A plain, dull hat! No way! This isn’t going to look sassy! And the stock-labeled hats aren’t the smart option either! So it shouldn’t work for you or for your business.
You need your own customized hats to create a signature look. On which you can print your own logos and labels.
But how do you do that?
The way you can decorate your unique hats is by using a good hat heat press along with a perfect platen.
So which of the hat heat presses could bring you professional results?
Confused?! Don’t be!
We’ve got you covered with our top 7 picks for the best hat heat press. Watch out for these options here, and we bet you won’t be disappointed.
Our Favorite Best Hat Heat Press
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Top 7 Best Hat Heat Press- Buying Guide
Here we’ve chosen 7 top hat heat presses for small-scale hat printing jobs in your home to large-scale ones for businesses. Let’s take a look!
- VEVOR Heat Press 6×3.75Inch Hat Heat Press– Professional heat press machine
- SmarketBuy Hat Heat Press 15×15 Inch– Best overall hat heat press
- VEVOR Cap Press 3.1 x 5.5 Inch Hat Heat Press– Best heat press machine for small business
- Angoo Professional LCD Hat Heat Press– Best cap heat press
- VEVOR Portable Heat Press 12×10 Inch– Best portable hat heat press
1. VEVOR Heat Press 6×3.75Inch Hat Heat Press
Most professionals in the industry find the Vevor Hat Press to be a great buy for its build quality, ease of use, and printing accuracy.
It’s a plug-and-play machine, and you can use it straight out of the box. All you need is a few tweaks to imprint your desired image on the hat.
Although it mightn’t be the most premium out there, it still comes with a bunch of features to serve your purpose. Let’s check out!
Features
- High-quality Construction: The press seems well built from the outside and provides great stability while using. It promises a long service life as well.
- Die-Casting Aluminum Plate: With die-casting aluminum plate, you can have around 12,000 hours of more service life than the regular silicone heating pads.
- Precision Controllers: When it comes to temperature controllers in heating, you need digital precision. This press machine allows you to set the temperature and timer.
It sounds an alarm when the timer value is reached and stops heating just when the preset temperature is reached. So you get your hats and caps protected from any damage.
- Ergonomic Design: The press comes with curved components that are transferred perfectly for great quality printing. It also reduces obstruction with a well-designed foam parallel arm handle.
- Multiple Applications: It can help you make any kind of souvenir and gifting hats imprinted with characters, colorful labels, patterns, or anything you want.
Pros
- Durable and stable
- Beautiful look with fine craftsmanship
- Longer service life
- Intelligent controller
- Ergonomic, compact, and curved design
- Suitable for a wide range of press applications
Cons
- Platen size is inappropriate for some applications
- Heating could be uneven and fluctuating
2. SmarketBuy Hat Heat Press 15×15 Inch
Looking to decorate your baseball hat for you or your team? Smarketbuy Hat Press could be the right choice to tune into.
It suits most hats and caps out there. The heating is quick, and you’ll get the automatic controller and pressure adjustment knob to have it stopped when done.
So you can press your stuff without any hazard. Let’s take a look at its features.
Features
- Curved Element: The platen isn’t that large (but wide enough), you probably don’t need one either. But it’s curved to accommodate a wide range of designs and patterns.
- Clamshell Design: Its clamshell design gives you room to work with so that your hands stay safe from the heated elements.
- Pressure Adjustment Knob: The full-range pressure control knob allows you to easily adjust the pressure according to the material thickness.
- Digital Timer and Temp Controller: It doesn’t miss out on this convenient feature. You can set accurate time and temperature using its digital display and controller.
- Multiple Applications: This heat press can help you imprint colorful letters, patterns, words, photos, and so on. So you can create a unique hat style.
Pros
- Easy pressure adjustment
- High-precision digital temperature control
- Automatic time control
- Space-saving design
- Heats quickly
Cons
- No interchangeable platens
- Little bad odor while heats up
3. VEVOR Cap Press 3.1 x 5.5 Inch Hat Heat Press
We’ve already seen a great hat heat press machine from Veovor. It’s time to check out another hat heat press detail from the same company.
It’s great for small transfers, and Vevor has worked hard to bring down the price with this hat press.
It includes most of the features; however, there’s room for quality control which the company should look into. But again, for the price, it’s a decent option to check out.
