Mega only offers high quality heat presses as the key to successful sublimation printing is always going to be the quality of the heat press used. No matter how good a printed image is, to achieve good results, you need a press that delivers constant even pressure and heat. That heat also needs to be accurately controlled over the whole heated platen. Cheap heat presses can be found on eBay and from other UK suppliers. Please do not forget that if an offer looks too good to be true then generally it is! We have seen many cheap presses with European CE safety markings and in all occasions in our opinion were not fit for sale on safety and performance grounds. With cheap presses you will often find temperature controllers and timers that offer indifferent performance at best and more importantly the heat platens are not always flat. Without a completely flat evenly heated platen you will always get hot spots and uneven sublimation printing. These were our experiences which are sadly common with many cheap ‘economy’ presses.

Clam or Swing Press
We offer both Clam and Swing Presses. In terms of performance they are to all intended purposes identical. The Clam press opens quite wide but some users feel uncomfortable about 'leaning into' a press of that size. The alternative is the swing press where the heated platen raises up and then swings away from the base. These are perceived as safer to use by some but you need a larger workspace to accommodate the 'swing away' The 38 x 50 cm swing press is also approximately £130 more expensive than the 40 x 50cm Titan Clam Press.

Cadet Swing Press
This is an entry level press manufactured by the same company that produce our Mug Presses and it uses the same electronic control module. You set a standby or idle temperature and a pressing temperature which will be a few degrees higher. When the press is used the machine will ensure the pressing temperature is reached before the time counts down. This can take a little getting used to for the first time user and some pressing times may need to be adjusted but it is an effective way of ‘sublimating’ and the Cadet offers excellent value for money.

Clam Presses
We other two different designs of A4 and A3 Clam Press all with inbuilt digital controllers for the heat and temperature.

Apollo
The Apollo Presses are our lowest cost units. Conventional rigid construction methods are used to manufacture these presses. They feature advanced electronic controls and a flat heat platen with constant even pressure. The lower cost makes them ideal for those needing to meet a specific budget as a standalone press as part of a Sublimation Starter Kit.

Titan
The Titan range represents the highest quality of Clam Press. Laser cut profiles provide a futuristic design and full digital control is provided for heat and temperature. A perfectly flat, evenly heated platen provides successful sublimation printing every time. Mega has been selling this range for many years without any product issues at all. When budgets allow they are the natural choice for even the heaviest sublimation user.

Advice on choosing a Virtuoso A4 or A3 printer

Why Sawgrass Virtuoso?
Firstly you need a printer for sublimation that uses print head technology that does not heat the ink in the printer. The Virtuoso printers are just such machines but if you used a manufacturer's machine with alternative technology it is likely the ink would be momentarily heated to force it through the print head. This would be disastrous if sublimation ink was used as it would sublimate before it ever reached the paper. All Virtuosos also used large convenient sealed ink cartridges. The Virtuoso printers from the ink manufacturers Sawgrass are sublimation printers that have been co-engineered with Ricoh. They offer high definition image reproduction with vibrant, true-to-life colours and a fast throughput.

With a Virtuoso you also get:

• Free downloadable Power Driver software for PC
• Free downloadable ICC Colour Profiles for Mac
• Free access to CreativeStudio

CreativeStudio is Sawgrass’ innovative online design software and stock design library, developed to help creative entrepreneurs quickly and easily produce transferable images that keep customers coming back for more. Available exclusively as part of the Virtuoso HD Product Decorating System, this powerful tool enables you to easily create great-looking designs from any Internet-connected computer.

Print Size
The first and obvious difference between the SG400 A4 and the SG800 A3 is one can print images twice the size of the other! The A3 also offers lower print costs as the cost per millilitre of the ink in the larger cartridges is less.

Examples of various prints and their associated ink costs can be found on our resources page.

Order below any Starter Kit with a standard Mug Press for an extra £119, or a Multi-Function Mug Press for and extra £169

Don’t forget to add some Mugs to your order!