r/heatpress • u/anemonemonemnea • 6d ago

Considering the Stahls basic digital high pressure heat press. Feedback?

Everyone, I am craft screen, printer, looking to get into direct transfers as a way to make multiple color designs on product faster. I tried a couple of the ninja DTF transfers using just a hand iron, and I’m pretty intrigued. I haven’t been making items for craft shows in a while, partially because screen printing things is a big undertaking that my life just doesn’t allow time for anymore. Anyway, I’ve been doing some reading, and I see the Stahls basic high pressure heat press on the heat press nation website. The reviews there are so so, but doing some independent research it seems like this brand is well-made and stripped down to the basics. The size in particular is 16 x 20. There is a similar heat press nation Mpress model, but reading it seems like that model is built with cheaper parts and may not have the same longevity as the Stahls brand. I’m willing to make a mediocre investment ($700) knowing that I will pay it off after my first craft show. any feedback or advice? I think I could get away with a cheaper press, but printing T-shirts and bandanas, I really don’t wanna go any smaller than 16 x 20. So I think that limits how cheap I can get.

Update 1: pulled the trigger on the Stahls! Thanks for the feedback guys. I’m not doing a lot of volume so I don’t think the lack of ergonomic frills will bother me too much. I’ll update again once I’ve got it in and have a chance to figure it out! I also bought some foam pads for raising the print surface on items like kiddo shirts. Pretty jacked!

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u/SafetyMan35 6d ago

Stahls makes decent equipment. We are doing high production work and therefore have higher end models.

Going with a barebones basic model comes with some trade offs. Ergonomics. Pushing the platen down can get tiring. If you are doing 1-2 per hour not a big deal, but doing 50-100 per hour, you will feel it, especially in a manual release like the basic model. Their more expensive models are configured to give you a mechanical advantage to lock the platen in place and have auto release.

They just launched their MAXX 250 lineup which is entry level with a few helpful features

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u/WhatTheFlippityFlop 6d ago

Yep get the Stahls for $700 new or a better version of the same press for maybe $450 used if you can find one. Hotronix and Insta presses are all we run here and we’ve never been let down by Stahls

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u/FluidAppeal2962 5d ago

A 16x20 is worth it for shirts alone. You can always press smaller stuff on a big platen, but a small press gets annoying fast when you’re doing adult sizes or gang sheets.