing itself into the material of the object onto which the image is transferred.

This printing method not only produces bright, full-color images, but also guarantees the stability of the design, because the paint during sublimation penetrates deep into the material and can only be damaged by strong heating. That is why textiles on which images are printed using sublimation printing are recommended to be ironed at a low temperature.

Advantages of sublimation business

The sublimation business has a number of undoubted advantages. And above all, this is a small initial investment. The cost of all materials necessary to start work will be about 60-120 thousand rubles. To organize this business, large areas are not required. To begin with, a room of 4 m2 will be sufficient to meet your needs.

What is important is that the process of applying images is quite simple and does not require special knowledge and skills. If you have the necessary equipment, you will quickly and easily master it.

The time to make one product is about 10 minutes. This means you can fulfill a fairly large volume of orders. Considering that the trade margin for souvenirs of this kind is about 400-600%, this guarantees a payback for your business within just 2-3 months. Especially if you get down to business on the eve of the holidays, when the demand for souvenirs increases sharply.

Sublimation equipment

Equipment to start a sublimation business will be relatively inexpensive. Among the items you will need are a printer connected to a computer, heat presses for sublimation printing on various items and consumables, including film for sublimation printing, special paper, sublimation ink and, of course, items to which images will be transferred .

Among printers for sublimation printing, Epson devices are especially popular with us. The most common one for sublimation printing from this company will cost about 5-10 thousand rubles. You can also purchase a multifunctional device that combines the functions of a printer, scanner and copier. But, of course, it will cost significantly more.

There are also devices for large-format sublimation printing - plotters. The Mimaki plotters are noteworthy here. However, such devices are significantly more expensive than conventional printers. Their cost is no longer calculated in tens, but in hundreds of thousands of rubles. So they are suitable for expanding a business rather than starting one.

Heat presses

Heat presses are worth mentioning separately, because they are perhaps the main element of equipment for sublimation printing, without which there can be no talk of image transfer. We have already mentioned above that images can be transferred to a wide variety of objects using sublimation. These include dishes, textiles, wall clocks and much, much more. It is quite obvious that such different surfaces require different presses. The cost of such devices varies from 8 to 22 thousand rubles, depending on the set of functions with which it is equipped. And, if heat presses for textiles are still quite simple, then heat presses for printing on mugs are a completely different matter.

Mugs for sublimation printing today are represented by a wide range of products, among which you can find products in a wide variety of colors, shapes and sizes. Beer and coffee mugs, latte mugs, mugs with and without handles - what souvenir manufacturers don’t produce today! Not every heat press is suitable for printing on objects of such a variety of shapes and configurations. Therefore, special attention should be paid to the choice of such a device. In this case, multifunctional heat presses can come to the rescue, such as the 8-in-1 multifunctional press. This device is suitable for printing both on textiles and on mugs of various shapes, baseball caps and plates. The price of such a device is about 35 thousand rubles. You can find models of multifunctional presses 5 in 1 or 6 in 1, the price of which will vary from 25 to 40 thousand rubles.

If you specialize in applying images to a specific type of product, you can limit yourself to a heat press for specific products: textile, mug, or plate. If you have little finance to start your own business, this may be the best solution for you, because such heat presses will cost you significantly less.

Consumables

The choice of consumables is no less important than the choice of equipment itself. When it comes to ink for sublimation printing, everything is relatively simple. Typically, printer manufacturers also produce original inks for their products. However, original does not mean the best. Thus, the ink produced by Mimaki, which produces large-format printers for sublimation printing, is inferior in color to inks from ECS and Manoukian, and, moreover, is significantly more expensive than other inks on the consumables market.

Generally speaking, a set of sublimation inks will cost from 1,500 to 35,000 rubles, depending on the manufacturer and the volume of paint. Ink, as for a regular printer, is sold both as a set and individually. Among the manufacturing companies we are especially famous for are “Digistar”, “Durafos”, “Inksystem”, as well as the already mentioned inks from the companies “ECS” and “Manoukian”. This ink is suitable for almost any printer.

In addition to ink, you will also need special paper for sublimation printing. Notable brands here are “Durafos”, “IST”, “Lomond”. Depending on the paper format and the number of sheets in the package, the cost can vary from 200 to 1000 rubles.

And, of course, you will need the actual souvenir products on which the images will be applied. Of course, it is desirable that the range of these products be quite extensive. Don't limit yourself to just T-shirts if you decide to get into sublimation printing on textiles. After all, you can make pillowcases, ties, phone cases, bags, and even seat upholstery with images printed on them. Remember, the larger the range of products you offer, the more successful your business will be.

Operating principle of a flatbed heat press

To obtain an image on a T-shirt, mug or plate, modern sublimation thermal transfer technology is currently used. First, the image is obtained on sublimation paper, then it is transferred to the item using high temperature and pressure. For this purpose, in particular, a flatbed heat press is used. It has flat surfaces, so it allows you to conveniently transfer images to any fabric and flat things: tiles, metal products, textiles. The only condition for obtaining a high-quality image is the resistance of the material structure to high temperatures.

Advantages of a heat press:

1. Any flat heat press for printing on T-shirts is very convenient to use.
2. It has adjustable temperature, pressure and operating time.
3. This device is equipped with an automatic alarm.
4. A flatbed heat press is also worth buying because it evenly distributes the temperature over the entire surface of the product.
5. At the same time, the flat heat press, which has only positive reviews, allows you to quickly place the workpiece and automatically control the thermal transfer process.
6. The device has a non-stick Teflon coating, which eliminates defects when working with products.
7. Each flat sublimation heat press creates a very high temperature, allowing you to work with metal or ceramics.
8. Thanks to the large thickness of the working plate, the necessary pressure is created in the device, which is required to obtain a beautiful image.

You can, of course, make a flat heat press for sublimation with your own hands, but this does not guarantee a good result.

When using an automatic opening heat press, the price is affordable for everyone, no need to worry about when to lift the press. The device has a special magnetic mechanism that will open after the end of the transfer time. This ensures excellent work quality and reduces the number of defective products.

Using a flat heat press for T-shirts or other items is very easy. You just need to purchase special paper to transfer the picture. In addition, it is important to choose a high-quality textile product, which should have good wear resistance and not stain when washed. Each 40x40 flat heat press is capable of working without interruption for a long time. Thanks to the ergonomic layout of the control system, it brings great pleasure to the work process.

Now it is much more profitable to buy a tablet heat press with delivery in an online store, since its price in this case will be much lower. Our online store offers various options for heat presses that will allow you to make each product bright and original. At the same time, delivery of the ordered goods will allow customers not to worry about this. In addition, each product comes with a long warranty from the manufacturer itself.