Clamshell vs Swing Away Heat Presses

clamshell vs swing away heat presses: which one should you get

Are you in the market for a new (or your first) heat press?? You came to the right place! Pro World carries a broad selection of TransPro heat presses- many of which are eligible for our $200 off deal!*

*If you purchase at least $399 in stock transfers, transfer paper, heat transfer vinyl, sublimation paper, sublimation blanks, and Silhouette products (excluding cutters & custom transfers), a $200 discount will automatically be applied to your cart.

But first, do you even need a heat press? Can’t you just use an iron or handheld heat press?

In some situations, yes. However, a heat press gives you the pressure consistency, temperature control, and larger work area necessary for most projects. Additionally, if you have a steam iron, the holes on the bottom will affect the amount of pressure being applied. Your transfer won’t be receiving any pressure in the areas where the holes are.

So if you have a t-shirt business (or are thinking about opening one), using a heat press will allow you to create MORE shirts in way LESS time. Plus, you’ll be able to feel confident in the quality of your shirts!

Clamshell vs. Swing Away Heat Presses

We carry two different styles of heat presses: Clamshell & Swing Away. While the design may differ, one isn’t necessarily better than the other. When trying to decide between the two styles, keep in mind the type of substrates or garments you’ll be working with, as well as how much space you have available in your work area.

clamshell heat press vs swing away heat press

Clamshell Heat Presses

Clamshell heat presses open and close just like a clam. They have a smaller footprint of the two styles and also tend to be the more affordable option. They’re great for beginners because the design and set up are so simple.

Swing Away Heat Presses

Swing away heat presses have a top platen that lifts and swings completely away from the lower platen. This makes it easier to lay out your garment or substrate without the risk of burning yourself.

The design of swing away heat presses also makes them more conducive to working with thicker items, such as plaques and tiles. This is because the top platen comes down straight and can apply pressure evenly.

Swing away heat presses require more space than a clamshell style. You’ll need to make sure there’s enough room on either side of the machine to swing the top platen.

The TransPro Slide: The Best of Both Worlds!

If you love the affordability and size of a clamshell heat press but also want the ease of laying out your garments safely away from the heat, you may want to consider our TransPro Slide heat press!

The TransPro Slide is a clamshell style, but the lower platen slides out like a drawer. This gives you plenty of space to lay out your garment without having to get too close to the heat.

clamshell style heat press with slide out drawer

Whichever TransPro style you choose, you can feel confident that you’ll be getting a quality heat press at an unbeatable price! Check out all of the TransPro Heat Presses here and don’t forget about our $200 off special!!

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How and Why You Should Use Heat Press Pillows

Whether you work with heat transfer vinyl or sublimation, our heat press pillows are the key to helping you consistently achieve professional looking results!

when and how to use heat press pillows

What are heat press pillows?

If you don’t know what heat press pillows are, they’re soft foam squares or rectangles that are covered with teflon. These foam pillows go inside or under garments, causing thick seams, zippers, buttons, etc to be pressed down into the pillow. This eliminates pressure points, allowing pressure to be evenly distributed across your garment.

Four different sizes: 6"x6", 5"x16", 10"x10", & 15"x15"

Four different sizes: 6″x6″, 5″x16″, 10″x10″, & 15″x15″

Have you ever ended up with paper indentations on your garment after pressing a sublimated design?? Pressing pillows can help with this! Try using a pillow that is smaller than your transfer paper, but larger than your design. This will prevent the edges of the paper from touching your garment and ensure you’ll have no indentations.

If I were applying a smaller logo to the left chest area of this shirt, I would use the 6"x6" pillow to make sure the seams along the sleeve don't interfere

If I were applying a smaller logo to the left chest area of this shirt, I would use the 6″x6″ pillow to make sure the seams along the sleeve don’t interfere

When applying heat transfer vinyl; zippers, buttons, and thick seams can stop your top platen from fully reaching the area where you want to apply your vinyl. If this happens, your vinyl might not receive the amount of pressure it needs to properly bond to your garment.

The 10"x10" size would be perfect for applying a larger design onto this tote bag

The 10″x10″ size would be perfect for applying a larger design onto this tote bag

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In this case, place the pressing pillow under or inside your garment before using your heat press. This will raise the area where you want to place your design, allowing your vinyl design to get the right amount of even pressure.

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If you’re ready to find out how heat press pillows can benefit you and your business, head over to our website where you can purchase your own pack!

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TransPro Heat Presses & Heat Transfer Machines

Are you thinking about getting a heat press? You should! They are great, regardless if it’s for your next business adventure or a social gathering that requires personalized tees, mugs, and more!

When it comes to heat presses, you may be asking yourself, “What heat press should I get?” 

