November 7, 2018

Cricut Easy Press Gadgets Explained for the Non-Crafter

The latest generation of the Cricut Easy Press is on the market, here’s everything you need to know even if you are a non-crafter!

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Cricut Easy Press Gadgets Explained

They are here! The new generation of Cricut heat presses, Cricut Easy Press 2, is now available! I am pleased to be able to share these with you. I love my Cricut EasyPress, but I love the Easy Press 2 even more. What’s the difference? Here’s the low down, explained for even the non-crafters out there! There’s also a few new projects in this post, stay tuned for the details!

While this post is sponsored by Cricut, any opinions given are completely my own. I was compensated to write this post in someway. For a complete list of disclosure rules, please see the disclosures page.

Comparing Cricut Heat Presses

Other than the color, these two heat presses look pretty similar. The original heat press is blue, the new heat press is red. These are both 9″ x 9″ in size. The main difference in the design here is the time and temperature settings. The original heat press heats to 320 degrees in just a few minutes. However, the Easy Press 2 heats up 25 percent faster, and can reach temperatures of 400 degrees. The Easy Press 2 rivals the commercial heat presses that can heat between 375-400 degrees. Commercial presses are large, expensive and certainly not very efficient. The Cricut Easy Press 2 makes the job so much easier while still achieving professional iron on results! I love using the medium Easy Press for making small to medium size t-shirts, tote bags, tea towels, etc.

I used the original Easy Press for my original t-shirt collections, such as my #YogaLife t-shirt collection. The original Easy Press heats up very quickly, and I found that I didn’t need to waste energy by turning it on too soon. This is great since my studio space is small and this little press heats up my entire room if it’s on too long. Another thing that I love about the Easy Press is the auto shutoff feature after a period of inactivity. This has been a real life saver for me, since I tend to get sidetracked by other things and forget to turn it off at times. Does anyone else do that?? Such a great safety feature!

Irons and HTV Vinyl

My first t-shirt with heat transfer vinyl, or HTV vinyl was made using a regular iron. It was a disaster! I learned very quickly that a household iron does not work the same way a heat press does. My iron takes forever to heat up, and is so small it only covers a very small part of the HTV t-shirt design. I had to press, and press, and repress to get the vinyl to adhere. It was frustrating!

When you compare the bottom of the Easy Press or Easy Press 2 and the bottom of a household iron, you can see the difference. An iron is designed to produce streams of steam with holes and indentations. It is also pointed at the tip for fine pressing. The Easy Press is perfectly square, flat, and has more surface area to come in contact with the vinyl. Therefore the Easy Press produces a better result with less effort. Another interesting fact, a household iron only reaches a maximum of 190 degrees Fahrenheit. The Easy Press 2 heats up to 400 degrees, that’s a HUGE difference in temperature! It’s no wonder that first t-shirt peeled apart in a very short time, my iron just wasn’t hot enough to make the vinyl stick.

My latest toddler size shirt was made with the Cricut Easy Press 2. Since it is faster and hotter, I was able to whip this shirt together in record time! I was thrilled with the fast and foolproof results that really stick. You can get the FREE #TeamDarkMeat graphic design from my Cricut page here.

Right Size for the Job

It is not necessary to own more than one heat press. However, I will say it makes things so much easier! The new Easy Press 2 devices include an extra large 16″ x 10″ size which is great for XLL t-shirts, tote bags, pillows, and banners. I used the large Easy Press for this XXL T-shirt. I always size my t-shirt graphics accordingly to the larger size shirts, since that is mostly what my family wears. With a smaller heat press, I would have to press this design in at least two places, but the extra large heat plate does it all in one pressing. I also used this large size for my recent Christmas Snowflake Pillow project.

Like this Thanksgiving holiday t-shirt? Download the design file here!

The Mini Heat Press is Mighty

I saved this one for last, the mini size Easy Press 2 is 6″ x 7″. It’s the perfect size for making baby onesies, baby bibs and makeup bags. This Easy Press 2 has all the great features of the other Easy Press 2, just in a compact size. The small size makes it incredibly lightweight, portable and easy to store! This little baby onesie came together in a jiffy using this mini press! Get the Thanksgiving Dinner Onesie design download here!

Each size Easy Press has a coordinating size mat. I like organizing the mats by size so I can easily grab the one that I need for my project. The different sizes are so handy, I use them all the time! Cricut also has a handy guide for selecting which temperature setting to use for your type of vinyl, you can find that guide here.

I hope that answers all of your questions regarding Cricut Easy Press projects. Let’s get crafty! Don’t forget to share your shirts on social media with my hashtag #chambraybluesshirt for a chance to be featured on my Instagram page! Thanks to Cricut for sponsoring this post!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.