The heat press is arguably the most important component of any T-shirt printing business. Without a high quality model, you’ll find your final prints lacking colour and/or clarity. It’s very important to gauge both the heat and pressure of your transfers. Picking the right heat press will ensure consistency throughout. So what are your options?

For the absolute beginners and those with space to consider, the Clam Type Press is a great choice. It has a small frame so you won’t find it consuming half of your living room. On the next step up is the Swing Press, which is a modified design. This improves speed and accuracy of printing by allowing easier access to the T-shirt you are printing.

If you’re looking to mass produce, you’d be well advised to invest in a Pneumatic Press. These machines are more expensive but they work more efficiently with precise heat and pressure application. Companies such as Xpres and Target Transfers supply full ranges of heat presses.

Once you have a quality heat press, the next step is to invest in an efficient printer. And now you’re faced with the golden question – ink jet or laser?

Both printer technologies have their pros and cons. Ink jet devices are much cheaper to buy than their laser counterparts. The advantage of ink jet printers is that they produce bright colour with vibrant contrast. The downside is that the ink can be expensive. The texture of the print from an inkjet printer is different to T-shirts that have been commercially printed

Can you accept a slightly less professional texture, in exchange for a reduced set up cost and brighter colour? If so, an ink jet brand is the printer for you.

Laser printers, on the other hand, are renowned for producing prints which will last for a much longer period of time. They aren’t blessed with the same bright colour output, and they’re also more expensive.

The huge incentive of laser printing is that the fabric will retain a more natural feel. In other words, it won’t feel as if you’ve pressed a design on to it. For professional output, this is extremely appealing.

In terms of brand names, you’ll find that the major printer brands (Hewlet Packard, Canon, Epson) will have a printer in their range that will meet your requirements.

For sublimation printing, you may need to invest in a different kind of printer – along with special inks. Xpres produce their own brand of Subli-Print sublimation inks. These are specifically catered for the heat sensitivity that the sublimation process requires. It’s possible to buy a low budget printer from a dealer like Epson, and by making use of the sublimation inks; you should be able to use it for your purpose.

Finally, if you’re interested in the vinyl manufacturing option, you will need an actual vinyl cutter. These can be pretty expensive to obtain, but a good cutter is absolutely paramount to your success in the vinyl market.

Roland and Stika provide a large range of cutters, from the absolute bottom range of the market – usually for hobbyists – to those who require giant 24 inch cuts.

Obviously, if you’re going to be focused on T-shirt printing, you won’t need the widest cut size. A vinyl cutter with an 8 inch range should fulfil your basic needs – providing that you don’t dip in to the XXXL market!

If you have found this second installment useful and are interested in T-Shirt Printing or if you are simply looking for blank wholesale T-Shirts then make sure you visit www.polo-shirts.co.uk.