There are many options when it comes to heat presses, so the question you should ask yourself is  What do you want to make?”

If you would like to create a custom mug or water bottle, you will want to check out our Mug Presses! One of our favorite presses is the TransPro Plus Mug Press The extra-long heating element gives you the ability to easily print any size skinny tumbler – including a 20oz or 30 oz skinny tumbler! 

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If you are looking for a garment heat press. The TransPro 15 x 15 is the #1 selling heat press. This heavy-duty product has all you need to print on T-shirts, mousepads, jean jackets, and more!

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“I searched for months to find the perfect heat press with a warranty and excellent customer service, this is it!!” Our customer Billie Jean gave an amazing review for the USA’s most popular heat press! 

Looking for a wider surface? Try the TransPro Swinger! The 16 x 20 heat press has a wider opening than most heat presses on the market.

TRANSPRO SWINGER 16×20 HEAT PRESS

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If you’d like to start making hats you will want to get a hat press! The  TRANSPRO AUTO OPEN CAP HEAT PRESS is a nice option. We love it because of how easy it is to use, thanks to the hydraulic automatic opening feature! 

Hopefully, this Heat Press overview helped you on your buying journey. If you have any other questions just ask! And remember, you can check out the whole collection of Heat Presses here

findout what heat press

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10+ Things To Make For Valentine’s Day

Looking to create something new for Valentine’s Day? Today we are rounding up all of our love-ly products that you can customize!

Besides having close to 20 Jewelry Sublimation Blanks for you to choose from the one that really catches our eye for Valentine’s Day is our Heart Charm Bangle Bracelet! Add a photo, or your favorite print and you have a custom one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry to give!

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If your Valentine likes to cuddle, give a custom pillow! We have over 20 types to choose from, but we think you will love the heart pillows for this special occasion!

Fuzzy Heart Sublimation Blank

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Sequin Heart Pillow

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Glitter Pink Heart Pillow

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If you are looking for a gift that will be loved forever make a Heart Rock Slate.

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If you want your Valentine to feel the love even when on the road make a keychain! Here are a few of our favorites!

Heart Keychain

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Metal Keychain

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Leather Heart Keychain

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If you would like to make a shirt that is quick and easy use a Heat Transfer!

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Or you can use heat transfer vinyl to design your own image or use one of our digital art files!

Don’t forget to gift your pup with a Valentine gift. This heart dog tag is perfect!

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All about customizing face masks: inspiration, tutorials, and tips!

Want to create a custom face mask for you or your customers? MAKE SOME with our Face mask sublimation blanks. When it comes to Face Masks, you have options. You can use sublimation, heat transfer vinyl, or even a heat transfer to create a custom creation. Below you will find some questions and answers to help you with your creative process and to serve as inspiration!

mask blog

What does a face mask blank consist of?
All of our blanks are super comfortable with adjustable straps.

Do you ever run sales?
Sometimes! Keep an eye on our website and social media pages @proworldinc.

What do I need to sublimate a face mask?

How do you sublimate a face mask? Watch this video!

What type of vinyl would you use on a face mask?
Heat Transfer Vinyl. Just design, cut, weed, and heat press it onto your face mask.

Can I layer HTV on a face mask?
Yes, you can! Just make sure that the HTV is allowed to be layered.

How do I apply HTV to a face mask? Watch this video!

How do you use a Heat Transfer on a face mask?
Just press and peel! It’s really simple. Watch this video!

Do you have a video? Yes! Watch this.

While we are talking about masks, here’s a mask holder that you can create!

Have you made a custom face mask? SHOW US! Tag us on social @proworldinc

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Create a Custom Printed Garment at Pro World: Video Tutorial

Need a custom garment printed? Pro World can help! We provide a large selection of high-quality customizable products and a powerful online designer making things easy and quick for you.

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Ready to get started with your custom garment? Go here!

Want to see how the process works? Watch this video!

When it comes to ordering your custom garment. You have options! You can make your selection by garment style, brand, or even type! Then click through to see all of our product offerings!

shirt style

bybrand

by style

Once you select your product you will head to a more detailed page. Select your color and then Start Designing!

DESIGN

Add your text, upload your image or both! Then click Next Step.

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Choose your quantity and click Get Price.

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Finalize your order and you are done!

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New TransPro Plus Heat Presses

If you love the TransPro Plus Heat Press you are going to LOVE the new models!

Want to see what makes them different from the last batch? Scroll down!

The Intrepid Adventurer

The TransPro Plus 15 x 15 includes the best features of our TransPro Select line but with so much more!  This press offers interchangeable platens (sold separately), slide-out lower platen for easy access, and semi-auto release which can be changed to manual operation if needed. The press also features a pressure display ranging from 0-9 that can be set by the large pressure knob on the top of the platen.

