Wednesday 31 August 2011

Going Pro


Now that's an upgrade! Gulp. The first thing I've bought that's utterly and completely for the business. Everything else, paper cutter, paints, sewing machine, even my printing press, could also be justified as 'things I've always wanted' or 'things I play with for fun'. The only reason someone like me would have an ironing press would be for work.

Up till now I've been using my mom's old iron, the one she gave me when I went to university and probably the first one she bought. Until I started printing fabric, I can't honestly remember using it for anything other than toasted cheese sandwiches: stack bread and cheese, wrap in foil, place on metal tray, iron. Yum.

6 comments:

Jo said...

Good for you Jesse! If you were doing all your heat setting with the iron before I imagine the press will revolutionise your life! If you can lower it and leave it for a minute you'll be hands free!

Unknown said...

I've never had a new iron. I've always had hand-me-downs or thrift shop finds. I'd love a new one, but I'd rather spend my money on fabric than an iron...so I guess it will be second hand irons for me for some time. Enjoy your purchase!

Jesse said...

Agreed - but luckily this Elnapress was second-hand!

Shanfan Huang said...

Hi Jesse, I like your prints a lot!
I'm a beginner in print making, and you are my ultimate inspiration!
It's surprising to me that you've only got your heat press lately - seeing the amount of prints you have made, I thought you'd had an assembly line already...

Thanks for you previous tutorial about block making - which basically introduced a newbie like me into the world of printing. Would you please write a brief tutorial about what kind of ink you use, and how to heat set with a normal iron?

I was using Speedball acrylic-based fabric paint, and the color came off even when I was ironing it, with the steam from my iron. Totally messed.

Shanfan Huang said...

Oh Sorry, I just checked all your tutorial section and found out your completed 3-post guide of printing on fabric. So don't bother about my previous request for tutorial...
I think I'll try more with more patience...

Nevertheless thank you a lot for sharing your beautiful prints and design!

Jesse said...

A post on print curing is a good idea! I used to cure fabric in my oven (wrap in foil, heat oven to 180C, turn off, put fabric in for 10 minutes) but now use a combination of cold cure medium and ironing.

The most important thing is to wash the fabric before printing, and after printing to let the print dry for 24 hours before curing.