HOW TO HEAT PRESS A T-SHIRT
(OR JUST ABOUT ANY GARMENT!)

George Knight DK20SP

Heat presses are machines that use heat and pressure to apply graphics, and are a great solution for printing on t-shirts and other garments. This tutorial gives some tips to get you started with heat pressing t-shirts and garments for many types of heat presses, including Geo Knight presses.

Garments can be printed with both clamshell (vertically opening) presses and swing-away (sideways opening) presses. Heat presses either apply pressure manually by hand, or automatically with an air compressor. George Knight offers some of the best heat presses for printing on t-shirts and garments. The DK20S, DK20, and DK20SP are some of the most popular models.

A special type of paper called "heat transfer paper" is often used as the medium for transferring an image to your garment. To use transfer paper, the first step is to get the image you'd like onto the transfer paper. Typically, you'll need to reverse the image (make it mirror image) using image-editing software. Check to see what kind of printer ink is best for the material you are printing on and your transfer paper. It sometimes helps to trim the paper (a utility knife or scissors should do the trick) so only the artwork you want transferred onto the garment remains.

Turn your heat press on, and set it to the proper heat and pressure settings. Ideal settings vary with specific materials and inks, so be sure to check with your heat press and ink manufacturers to determine how hot to set your heat press, and how long to press the garment. Once the press has heated up, load your garment onto the heat press. Take care to smooth out any wrinkles, and lint roll the printing surface of the garment to ensure it is totally clean. Some manufacturers recommend pre-pressing the garment by placing a sheet of protective paper on top of the garment, and closing the press for a few seconds to warm up the garment. If you do that, be sure to remove the paper afterward. Then, position your artwork as you'd like it to appear on the garment. Be sure the side with the ink is in direct contact with the garment. Often, it is next recommended to place the protective paper on top of the transfer paper.

Now you're ready to go ahead and press to transfer the artwork onto your garment! When your garment has been in the press for the proper amount of time, open the press, remove your garment, and set aside to cool. Follow any instructions specific to your transfer paper when removing the transfer sheet.

Visit our Learn page for more information on heat pressing, or feel free to Contact Us with any questions or requests for special projects. We would be pleased to provide a solution.

Learn more about the DK20S, DK20, and DK20SP from George Knight.

To learn more about or to buy George Knight heat presses, visit HeatPress.com.