Creating Botanical Prints with the Heat Press

The heat press is a WOW! when it comes to revolutionizing some aspects of botanical printing! This video explains the basics.

It’s all about heat, moisture and direct contact and it’s easy to adapt a press to provide the perfect environment for each of the key components!

I’ve been using three different presses in my botanical printing experiments. Here is a brief review and links to Heat Press Nation - a great company with good prices and customer service that I've recently partnered with. They have a short video http://shrsl.com/2246j to help you make the decision of which press to buy, but here are the features I use to evaluate a press:

1. Consistent pressure. Overall even pressure is really important, as is an ability to tighten pressure and change it based on the thickness of the “bundle” – Not all presses are equally uniform.
2. The speed of temperature recovery. When the press is closed the temperature slowly goes down, so a quick recovery is a valuable feature.
3. Reliable timer. I tested each press against the timer on my phone and one was off almost ten seconds, which can affect the quality of the print.

Since filming this video, I've created an online course! Check it out here:
https://www.janedunnewold.com/heatpress

The Mpress 16” x 20” press is a great press for the money.
http://shrsl.com/2246m
The 15” model is less expensive and is also a great buy, as Heat Press Nation discounts all the machines they sell.
http://shrsl.com/2246n

The first press I bought was a Siser 16” x 20” and I love it. Fulfills all the criteria that matter to me, but it is a little pricier.http://shrsl.com/2246r. Of course they also sell a 15” and that would be cheaper, and still a decent size!
http://shrsl.com/2246s

Two notes: I also bought an EPhoto inc. press but I don’t recommend it compared to the ones mentioned here. I don’t think it heats as evenly as the other models.
Also might be important to note that I have used all of my presses for workshops where we kept them running six hours straight for five days at a time, in addition to the personal time I’ve put on the machines. Absolutely no issues with keeping these machines running for hours at a time, so I don’t see any reason to spend more money on brands that are more costly.

Ferrous sulfate: https://amzn.to/2sGIDfv
Copper sulfate: https://amzn.to/2RZkBHv
Iron or Press cleaner: https://amzn.to/38Z6UhQ
Teflon sheets: https://amzn.to/36MzMb3

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