Features
- Aluminum Heat Plate: It comes with an aluminum heat plate and a clamshell design for excellent efficiency and maneuverability. These are the keys to a successful hat heat transfer machine.
- Digital Timer and Temp Controller: It comes with an LCD regulator to help users set precision values for the timer (ranging from 0-999 seconds) and the temperature (ranging from 93 – 232 ℃).
The machine automatically stops heating, and the alarm sounds when the preset values are reached.
- Ergonomic Design: The ergonomic design includes a swing-away, foldable arm for better safety to your hands. Its handle is smooth from the outside for easy and effortless use.
- Even Pressure: It comes with the spring press rod for a more uniform and clearer hot stamping pattern. The full-range pressure adjustment knob also helps distribute the pressure evenly.
- Teflon-Coated Element: This press features Teflon-coated heat platen, which prevents scorching of transfer. And you won’t require the additional Teflon or silicone sheet.
Pros
- Compact and space-saving design
- Works well for small transfers
- Automatic control with audible alarm
- Swing-away arm for better protection
- Pressure adjustment
Cons
- Heating issue noted
- Arch isn’t high enough for some
4. Angoo Professional LCD Hat Heat Press
You probably won’t mind a fancy orange hat press for your fancy hats. Angoo Heat Press is a vibrant-looking machine and is well capable of imprinting some beautiful graphics on your hats.
Let’s check out what this hat heat press is capable of.
Features
- High-quality Materials: It comes with a strong steel frame and looks promising to serve for years. So the machine stays dead stable.
It also includes excellent silicon wafers that can endure high temperatures.
- Clamshell Design: With its clamshell design, you’ll have enough space to work with. Its ergonomic arm handle reduces obstruction.
The machine is well designed. So you can keep your hands from the heating elements and work from a safe distance. The curved element ensures a complete pattern transfer with perfection.
- Digital Contol: Its digital readout allows you to set a temperature between 200-430F and timestamp between 0-999 seconds. The heating stops when the preset temperature is reached.
- Pressure Adjustment: It offers a pressure adjustment knob that makes it easy to adjust the pressure according to the material thickness.
- Multi-Functional Accessories: It’s a multifunction hat press machine and comes with all the accessories required for a successful pattern transfer, including the stencils for painting.
Pros
- Space-saving design
- Durable construction
- Quick heating
- Convenient digital readout with an easy-to-use controller
- Easy-to-use controller with convenient pressure adjustment
Cons
- Comparative small bottom pads
- Even heating could be an issue at times
5. VEVOR Portable Heat Press 12×10 Inch
Next, we’ve another sublimation transfer cap hat heat press on the list. It’s a pretty good one in terms of printing accuracy and durability.
This one is brought to you by Sorovee and includes all the important features you look into in a cap press.
Let’s take a better look at its features here.
Features
- Convenient Design: It comes with a compact, clamshell design, made easy for your countertops.
This hat press also comes with a curved element to perfect the Pattern Thermal Transfer. The arc is comfortable and suitable for most hat styles.
- High-quality Materials: The press is made of high-quality materials, including heat-resistant die-cast aluminum and a strong steel frame.
- Digital Timer and Temp Controller: You can set a temperature between 200-450F with its digital temp controller and also set the timer with the digital readout.
It includes an alarm sound that rings when the preset time’s reached. And the heating automatically stops once the temperature reaches the preset value.
- Pressure Adjustments: Like most standard cap heat presses, this one also includes a full-range pressure adjustment knob. So you can increase or decrease pressure according to the material thickness.
- Hat Stretcher and Teflon Coating: Its hat stretch lets you fasten your hats and position them correctly in no time. Teflon coating is a great addition to avoid the burning phenomenon.
Pros
- Ergonomic handle and easy to use
- Precise temperature and time control
- Hat stretcher included for right positioning
- Easy pressure adjustments
- Protects hat from burning
- Suitable for transferring logos, patterns, characters, and so on
Cons
- Little odor while heats up
6. PNKKODW Hat Press
PNKODW brings you a hat heat press that allows you to customize your own baseball caps or hats at the comfort of your home.
It comes with all the standard features and is worth checking out. Let’s take a look!
