Ricoo T538B heat press

Introduction

The Ricoo T538B heat press is a heat press suitable for various transfer prints, e.g. hotfix stones, sublimation print, or various "iron on" plastics

We (at TECFA) received this model on October 18, 2017.

Below a picture of the first interesting "print" in progress and you can see more pictures in the hotfix stone article.

Ready to go !

See also:

• Stitch Era - creating hot fix designs
• Hotfix stone

Ricoo T538B heat press

Model price and specifications

• Model: Schwenk Transfer Presse T Shirt Druck selber machen T538
• We bought it for 340€ + 21€ Shipping on Amazon.de and the list price is higher.

Specifications and parts

• It has a swivel swing arm which seems to be safer to use and more practical for this type of work.
• 38 x 38 cm (15) print area
• It has springs (probably better for the distribution of pressure) and a Svivel system (easier positioning of the cloth plus materials and probably better protection against burns).
• A fat black mat
• Digital temperature (0-399 C) and timer setting (0-999 seconds)
• Heat plate can be moved up or down (5cm distance max.)
• 26 kg

There are three different control interface variants according to the manual. We got version II (picture shown below).

First impressions

This models fits the requirements we outlined in the Hotfix stone article.

At the time of writing we did three hotfix stone (strass) prints. All went well and the interface is easy to understand. By default, the temperature is already set to 200C and the timer to 10seconds. I have no idea if this machine is of professional quality, but it certainly beats applying stuff with an iron. I do appreciate that pressure (i.e. distance) can be very easily changed and that there are springs and a fat big mat that should distribute it evenly.

Although the machine takes up a lot of space I recommend that type of model for working with hotfix stones. I did manage to print a design with SS2 stones that I directly put on the t-shirt using a laser cut carboard template. No transfer sheet, just some baking paper on top :)

I have seen large price differences for this machine. Ordering from Germany to France for use in Switzerland went fast and smoothly.

Instructions

Ricoo Variant 2 control interface

This applies to variant II

Change Temperature display from C to F (or the other way round):

• Press OK for 5 seconds - You should see P-3 on the screen
• Press up or down arrow and confirm with OK for 5 seconds

Temperature

• By default, after unpacking the temperature was to 200C which is just fine
• Press OK once - you should see P1-1 on the screen
• Use the up/down buttons to change
• Press OK once if you want to change the timer or twice to exit

Timer

• Press OK twice - you should see P-2
• Adjust with up/down buttons. We set our default to 20 seconds.
• Press OK to confirm
• You can test the duration by pressing Enter

Pressure

• Is purely mechanical, i.e. electronics will not tell anything.
• Before heating, test if the lever can be pulled down and at the same offers some resistance (i.e. presses down).
• Adjust with the big knob on top of the vertical arm.

Warning:

• Do no heat over 220C

The timer will automatically start after the lever is pressed down.

In other words, you won't have to do much if you are happy with your settings. Switch the machine on, wait until you hear the alarm for reaching the full temperature (it is also on display), the svivel the plat in place and press down. Open after hearing the alarm.

Tips:

• When you press down, do not move laterally
• Wait after opening to let the stones cool down.
• Put the machine near a corner of a table. That way heat will not reflect on the table in open position. See the picture below.

Ready to go !

Links

• Schwenk Transfer Presse T Shirt Druck selber machen T538
• Pdf PDF Gebrauchsanleitung / Montageanleitung T538B (455.41 KB)

Links

Documentation

Official

• Manual (In German)

General

• Heat press (Wikipedia)