Heat Presses
Fancierstudio 15x15 Heat Press Review: Pressing Real Shirts at Home
Nine months on one spare-bedroom workbench. What the 15x15 clamshell does well, where it fights you, and the two settings I use every single time.
A dental office receptionist in Evansville bought a 15x15 clamshell press in February to make fundraiser shirts. Nine months later it still lives on the workbench her husband built.
Nine months on one spare-bedroom workbench. What the 15x15 clamshell does well, where it fights you, and the two settings I use every single time.
A flat press on a workbench versus an auto press in a garage, judged from nine months of spare bedroom pressing.
Nine months on a 15 by 15 clamshell in a spare bedroom, and the ten things that made it the right first press for someone who started with a household iron.
A dental office receptionist in Evansville bought a 15x15 clamshell press in February to make fundraiser shirts. Nine months later it still lives on the workbench her husband built.
A dental office receptionist in Evansville walks through the five steps she actually uses: the outlet, the settings, the load, the press, and the wash test. No shop required.
Nine months of weeknight pressing in a spare bedroom, including the parts of owning a 15x15 clamshell that the listing photos leave out.
After a clogged converted EcoTank ruined six tumblers, I bought the Epson SureColor F170. Six months of weeknight use later, here is what it does well and where the 8.5 x 11 ceiling actually bites.
I ran a converted EcoTank for two and a half months and then bought the Epson F170. Here is the honest split, including the two things the converted route does better.
I converted a printer in February and gave up on it by May. Here is what changed when I bought a machine built for transfer paper.
A dental office receptionist in Evansville, on the Saturday her converted printer quit, and the machine she bought the following week.
A first-timer's walkthrough from unboxing to the first sharp polyester shirt, with the mistakes I made so you do not have to repeat them.
Six months of weeknight printing in a spare bedroom, including the three limits the listing does not lead with and the one habit that keeps the print clean.
Six months, one Epson F170, and a steady run of straight 20 oz tumblers: where this paper holds fine detail and where it makes you work for it.
A home printer's comparison of A-SUB and HTVRONT sublimation paper, based on six months with one and a few visits to a friend's bench with the other.
Ten things that changed in my prints when I swapped the generic pack for A-SUB, from edge haze to whether a small name stays readable.
Six blurry tumblers, one clogged printer, and the plain sheet of paper that turned out to be the whole problem.
Six months of trial and error in a spare bedroom, distilled into the five steps that actually keep sublimation edges crisp.
A beginner's honest look at the paper I have used since May, including the print-side problem, the humidity issue and what it will not do.
Six months of pressing 20 oz straight tumblers on a folding table in a spare bedroom, after the toaster oven and the shrink wrap failed me in April.
One machine is easier to learn. The other is easier to run in a batch. Here is which one belongs on your table first.
I wrapped tumblers with sleeves, tape and a countertop oven for ten weeks. Here is what changed when I stopped doing it by hand, in plain terms from my spare bedroom.
Six blurry tumblers, one clogged printer, and the machine that made the whole thing repeatable.
The five-step routine I use on 20 oz straight blanks, from the mirror check to the peel, plus the two minutes of prep that stopped my tumblers coming out streaky.
Six months, one spare bedroom, and a folding table by the window: the clamp, the size window, and the clock you have to run yourself.
Nine months, one press, and a lot of cotton shirts: what cutting, weeding and pressing Siser EasyWeed actually feels like in a spare bedroom.
Nine months on one roll and a handful of evenings on the other. The difference is not in the big shapes. It is in the small line of text under the name.
A spare-bedroom crafter's honest list, from hot peel and 1-second tack to the small frustrations worth knowing before you press your first shirt.
My first vinyl shirts came apart in the wash. Nine months and a heat press later, here is the roll I keep buying and the settings I use on cotton.
Five steps, one temperature, and the weeding order that decides whether the shirt survives the laundry.
Nine months with one roll, a Cricut, and a clamshell press: what EasyWeed does well, and the parts of the craft it cannot fix.
Nine months on one spare-bedroom workbench. What the 15x15 clamshell does well, where it fights you, and the two settings I use every single time.
Nine months of weeknight pressing in a spare bedroom, including the parts of owning a 15x15 clamshell that the listing photos leave out.
After a clogged converted EcoTank ruined six tumblers, I bought the Epson SureColor F170. Six months of weeknight use later, here is what it does well and where the 8.5 x 11 ceiling actually bites.
Six months of weeknight printing in a spare bedroom, including the three limits the listing does not lead with and the one habit that keeps the print clean.
Six months, one Epson F170, and a steady run of straight 20 oz tumblers: where this paper holds fine detail and where it makes you work for it.
A beginner's honest look at the paper I have used since May, including the print-side problem, the humidity issue and what it will not do.
Six months of pressing 20 oz straight tumblers on a folding table in a spare bedroom, after the toaster oven and the shrink wrap failed me in April.
Six months, one spare bedroom, and a folding table by the window: the clamp, the size window, and the clock you have to run yourself.
Nine months, one press, and a lot of cotton shirts: what cutting, weeding and pressing Siser EasyWeed actually feels like in a spare bedroom.
Nine months with one roll, a Cricut, and a clamshell press: what EasyWeed does well, and the parts of the craft it cannot fix.