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Need the larger model? Try the 16 x 20 semi-auto heat press!

Looking for the perfect craft press? Try our 9″ x 12″ heat press. Our special laser-cut base allows for you to dress the garments over the lower platen without stretching them out. The press also offers a dual gas spring for the upper heat platen so it can be lifted gently for a smooth and quiet release.

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Want to make custom mugs? You need our TransPro Plus Mug Press! The extra-long heating element gives you the ability to easily print any size skinny tumbler – including a 30 oz skinny tumbler! The digital control panel with the colorful display is simple and the stable structure makes this machine lightweight and easy to operate. This press also offers interchangeable heating elements (sold separately) to expand the type of drinkware you can sublimate on. We offer a standard element for 11oz or 15oz mugs, a wide latte style for printing 15 oz tapered drinkware and a larger standard style for printing on a 30oz tumbler.

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Looking for a cap press? Consider the TransPro Plus Cap Press! This cap press is designed to perfectly mold and mirror the curves of a hat. Use this press to apply heat transfers on the cap’s brim and/or bill or use the press for printing labels on garments. This press comes with the standard cap platen size of 3.5×6.5″, but also offers 4 interchangeable platens (sold separately) for the perfect fit on most cap styles.

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Want to take a look at our other TransPro models? Go here!

 

 

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Layering HTV

If you are new to creating custom designs you may not realize that you can LAYER HTV. In fact, I would bet it’s even easier than you would expect it to be.

Below are step-by-step instructions on how to layer heat transfer vinyl.

Scroll down for a tutorial and a video!

layering HTV

You Need:

 

Directions:

1 – Design your image

2 – Cut it

3 – Weed it

4- Place your base layer of HTV on the garment

press 1

5 – Heat it up according to the directions

6 – Peel off the plastic layer

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7 – Get your second piece of HTV and place it on your shirt

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8 – Cover your full design with a non-stick sheet

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9 – Press it again

10 – Peel the plastic coating off

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11- Cover the full design one more time with a non-stick sheet, and press it for just a few seconds to make sure everything is in place

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12 – Admire your work!

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You may also like:

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5 Ideas On Things To Make With Your Kids

Looking for something to do with the kids? Take out your cutting machine and/or Heat Press! There are plenty of projects that you can do together. You just need to think a bit outside the box :)

This is why today we are showing you 5 projects that we’ve made, and the kids helped!

5 ideas to make with your kids

1  – Coloring Tees

Do you have a child who likes to color? Or maybe a budding fashion designer? Have them help you personalize clothes for themselves OR their furry stuffed friends with coloring tees!

Coloring tees bring endless fun because you can create an outlined image on a garment, give them some Crayola markers and let them add the color. Once they are tired of it (or dirty) throw it in the wash to start again. See how to make it here!
Kids Coloring T-shirt Party Favor

2 – Paint OVER vinyl using the Hot Mess Technique

Does your kiddo like to paint? You are going to want to try the Hot Mess Canvas technique. It’s cute, messy, and absolutely no way that they can mess it up! See how to do it here.

hot mess canvas

3 – Make that doodle last forever

Do you have a doodler on your hands? Or want to preserve that precious handwriting forever? Trace it and make it last permanently with adhesive vinyl. See how here!

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4 – Permanently Colored Gifts

Would your child like to make a gift for someone special? Have them design a crayon drawing and apply it to fabric! See how here.

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5 – Color Changing Apparel

Watch your clothes change colors right before your eyes thanks to Solar Heat Transfers! This project is the simplest of them all, but your kiddo will sure have fun watching it change colors before their eyes! See how to make them here.

solar heat transfers

 

Do your kids help you with your custom projects? We would love to see it! Tag us at @proworldinc or #proworldinc

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Create Using Crayons with Ink Jet Paper and a Heatpress

Today we got a little bit creative with our tutorial. We had some Pro World kids color on Jet Pro Soft Stretch Paper, and then we pressed it onto a tea towel for a 1 of a kind design!

Want to see what we did? Scroll down!

Pro WorldYou Need:

Directions:

1 – Draw on the plain side of the Jet Pro paper with the Crayola crayons

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2 – Heat up your heat press to 375

3 – Place your drawing face down on the white fabric

4 – Press for 30 seconds

5 – Peel hot and fast

6 – Cover the completed transfer with parchment paper and press again for 10 seconds. This will make the surface smooth and make the transfer deeper into the fibers.

7 – Admire your results

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If you liked this post, we have another that you should check out. We took the JetPro SS and printed a coloring page onto it, colored, and pressed it to a shirt! Watch it here!

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