Stahls’ Hotronix® is the worldwide leader in heat press manufacturing. When speaking with customers, there’s no shortage of folks who are willing to talk about how long they’ve owned and operated their Hotronix and all of the business they’ve been able to achieve with heat printing. While quality and durability are staples of the brand, perhaps the best selling point of Hotronix is their constant innovation. Having sold heat presses for the last 10 years I’ve had the opportunity to see a host of new innovations. Features such as the first auto opening press, to the first digital pressure readout to the first dual functioning heat press (one that operates as a draw or swing away) come to mind.
In the wave of innovation it’s sometimes easy to forget about all of the new things that they’ve come out with….
I’d like to take a moment to highlight one of the “major” innovations that quietly came out a little over a year ago, the Hotronix Hover Heat Press. This press is the first with a hover mode for curing direct to garment inks while also being able to complete standard applications with direct pressure. The press looks just like the auto open clam press and in my opinion is a no-brainer for anyone that already has a DTG Printer or anyone who may see getting one in the future.
So how exactly does the Hover heat press work and why is it needed for direct to garment printing?
If you’ve been up to speed on decorating technology you know that a direct to garment printed t-shirt is a pretty big deal. In order to print directly onto shirts you need a direct to garment printer. After the garment feeds through the printer it must undergo a curing process, because the ink is still wet and not cured for durability. The two options for curing are a conveyor belt dryer or pressing it with a heat press. Through years of experience it was found that indirect contact first with the ink provided the best possible print result, color vibrancy and durability, especially with white ink applications for dark shirts. The Hotronix Hover cures the ink with a hover step and then the heat press is locked down again for direct pressure. The unique twin timer toggles back and forth between normal mode and hover mode for ease of operation.
And don’t worry, for those of you who want to take it out of hover mode, YES you can set it to work like a normal heat press when not curing DTG applications.
I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see what’s next from Hotronix! Please leave a comment with your thoughts or ideas for innovation.
Here’s a video of the Hotronix Hover Press that will help you to understand just how it works!
post submitted by Stahls’ CAD-CUT® Direct
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