You’re thinking about a heat press you say? Let me guess…you can’t decide which one would best benefit you best. Well, let me tell you, I thought the same exact thing when i came into the industry. I figured all heat presses are the same, but, when in reality, they are not.
There are three differnt styles of heat presses to choose from…clam, swinger, and draw. What’s the difference you ask? Below, i will describe each of the three.
Clam – The name comes from the fact that the heat press opens and closes like that of a clam. This style of press is the mosy widely used style of press out there. These presses take up very little room because they open up and down, rather than swinging away, thus there is no need to have any extra space to the left or the right. Clam shells often have a variety of different options available including, digital or non-digital time, temp and pressue readouts, manual or auto open. If you are limited in space, this is probably the best fit for you. I would strongly recommend digital and auto-open simply for ease of use. One disadvantage is you will be working under heat.
Swinger – To open or close this heat press, rather than up and down, the upper platen swings away to the right or the left side. This heat press is ideal for those who wish to work with a “heat free workspace”. Since the heat press swings away, you will not have to work under a heated surface as you would with a clam press. You will need extra room to the left or the right with this heat press. Also available in an air operated model (air compressor required).
Draw – This is a rather unique heat press. The Draw heat press’s lower platen pulls out like drawer. This too, allows for a “heat free” surface as well. It is also a heat press that doesn’t require a lot of space.
Any one of these different syles of heat presses would all be an excellent choice. What you have to look at is, which of these features will best suit you. If I were recommending a heat press, I would have to go with the Phoenix Auto Open Heat Press for two reasons…1. the auto open feature, 2. it has digital time, tmperature as well as pressure read outs.
I am including the video the one of my colleagues has made highlighting each of these styles of heat presses.
-mk
