Clamshell vs Swing Away Heat Presses

Posted on June 16, 2022 by Meredith Coe

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

Posted on May 19, 2022 by Meredith Coe

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

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″

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

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

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.

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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10+ Things To Make For Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 3, 2022 by deanna robinson

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!

Posted on January 20, 2022 by deanna robinson

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!

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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

Posted on December 9, 2021 by deanna robinson

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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Sublimation Tutorials

Posted on September 2, 2021 by deanna robinson

Are you just getting started with sublimation? Are you looking for sublimation tutorials to help you get started with your new printer? You are in luck! We’ve been hard at work here at the Pro World studio making Sublimation Video Tutorials so that you can create with ease!

Let’s start with the basics, shall we? Watch as we unbox and set up one of our most popular sublimation printers SG500!

Wondering what ink you should use with your sublimation printer? Watch this sublimation video.

Ready to start sublimating? Use these tutorials to help you…

How To Sublimate Linen Blanks

How To Sublimate Canvas

How To Sublimate Polyester

How To Sublimate Leathaire

How To Sublimate Jewelry

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Last Minute St. Patty’s Day Custom Goods That You Can Make

Posted on March 4, 2021 by deanna robinson

St. Patty Day Partys may be a bit smaller this year, but that doesn’t mean you can’t bring the Irish luck with St. Patty’s Day gear (& gifts!) Scroll down for some last-minute St. Patty’s Day custom goods ideas…that you can make!!

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Apparel
From St. Patrick’s Day Heat Transfers to making your own apparel with HTV, we have options for you! For starters, here are a few of our favorite heat transfers.

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As for HTV, we have plenty of green options for you to choose from. But what you really need to see are our SparkleBerry prints!

Drinking Vessel
If you are looking for a glass to hold your favorite drink, you could sublimate a shot glass as we did a few years back.

Or use Adhesive Vinyl to decorate a beer stein.

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Lucky Mask
If you find yourself in a pub-lic place this year, you are going to need a festive mask! In fact, you should bring a few extra to sell. They are sure to be a hit of the party!

st ptty mask

You can use HTV or sublimation to make a custom creation! Get your mask blanks here!

Accessories
If you want to preserve the luck and make it last all year, you could even make yourself some clover jewelry.

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Last Minute Gifts & Decorations That You Can Make

Posted on December 10, 2020 by deanna robinson

With Christmas around the corner, you probably are pretty close to wrapping up your decorations and gifts. But just in case you still need a few last-minute things, we wanted to show you a few of our hottest (and newest) items.

CHRISTMAS goods

Give a gift that will last throughout the years. With a CUSTOM CHRISTMAS STOCKING you can do just that. See them here!

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Or if you want something with more customization options consider sublimating a CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT! We have plenty of shapes to choose from. See them here!

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Or if you need a last-minute holiday outfit for your zoom dinner party, make an UGLY SWEATER with our UGLY SWEATER HEAT TRANSFERS. Check out some of our hilarious designs. See them here.

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Oh, and don’t forget to match your mask to your holiday outfit! You can easily make that happen with a HOLIDAY FACE MASK HEAT TRANSFER. See them here.

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If you aren’t tired of talking about holiday goodies just yet, here’s one more new item that you need to see – KIDS SUBLIMATION BLANK CHRISTMAS HATS. See them here.

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Customize Ribbon with Sublimation!

Posted on November 19, 2020 by deanna robinson

When it comes to sublimation the sky is the limit! If you can dream about it being personalized it probably can be and today we are showing you just how true that is with PERSONALIZED RIBBON!

With a personalized ribbon, you can use it to package your holiday present or custom creation. Or another popular option is wearing it in your hair with custom ribbon bow prints or personalized cheer bows! Regardless of whatever you use it for it is easy to make and can be done in just a few minutes!

Scroll down to learn How To Sublimate Ribbon!

You Need:

Here’s How! ;

1 – Design your ribbon print. We did this by measuring the width of the ribbons that we were printing on. Designed a few different versions to size and printed on the Sublimation Printer.

2 – Cut out your design.

3 – Turn on your Heat Press. We set the temperature on our Trans Pro to 400 degrees.

4 – Figure out where you need the design (this depends on what you are making). If you are making a hair bow you will need to print on different sides of the ribbon – see this article!

5 – Adhere your sublimation printer to your ribbon. We used Adhesive Spray to hold the design in place!

6 – Press your design for 60 seconds and peel hot!

7 – Admire your results!

9 – Tie it up and you are done!

Did you know that you can print on glitter ribbon as well? Just make sure that the material ribbon is 100% Polyester and you are all set!

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Decorate A Christmas Ornament With Sublimation and Adhesive Vinyl

Posted on October 29, 2020 by deanna robinson

Tis’ the season for custom gifts! Well, it’s the start of the season at least. Today we are helping you jumpstart your custom gift list and show you how we used a sublimation ornament blank 2 ways!

2 ways to decorate a christmas ornament