It’s time to see who’s boss!!??
In the red corner, we have the mighty heat press and in the blue, there’s the trusty screenprint. Let us see how they match up??!! Now this a battle that we may have seen played out on many occasions but have we got to the bottom of it.
Who is the champion??!!
When first starting up in this game it’s pretty much standard that a heat press will be present. It’s easy to set-up, cheap to run and they come in a variety of styles and more importantly, the lower end products are affordable. As time goes by, being a small business, you need to reduce time spent producing so understandably screenprinting comes to mind as you can produce high volume at low costs. The entry-level is pretty basic and very cheap to set up but wouldn’t suffice if it’s going to stand up against and rival vinyl heat pressing. The only way this is possible is investing in a carousel enabling you to print multiple items with reduced setup. This isn’t that cheap and the time spent training yourself up to gain these new much-needed skills will take its toll but once you have a clear understanding of this method you’ll see your business move to top rank. On the ropes one minute and the next delivering a vital blow that could take out your opponent.
So… why do we still see the elusive mighty heat press if screenprinting has so many more benefits.
Well, you will always need to supply printed items in lower quantities as you wouldn’t set up using screenprinting for single items unless your client requests it and is happy to pay an extortionate amount of money. Small order requires a heat press and particular substrates will need to be heated in order for it to work so you can count your lucky charms Mr heat press. Your time is not over yet!!!
Not only this but using vinyl when printing apparel allows you to be quite creative as there’s such variety of effects and textures. For example there’s a reflective range, a metallic range, glow in the dark etc. These effects aren’t the same for screenprinting and this is where the mighty heat press makes its come back. A few lefts and a right jab and it’s back in the game.
The end result is that both fighters are on their feet standing strong. One might be red, one blue but both hold their own and can be crowned the heavyweights of the world.