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Need Help Flags, beach flage, Feather flags
- Thread starter ad41061
- Start date
You can do large format heat press or piece to roll calander. Depends also on your needs and sizes you want to do. Both have + and -.
1. Calander
- a long startup and a long cool down. You need to be present during both as the felt could get damaged if the machine stops for some reason (power cut, failure...).
- inserting printed rolls and used paper is a pain
- a lot of maintenance
- hard to switch settings on the fly. usually you need different rolls for products with different settings
- if one of the operators needs to take a break, you need to cut the printed paper and then insert again
+ the speed of calander dictates the speed of work and output
+ size is usually smaller than the heatpress
+ you are limited only by width
2. Heat press
- takes up a lot of space
- ventilation is hard
- motivation of operators dictate the speed and output
- possible issues with aligning print and product
+ eventhough startup and cool down period is long you do not need to be present
+ less maintenance
1. Calander
- a long startup and a long cool down. You need to be present during both as the felt could get damaged if the machine stops for some reason (power cut, failure...).
- inserting printed rolls and used paper is a pain
- a lot of maintenance
- hard to switch settings on the fly. usually you need different rolls for products with different settings
- if one of the operators needs to take a break, you need to cut the printed paper and then insert again
+ the speed of calander dictates the speed of work and output
+ size is usually smaller than the heatpress
+ you are limited only by width
2. Heat press
- takes up a lot of space
- ventilation is hard
- motivation of operators dictate the speed and output
- possible issues with aligning print and product
+ eventhough startup and cool down period is long you do not need to be present
+ less maintenance
hybriddesign
owner Hybrid Design
Hi,
Your 24" width is probably too small to print most flags but if want to give it a shot you need a smaller rotary calendar/heat press. Expect to pay around $10-12K for a decent entry level press unless you want to import one or find a used one.
If you purchase one with an electric heater (versus oil heater) they don't take too long to warm up or cool down. You have a smaller printer so you really shouldn't be looking for anything other than an entry level press unless you want really get into this big in the future. Either way, I think a smaller press is what you want. You do need to make sure the press does a specific cool down cycle which is what the other person who responded is cautioning about but imho it's not that big of a deal and easy to do.
We have a digiheat 44" which is outdated but they have good support and is a very solid easy to use press. It's the 44" on this page and I think it runs $12-14k but there are a lot floating around used. http://www.digifab.com/equipment/heatpress.htm
There are a ton of other 44" presses out there too. Just make sure that they have an electric heater and NOT an oil heater. Here's one I found after a quick search https://www.itsupplies.com/product-p/f-236-ttx-44.htm
The speed of the press is directly related to the heating drum size. I think the digiheat is around 9" diameter or something. The larger the drum the faster you print. Some of the really cheap presses have 6" diameter drums which will be really slow feeding fabric through. I can't personally imagine using a 6" drum model to print flags but I know other people that do it. Even the digiheat feels super slow when you're using it. Larger presses will have 14-18" drums sometimes.
Keep in mind that printing a feather flag or something on the 628 is going to take forever so it's likely not worth it... just something to think about. I had a 628 for a while (trying to sell it if anyone is interested) and I can't imagine trying to print flag transfers on it.
good luck
Your 24" width is probably too small to print most flags but if want to give it a shot you need a smaller rotary calendar/heat press. Expect to pay around $10-12K for a decent entry level press unless you want to import one or find a used one.
If you purchase one with an electric heater (versus oil heater) they don't take too long to warm up or cool down. You have a smaller printer so you really shouldn't be looking for anything other than an entry level press unless you want really get into this big in the future. Either way, I think a smaller press is what you want. You do need to make sure the press does a specific cool down cycle which is what the other person who responded is cautioning about but imho it's not that big of a deal and easy to do.
We have a digiheat 44" which is outdated but they have good support and is a very solid easy to use press. It's the 44" on this page and I think it runs $12-14k but there are a lot floating around used. http://www.digifab.com/equipment/heatpress.htm
There are a ton of other 44" presses out there too. Just make sure that they have an electric heater and NOT an oil heater. Here's one I found after a quick search https://www.itsupplies.com/product-p/f-236-ttx-44.htm
The speed of the press is directly related to the heating drum size. I think the digiheat is around 9" diameter or something. The larger the drum the faster you print. Some of the really cheap presses have 6" diameter drums which will be really slow feeding fabric through. I can't personally imagine using a 6" drum model to print flags but I know other people that do it. Even the digiheat feels super slow when you're using it. Larger presses will have 14-18" drums sometimes.
Keep in mind that printing a feather flag or something on the 628 is going to take forever so it's likely not worth it... just something to think about. I had a 628 for a while (trying to sell it if anyone is interested) and I can't imagine trying to print flag transfers on it.
good luck
hybriddesign
owner Hybrid Design
The oil heated presses are usually larger machines which would not be a match for your smaller printer. A good electric/IR heated press should not have any heating issues. Our Digiheat has been great and we've had it for 8+ years just replacing the heating element (around $1200) every few years.
But yes, the oil heated machines also often take longer to heat up and cool down. More advanced machines will have features where they lift the felt heating blanket off the heated roller so you don't have to really worry about it burning but that's on really $$$ larger units.
I'm not any kind of expert on the larger rotary calendars but I can tell you 100% that with a VJ628 you're just looking at an entry level rotary calendar. You could also press it piece by piece on a regular flat heat press using tacky paper but you'll see some color inconsistency as you overlap the press areas.
But yes, the oil heated machines also often take longer to heat up and cool down. More advanced machines will have features where they lift the felt heating blanket off the heated roller so you don't have to really worry about it burning but that's on really $$$ larger units.
I'm not any kind of expert on the larger rotary calendars but I can tell you 100% that with a VJ628 you're just looking at an entry level rotary calendar. You could also press it piece by piece on a regular flat heat press using tacky paper but you'll see some color inconsistency as you overlap the press areas.