Digital Heat Press Machines
A heat press is a machine engineered to imprint a design or graphic on a substrate, such as a t-shirt, with the application of heat and pressure for a preset period of time. While heat presses are often used to apply designs to fabrics, they can also be used to imprint designs on mugs, plates, jigsaw puzzles, and other products.
Both manual and automatic heat presses are widely available. A new style of press that is semi-automatic has entered the market as well, allowing for a manual closing process with an automatic opening. Digital technology in newer machines enables precise control of heat and pressure levels and timing. The most common types of heat press employ a flat platen to apply heat and pressure to the substrate. In the “clam shell” design, the upper heat element in the press opens like a clam shell, while in the “swing-away” design, the heat platen swings away from the lower platen. Another design type a “draw style press” allows for the bottom platen to be pulled out like a drawer away from the heat for preparation of the graphic. Vacuum presses utilize air pressure to provide the necessary force and can achieve high psi ratings.
Most heat presses currently on the market use an aluminum upper-heating element with a heat rod cast into the aluminum or a heating wire attached to the element. For high-volume operations involving the continuous imprinting of items, automatic shuttle transfer presses are used. The substrates to be imprinted are continuously loaded onto the lower platen and shuttled under the heat platen, which then applies the necessary heat and pressure.
The pattern is printed in sublimating ink on sublimating paper which allows the pattern to transfer. You can get some highly effective patterns and great effects using this technique.
Vinyl Cutters & Plotters
A Vinyl Cutter & Plotter (sometimes known as a cutting plotter or vinyl sign cutter) is generally used by professional poster and billboard sign-making businesses to produce weather-resistant signs, posters, and billboards using self-colored adhesive-backed vinyl film that has a removable paper backing material. The vinyl can also be applied to car bodies and windows for large, bright company advertising and to sailboat transoms. A similar process is used to cut tinted vinyl for automotive windows.
Colors available are generally limited only by the collection of vinyl on hand. To prevent creasing of the material, it is stored in rolls. Typical vinyl roll sizes are 24-inch, 36-inch and 48-inch width. Generally the hardware is identical to a traditional plotter except that the ink pen is replaced by a very sharp knife that is used to cut out each shape, and the plotter may have a pressure control to adjust how hard the knife presses down into the vinyl film, allowing designs to be fully or partly cut out.
Generally it is preferred that only the upper surface with the vinyl is cut, but the backing surface is not completely cut through. Completely loose pieces cut out of the backing material may fall out and jam the plotter roll feed or the cutter-head. The vinyl knife is usually shaped like a plotter pen and is mounted on ball-bearings so that the knife edge rotates to face the correct direction as the plotter head moves. Sign cutters are primarily used to produce single-color line art. Several colors can be cut separately and then overlaid, but the process quickly becomes cumbersome for more than a couple of hues.
Sign cutting plotters are in decline in some applications, such as general billboard design, where wide-format inkjet printers that use solvent-based inks are employed to print directly onto a variety of materials. Cutting plotters are often relied upon for precision cutting of graphics produced by wide-format inkjet printers, however – for example to produce window or car graphics, or shaped stickers. It is becoming more common for large-format wide-carriage inkjet printers to be used to print onto heat-shrink plastic sheeting, which is then applied to a vehicle surface with adhesive and shrunk to fit using a heat gun, known as a vehicle wrap.
Mug Press
A mug press is an electric machine that allows the user to print images onto ceramic coffee mugs. A cylindrical press holds the mug in place while the press applies high, even heat to the surface of the mug, thereby transferring an image to the mug surface. Most presses can accommodate a variety of mug sizes.
Create a mug collection with your own personal images and texts. Our mug press machine allows for quick and easy transfers onto mugs, steins and stainless steel travel mugs. The adjustable, wrap-around press can accommodate for mugs ranging in sizes of 11 oz. to 16 oz. It allows for the mugs to be easily loaded and unloaded during activity. Whether you’re in it for profits or pleasure, you’ll achieve the best result.
PVC I.D. Maker
PVC, or PolyVinyl Chloride, is a ubiquitous plastic ideal for identification cards. The material, familiar as the plastic used for credit cards, has the advantages of durability, low cost and lightweight, and printing on it is easy with the right equipment.
You can easily start a businesses offering commercial service using this equipment for printing photo ID badges for companies, schools, organizations, etc.
Print Supplies and Consumables
Visit our Online Shop. We carry most if not all of your printing needs.
We offer you the best in printing business machines and equipment. We have an ever-expanding line-up of choices. Shop online for digital heat press machines, cutter & plotter, UV Dye/Sublimation/Pigment inks, spare parts, heat transfer papers, printers, CISS at a lot more at the most convenient online shopping portal there ever was for print business.
JET PRO® SS (SofStretch)
JET OPAQUE® II
3G JET-OPAQUE®
Pigment Ink – Super Black
