3 days Ago By Stuart Pritchard
Ever struggled to find the perfect piece of apparel to sum up how you feel about, say, a band, a TV show, or a political situation? Sick of being stuck with saccharine sentiments stamped on stuff like “Live, Laugh, Love”, or stomach-churning motivational quotes such as “If you can dream it, you can do it”? Of course you are. So why not fight back against the corporate fist of banality by making your own? That’s right, my creatively unoutletted friends, if you have a head for slogans or an eye for art, then with the right kind of kit you can have it emblazoned on anything from a T-shirt to a cap - all you need is the assistance of imagination (either your own or someone else’s), a blank material canvas, and some form of damnably cunning heat press machine. There are four types of heat press machines, starting with the classic Clamshell where the platen (the oppress bit) simply clamps down, the Swing Away where the platen literally ‘swings away’ to allow for easier loading, the Slide-Out Drawer where the platen slides in and out, and the Multi-function which combines the functions of other heat presses and also allows the use of various attachments.
Naturally, as with everything in life, some types are more expensive than others, but as you’ll see, depending on whether you want to start some home-based, sell-online, side-hustle to supplement your income, or simply want to print up some unique stuff for you and yours, for a fistful of fivers you could be up and churning out anything you can design and print. So, how does it work? Well, you can, if you wish, buy ready-made transfer designs online and heat press them onto your varying bits and bobs or, if you’re more of an out-and-out innovator, design your own images, logos and slogans using graphic design software. Once you’ve assembled and saved your image, open it in your transfer paper software, play with the size and angle, remembering to mirror the design as it will flip when you transfer, and prep it to print from your transfer-paper-type-compatible inkjet or laser printer.
After that, your design will print as normal, so leave to dry, then slap it in your heat press machine ready to roll. And that’s basically it. Different materials and transfers will require different timings, but you can just refer to the manufacturer’s guide for that.
So, the only question now is: what are you going to make? A philosophy-bending T-shirt with “Is it solipsistic in here or is it me?” hilariously emblazoned on it? Or a cap that parodies both Spider-man and the fat cats of the energy industry with “With great power comes great leccy bill”? Or perhaps a reusable tote bag that says: “add slogan here”! Or...
okay, okay, I’m sure you have your own, much better, actually funny ideas. To which end, if all this talk has left you fancying having a fling at getting your own gear hot off the press right now, here are my five favourites for heat printing perfection..
..
