If you’re interested in trying your hand at selling specialty apparel, there’s a lot of money going around in that industry. Last year the U.S. apparel market was worth around $315 billion, and that market is only expected to grow until it reaches about $385 billion by 2025. Buyers in the United States are spending about $1,700 every year on clothing and related items, and you want them to be looking at yours! To get started and see if your ideas have traction, you need to start with any of the types of heat press on the market to apply your custom transfers. Whether you’re thinking about using manual heat presses or sublimation presses, read on to learn the basics.
What is A Heat Press Machine For?
Heat press machines allow you to apply specialty transfers to fabrics, mugs, or other items, creating a unique item of your own design. Heat presses can be pretty economical or very expensive. Manual heat presses are the least expensive, allowing the hobbyist, the part-time craft designer, or your experimenting teen to make some side income. Manual heat presses and automatic presses come in a variety of sizes to fit every budget; as well as the size of different crafting rooms!
What Does a Typical Heat Press Come With?
Nearly all manual heat presses and automatical heat transfer presses will come with a digital timer and temperature display, a knob for adjusting pressure, a heated plate, a heavy frame, replaceable fuses, and a power plug. Most cannot do mugs, plates, or hats unless you get a heat press attachment or buy a multifunction heat press outright. If you want to go beyond flat textiles, tiles, or puzzle pieces, you’ll want to check all the available manual heat presses and see which ones are compatible. Heat presses can also be manual heat presses, automatic, or even semi-automatic. Naturally, the last two are both more expensive and more convenient if you’re producing at great volume. Manual heat presses are a great idea for those on a budget.
Tips for Setting Up Your Heat Press
When you first set up your heat press, make sure you can access it from three sides. Especially if you’re using manual heat presses, you’ll want to be able to shift quickly from left to right and then to the front whenever it’s necessary. Also, bear in mind that most heat presses are heavy affairs. You won’t want to be moving it any more often then you have to, so put it somewhere permanent. Finally, never put your heat press on a flimsy piece of furniture. The table needs to be able to bear the weight of the machine plus the force you add as you press down on it.
What if It’s My First Time?
If it’s your first time using a heat press, you’ll want to make sure you open all your windows and turn the machine on with nothing in it. Let it get very hot and run for 20 or 30 minutes to burn off all the chemical smell. Before you press anything you care about, practice with some transfers and fabrics you don’t care about. This will not only let you get rid of any excess residue, but also let you get familiar with how your machine works.
Heat press transfers are a great way to make a bit of money, empower your creative self, and have something unique to gift to family and friends. A heat press machine is an important part of the equation, so take time to make sure you’re getting the right one.
