Time to upgrade our heat press.

[kingscreen]

We are looking to purchase a new heat press.  We currently use an old Insta pneumatic.
What's everyone using and loving?  Anyone have a Fusion?  Pros, cons? 
We don't necessarily need another pneumatic.  And we are trying to stay under 2,500.

[ericheartsu]

we have the stahls fusion, and we like it alot. Programmable with saved settings, it makes it really dumb proof to use. Also it's super easy to switch out plattens, and do different materials.

Also it has a timer that you can set, so it's warmed up first thing in the morning. pretty neat.

[mk162]

I would stay away from Stahls.  I HATE mine.  I find the usability is fair(there are times I have to press the platen down buttons 6 times to get it to engage), the touchscreen is literally the worst one I have ever used.  Oh yeah, 6 months out of warranty it melted the circuit board and power switch.  They were nice enough to send me a new board for free($600), but I will never buy another Hotronix...ever. 

My next one will probably be a Hix.  I have one of those that I bought used over 12 years ago and it still works great, we've replaced the shock a few times, but other than that I've had virtually zero problems.

[Frog]

I know that more than one member here has reported serious failure of the actual main metal components of some Hotronix model.
I don't know if the Fusion has this potential problem.
However, I like Insta and George Knight (and have nothing against Hix either as I have also had old, dependable Hix presses over the years)

[im_mcguire]

I like my Geo Knight 16 x 20 swinger.  Does the job I need it to. 

[XG Print]

We have a Fusion and have had it for a while.  It has been a really reliable shop press for us.  Easy to use and the ability to use it as a swing or slide style press is nice.  Also threading garments on this press is so easy.  I also have a Maxx Heat Press that is a 16 x 20 clam type press.  I have probably done 10s of thousands or presses with this press.  The only issue I have ever had is the pressure gets really week over time because there are some bushings that wear out and have to be replaced.  They are cheap and I have had to replace mine twice.  Little bit of a pain but as many events as I have done with that thing it is really hard to complain. 

[Inkworks]

We have 3 Hix presses, just picked up a 16 x 20" Presto yesterday for cheap, our main press is a 16 x 16 auto-open that is the cats ass. If we didn't have Hix's we'd have Geo Knights, I've seen too many critical failures on Hotronix and other Stahls models.

[mimosatexas]

I wouldn't buy anything but a Geo Knight unless I was forced to.  My 16x20 Geo Knight is around 30 years old, bought it used, and looks and works like it is brand new.  They're all built like tanks.  It also seems like they have every part for every press they've ever made stocked and ready to ship (mine needed one part when I bought it and I had it in hand in two days even though they havent made this model for a long time).  They will also custom make platens for whatever you need for not much more than the stock ones.  You can get the president of the company on the phone easily too.  Have dealt with them half a dozen times and own 3 of their presses and have no complaints.

[bulldog]

I have an Air Fusion - it's been great actually. Broke the little bearing for the auto open crap but I don't use that anyway. Sometimes the pressure regulator is a little funky on higher pressures. I think the heat recovers quickly, better than the Geo. If you're changing pressures frequently like for DTG pretreating this is the only press I would use. The ability to easily thread hoodies on is nice too. There is a lot of clearance. This press is almost $4500 new I think. I've done over 6000 on it in the last 6 months or so and no major problems.

I have a Geo 16x20 air swinger also, I like it. No bells and whistles but I think it is slow to recover the heat. No threading on here. Was like maybe $2200 new. Good bang for the buck.

Next I think I would pay the extra money and get an air fusion with the sliding table.

[mk162]

Yeah, our auto swing on that broke within the first 6 months.

[cclaud3]

We have the fusion. We use Stahls so it's nice that the transfer instructions are made for it. It's unfortunate that this model doesn't auto-open. The less expensive clamshell version does. We have the 120V unit. Never had a transfer come back from failure.

I don't like the way the slide-out platen works. The platen will roll back in while you are loading a shirt. The "stop" that keeps it in the out position isn't firm enough.

[mimosatexas]

I have a Geo 16x20 air swinger also, I like it. No bells and whistles but I think it is slow to recover the heat. No threading on here. Was like maybe $2200 new. Good bang for the buck.

They do take a while to heat up and hold it for a while, but the heat is super even across the full surface of the press, at least according to my laser temp.  I have almost bought a few other brands on craigslist, but I always bring the laser temp gun with me and the other brands seem to have drop off at around 2 inches from each edge or issues with banding.  Probably not a big deal most of the time, but I do occasionally do transfers that are 18+ inches long and it's nice to know they aren't going to have issues at the ends.

[bsdprint]

I have been using my Geo Knight 16x 20  Swing away for the past 8 years with no problems. 

[mooseman]

the service from George Knight is superior and the equipment ain't bad either
mooseman

[bulldog]

I have a Geo 16x20 air swinger also, I like it. No bells and whistles but I think it is slow to recover the heat. No threading on here. Was like maybe $2200 new. Good bang for the buck.

They do take a while to heat up and hold it for a while, but the heat is super even across the full surface of the press, at least according to my laser temp.  I have almost bought a few other brands on craigslist, but I always bring the laser temp gun with me and the other brands seem to have drop off at around 2 inches from each edge or issues with banding.  Probably not a big deal most of the time, but I do occasionally do transfers that are 18+ inches long and it's nice to know they aren't going to have issues at the ends.

I have a digital pyrometer (from GK) and I can say both presses have very consistent heat edge to edge. Laser guns only measure the atmosphere so are more of a "guesstimate" but better than nothing. My GK does temp 20 degrees higher than the display and the fusion is spot on with the display. But that can be adjusted if needed.