The fact that you’re searching the web for a used Geo Knight heat press for sale, means you know at least something about Geo Knight heat presses. You may have heard that they’re a great heat press brand. You probably know that these heat press machines are almost bomb proof, they’re really built to last, and that even if you’re buying one a few years old, it’s likely to have many years in it yet, maybe even decades.
In my humble opinion, from experience (I’ve had a great deal of experience with Geo Knight heat presses, including used Geo Knight heat presses) if you’re on a budget and considering buying a new cheap heat press machine, buying a used known brand heat press is a good alternative, and buying a used Geo Knight heat press is probably one of the best decisions you can make.
The reason I think Geo Knight presses are such a good idea to buy used, is they’re such workhorses, they really are built to last!
These are proper, good old fashioned commercial heat presses, built as business machines. They’re built to be serviced, to be repaired, and to last a LONG time.
These are not the semi disposable heat presses that you’ll find being sold by box shifters all over the web, which often end up as scrap metal within just a year or two.
If you buy a Geo Knight heat press a few years old, the chances are it will still have many more years of life, and will outlive most of the brand new cheaper imported presses that you may also be considering.
I visited the Geo Knight factory in Brockton MA many years ago, and was given a tour by Aaron Knight (very nice guy). One of the things that amazed me while I was there, was the number of really old heat presses that were in for servicing.
It became clear to me that these presses aren’t made to last a year or two, they’re literally made to last decades, they’re made to be serviced, to be repaired when needed, and it’s very unlikely in opinion, that any Geo Knight DK heat press is going to end up as scrap metal in anything under ten years, most will probably las a lot longer.
There are many Geo Knight presses across the country, and the world, that are fifteen to twenty years old, or even older, that still have plenty of life in them, so these really are heat presses that are made to last.
Geo Knight heat presses are also built to perform, they’re relied upon by printing firms all over the world, they have to perform well.
These are not heat presses that are designed for the hobby market (with the exception of the Jet Press range).
These presses are made for industry, if they didn’t perform well, Aaron Knight and his team would have a real problem on their hands – so you can trust that if you’re buying a Geo Knight heat press, not only is it likely to last, it’s also likely to not give you issues in terms of performance.
For an example of the kind of support you can expect from Geo Knight, read this post on the T shirt forums.
In particular the used Geo Knight heat presses that I think represent the best potential bargains, are:
These are the two small format T shirt sizes clamshell heat transfer presses offered by Geo Knight.
I’ve had a lot of hands on experience with these presses, and like all of the DK presses, they’re a very well designed and well made heat press, they work great, and they’re built to last.
The DK16 is 14X16″, and the DK20 is 16×20″.
They also make the DK7 cap press, and the DK8 “label press” which is a 6×8″ press popular for labels, and for bags. They also make a Twin version of the DK7 & DK8 for increased production speeds.
This is Geo Knight’s flagship small format swing away heat press. Again, I’ve had a lot of hands on with this Geo Knight swing away heat press, and they’re great presses.
Built like tanks, at around 200lbs they’re not a press you’ll want to pick up and move around much, they’re a brilliant performing heat press which will just keep on going.
There’s really not much that could go wrong with these presses, and if there was anything wrong, you’d just email or telephone
If I was looking now for a heat press on a budget, and if I didn’t need portability, I’d probably be looking at a Geo Knight DK20S or a DK20SP, and I wouldn’t be concerned too much with how many years it has behind it, these presses will just keep on going.
This is the automatic, air operated version of the DK20S. In addition to the features of the DK20S, the DK20S doesn’t require any user effort to press, there’s no clamp, you just press the buttons on the side of the machine to press at the required pressure, and it auto releases at the end of the cycle.
I used a DK20SP for a couple of years with one of my previous businesses, brilliant press, great if you’re doing a lot of production.
Keep in mind that you need a compressor, so they’re really made for industrial environments, although you can of course get quieter compressors. When it comes to the compressor, remember that the larger tank capacity, the less often the compressor will need to kick in, so the compressor noise will be less of an issue.
In addition to the above there is the DC16 Digital Combo, and the DC16AP, which is the automatic air operated version of this heat press.
I’m not the biggest fan of the combination presses. I wrote about this in more detail in the post 5 in 1 Heat Presses or Combo Heat Presses, but basically when it comes to the idea of using a combination press vs separate heat presses, I don’t believe that the potential saving is great enough to offset the negative aspects of using a combination press vs individual heat presses.
But with that being said, I still think the DC16 is a great heat press, forgetting the combination press aspect and just treating it as a 14×16″ digital swing away heat press.
At $1295 new, it’s not a cheap heat press, but it’s a very heavy duty well made swing away heat press, with most of the same features as the DK20S, including the ability to press items up to 2″ thick.
And here’s the really interesting thing about the Digial Combo DC16 for anyone setting up a T shirt printing business on a budget – you can pick them up for an absolute steal!
I’ve seen used Geo Knight DC16 heat presses selling, in good working condition, from a few hundred dollars.
If you have a limited budget, to me it makes a lot more sense to invest in used press of this calibre, than to spend a similar amount on a brand new cheaper imported press.
Simply because these heat presses are industrial presses, built to last and to be serviced and repaired, which isn’t always the same with cheaper imported machinery.
It’s worth stating that for most people reading this, the Geo Knight Maxi Press will be way too much in terms of size and cost. However, there will be some people on this blog who’re looking at setting up on a bigger scale, and if this is you, the Geo Knight Maxi press are well worth a look.
Available as air operated and manual clamshell presses, the Maxi press is available with 32″ x 42″ platens, and 44″ x 64″, so we’re talking wide format here.
They’re serious wide format production presses, starting at $8,950 for the 32″x42″ manual, $ 14,250.00 for the 44″x64″, and the air operated versions start at $12,250, but you can pick them up used with plenty of life left in them, for fairly reasonable amounts.
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