Features
- Convenient Design: This cap press comes with a compact, clamshell design. The curved element helps accomplish the thermal transfer perfectly.
The handle is ergonomically designed and makes sure that you don’t touch the heating plate.
- High-Quality Materials: Heat-resistant die-cast aluminum heat plate along with durable steel structure frame is what you get in the hat heat press.
It’s highly durable and can last for up to 12,000 service hours, more than the average. Moreover, it comes with a Teflon coating to protect your hat from burning.
- Digital Temp Controller and Timer: You get digital controls with LCD readout where you can set your desired temperature in the range of 200-450F and time in the range of 0-999s.
When the preset time is complete, you’ll hear an alarm sound while the machine will automatically stop heating when the preset temperature reaches the mark.
- Pressure Regulation: Even pressure distribution is a key for accurate printing. So you get a full-range pressure adjustment knob to adjust the pressure according to the material.
- Hat Stretcher: It comes with a hat stretcher which is an excellent feature for hat presses. It helps you fasten the hat quickly in the right position.
Pros
- Space-saving design
- Durable construction
- Easy pressure adjustments
- Comfortable ergonomic handle
- Convenient digital readout
- Ease of positioning hats quickly
- Suitable for a wide range of hat imprinting applications
Cons
- Corners are a bit pointy and can cause scratches
- Components could get loose and may require tightening
7. SHZOND Hat Heat Press Machine
The next little hat heat press machine we’ve is from SHZOND. There may be better products out there, but this one perfectly does what it’s supposed to do.
It’s designed so conveniently that you’ll probably have success straight out of the box with your first hat.
It comes with some excellent features to do the tricks for your all-important hats. Let’s see more of these features here.
Features
- Curved Element: You get curved heating plates in this press as well, and it’s probably the most important feature you look at in a heat press machine. Because it covers the entire design surface providing even heating.
- Clamshell Design: This heat press comes with a clamshell design to save space and also provide even transfers onto your hats.
- Pressure Regulation Knob: Steady and accurate pressure is what you need to ensure a powerful bond between your hat and the heat transfer vinyl.
To help you do that, this heat press comes with a full-range pressure adjustment knob for adjusting the pressure as per the material thickness.
- Digital Timer and Temp Controller: To set the desired time you get a digital LCD timer. There’s also an audible alarm sound that rings when the time is completed.
You can also set the temperature with the digital controller, and the element will automatically stop once the preset temperature is reached.
Pros
- Space-saving design for plenty of room to work
- Durable construction
- Pressure can be adjusted according to the material thickness
- Audible alarm sound available for preset timer
- Automatically stops heating at the preset temperature
Cons
- Temperature fluctuates
- Slightly bad smell in first few uses
Best Hat Heat Press Buying Guide
What are some factors you should look for in a heat press? Let’s see the checklist that can help you find the best one for your purpose.
Curved Element & Even Heating
A curved heating element is a must for the hat heat press machine. It’s something that assists the machine with high-temperature heating. This isn’t a hot element itself but has a great thermal effect.
Hence, it covers the entire design surface and paves the way for even heating. Since even heating is crucial, the plate should also come with the perfect amount of heating element.
It shouldn’t have any cold spots because cold spots or malfunctioning of heating elements can cause the misapplied transfer.
Accuracy
Besides even heating, also make sure that the hat heat press you choose has the option to control the temperature accurately. Each application requires an optimal temperature.
The graphical adhesives won’t be activated if you apply less heat than required. On the other hand, if your applied heat exceeds the limit, the adhesive could ruin the outline of the graphics, causing smearing or strike-through with reduced opacity.
Pressure Adjustment
The pressure adjustment is an important factor. You should adjust the pressure in your hat heat press to provide an even and optimal pressure required for the application.
Luckily, most hat press machines today come with a full-range pressure adjustment knob that allows you to adjust the pressure according to the thickness of the material.
Ease of Use
This is an important factor that includes ease of positioning the hat and also the convenience of using the handle.
To experience this convenience, make sure to check out for features like a hat stretcher and ergonomic handle.
Digital Readout
Be aware of using a heat press with a manual thermostat for controlling the temperature or bell timer to set the timestamps. Because they can impact the precision adversely.
