Heat Press Buyer's Guide: What Size Heat Press Should I Get?  

With so many heat press options for your business and hobby needs, it can be overwhelming to figure out what best fits your needs. In this guide series we will break down the things you need to consider, so you can figure out which heat press is best for you.  

There are a couple of considerations you need make before picking out a heatpress: 

1. Size: How big a heat press should you buy? 
2. Style: Should you get a Clamshell or Swing Away Heat Press?
3. Materials: What are you planning to Heat Press (fabric, mugs, caps, etc) 
4. Function: How the heat press releases. Manual, Auto Open, or Air Operated
5. Volume: How many things are you planning to make with your heat press? 

In this blog post we will be breaking down some of the common sizes for heat presses. The size of the heat press determine what size of items you can heat press.  When picking out a heat press the first thing you need to decide is how big of a press you should buy. 

Five questions to ask yourself when picking out your ideal Heat Press Size

1. What is the largest size item that I want to heat press? If you are printing shirts consider how big of designs you want on your shirt. You also need to consider the coverage on the shirt and consider that kid size shirts are very different from XXXL shirts. 
2. What is the largest size transfer paper my printer can print or what is the largest size transfer paper/vinyl I have? If you are only planning to print on 8" x 11" transfer sheets then the minimal recommended size is a 9" x 12" heat press. For even applications, you want to make sure you can transfer the entire image in one go so the bigger the bed size the better. 
3. Are you doing mass production or looking to do quick jobs one at a time? Smaller presses heat up quicker and are quick solution for a couple of shirts at a time. If you are looking to do mass production (ex. mouse pads, totes, shirts) at a time then the bigger the heat press the better. With bigger presses the more items you can press in one go. 
4. What size heat press do I need five or ten years from now? Heat presses last a very long time, so it is important to consider what you might need down the line. 
5. What is my budget? The bigger the heat press size the more expensive. If you are still trying to figure it out after all the questions the general rule is buy the biggest size for your budget. 

Heat Presses Broken down by Size 

Heat presses come in a wide range of size. In this one we will just be addressing heat presses for flat apparel. Mugs, caps, and other unique shaped heat presses will be addressed in another blog post.   There are also other variables to consider (style of heat press and function of heat press) and those also factor into cost as well. The general rule is the bigger the size the more it costs. The bigger the size the more things you can heat press. 

Small Heat Presses:

Geo Knight JP12 Jetpress 9" x 12" Swinger Heat Press	HIX HobbyLite 9"x12" Swing Away Heat Press	Geo Knight JP14 Jetpress 12" x 14" Swinger Heat Press

Medium Heat Presses:

Great for users who have medium businesses, because these presses have much more power. If you want to turn your hobby into a income source this is the size to go for. The medium heat presses can do repetitive work and press medium size items. If you are heat pressing T-Shirts from baby to adults this is the best size for you.  

HIX S-450 15"x15" Clamshell Heat Press	Geo Knight DK16 14" x 16" Clamshell Heat Press	HIX SwingMan 15 Swing Away 15"x15" Heat Press

Large Heat Press:

Large heat press are great for industrial level uses. They can help produce high volumes of products and transfer on large items. When getting a large heat press, you need to make sure you have a dedicated work space on a strong table. 

• 16" x 20" Heat Press
• 20" x 25" Heat Press

Geo Knight DK25S 20" x 25" Jumbo Digital Swinger Heat Press	HIX SwingMan 25 Twin Swing Away 20"x25" Heat Press	Insta Graphic 828 20" x 25" Auto Swing Away Heat Press

What is the smallest and most versatile Heat Press? 

The popular consensus is the most versatile and smallest heat press you should consider is the 15" x 15" also known as the full size heat press. This size is great for those who want to start a hobby and turn it into a business.

Find what you need by checking out our heat press by size: 

• 9" x 12" Heat Press
• 12" x 14" Heat Press
• 14" x 16" Heat Press
• 15" x 15" Heat Press
• 15" x 20" Heat Press
• 16" x 20" Heat Press
• 20" x 25" Heat Press