The digital readout will allow you to control both the temperature and time with digital precision. You should also find out a hat press machine with an alarm sound and automatic interruption once the set values are reached.
Space-Saving Design
The clamshell design is generally a top priority for its space-saving nature. You should take care of this feature as it takes only 2 ft of your countertop. It also provides more space to work with.
Durable Construction
High-quality construction and durability are something you can’t avoid for a hat heat press machine. The best combination that stands out and you should choose is a die-cast aluminum plate and steel structure frame.
This will provide excellent heat resistance and superior stability. The service life will be something you can rely on. Also, make sure to choose one with Teflon coating to avoid any burning phenomenon.
How to Heat Press a Hat
Now churn out your own customized designs onto the caps and make awesome gigs with your heat press hats. But how do you use it? Let’s find out.
Get the Essentials:
Start by collecting the following essentials for using the heat press onto a hat.
- A Cotton Hat
- Flocked Heat Transfer Vinyl
- Heating Tape
- Oven Mitts or a Thick Fabric price sized about ¼ yard
- Heat Press
Choose a Design:
Create a unique and vibrant design that includes images, letters, logos, or patterns using CorelDraw or Adobe Illustrator software.
Print the Design:
Now time to get your transfer paper and the type of printer you want to print the design with. Sublimation transfer is a popular one for hat presses for permanent dying.
Make a mirror version of your design, print on a normal sheet, and if everything’s fine, you can print it on the transfer paper. Trim the paper around the printed image.
Prepare Your Cap Press:
Now, you’re good to prepare your hat heat press. For that, do the followings:
- Open the press
- Set the desired temperature (around 300F) using the digital readout ( can vary based on the material and wait for the light to get turned off
- Set the heating pressure using the adjustable knob (more the thickness, more the pressure to be applied)
- And set the timestamp (generally around 5-7 seconds for cotton hats and could go up to 1 minute based on the material) using the digital timer
- Open the press
- Set the desired temperature (around 300F) using the digital readout ( can vary based on the material and wait for the light to get turned off
- Set the heating pressure using the adjustable knob (more the thickness, more the pressure to be applied)
- And set the timestamp (generally around 5-7 seconds for cotton hats and could go up to 1 minute based on the material) using the digital timer
Seam and Tape the Paper:
Crease your design transfer paper onto the cap. Line it up on the center seam and tape it down properly. Before placing the cap, you can use a thick fabric to push it hard on the press.
Place Your Hat in The Press:
Hold your hat on the curved plate so that the entire surface of the design is covered at once. The curved element will eliminate the need for maneuvering with hands.
Transfer Your Design:
Now tighten your cap around the right platen, pull your heating press down, and hold it for the time already set. The heating will stop once the desired temperature and timestamp are reached.
Finally, peel off that transfer paper, and you should see the design successfully transferred onto your favorite cap.
FAQ
If you’re still having some questions related to the hat hear presses, this segment can get all of those answered.
Can You Heat Press Onto Hats?
Yes, you can. In fact, hats are a popular wearable that you use in the heat press.
What Temperature Do You Set Heat Press for Hats?
Most heat transfer vinyl needs a temperature of around 305F to be set in the heat press for hats.
Can You Make Hats With a Cricut?
Yes, you can use the Cricut Mini Press to create uniquely designed hat projects.
How Do You Heat Press a Hat With a Seam?
You heat press the hat by creasing the design and lining it up on the center seam. Then tape it down and start the press to transfer your design on the hat.
How Do You Heat Press a Hat With an Iron?
To press a hat with the regular iron, you’ve to apply the heat transfer vinyl on the linen setting of the iron. But it would be best if you were careful while applying HTV with the right setting values.
Final Verdict
Time to wrap things up here. We know you’re seriously looking to churn out some beautiful graphics onto your hats. And now you’ve got some great recommendations as well.
If you ask us which one is the best hat heat press. We probably don’t have a straightforward answer for that.
But we’ll slightly favor the Vevor Hat Heat Press as it checks quite some boxes for us in this price category.
It may not be the premium one out there, but it’ll truly impress you with its build quality, ergonomic design, convenience of use, and accurate performance.
But again, most of these heat presses are well investigated with fine details.
So you should be smart enough to make a choice for your hat heat press machine and start hopping over to crafting some well-animated hats!