Two types of platens and why aluminium platens can be a great upgrade for your press

There are two main types of platens for screen printing presses. Let's discuss these two types and the pros and cons of each. The MDF platens are great and come with most of the smaller presses, but if you have the budget, I recommend upgrading to the aluminum platens from ‪@ActionEngineering‬. I bought mine from ‪@Ryonet‬ and my ‪@RileyHopkinsCo‬ 300 manual press came with aluminum platens as well.
Shop platens here: ssp.ink/platens
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Companies & Services I trust and use in my screen printing business (contain affiliate links)
Ryonet for screen printing supplies and equipment ssp.ink/ryonet
Ecamm Live for recording video and live streaming ssp.ink/ecamm
StickerMule for stickers and packing tape ssp.ink/stickermule
Canva for creating video thumbnails and social posts ssp.ink/canva
Printful for print-on-demand items and stores ssp.ink/printful
Namecheap for domain name registration ssp.ink/namecheap
Transistor for podcast hosting ssp.ink/transistor
Setapp for awesome mac apps ssp.ink/setapp
Airtable for my screen print pricing calculator and other databases ssp.ink/airtable
Zoho One for invoicing, CRM, email marketing, business email, and more ssp.ink/zohoone
Scrub brushes for cleaning platens and reclaiming screens amzn.to/3lcdc8G

[@heatherjennings145]

I must have missed this one--bonus morning video break! I purchased an aluminum platen a few months ago and has been great!

[@startupscreenprinting]

great to hear! it's a great upgrade from the composite platens.

[@leviteapparel]

Wow didn't know the came together cool

[@startupscreenprinting]

Yup!

[@kimberlyrodriguez8903]

Hello Mr.Jesse I have a quick question.. I ordered a 16x22 Aluminum platen but I meant to order a 16x18 I just wanted to know if there would be a disadvantage printing on this longer platen than say, with the standard 16x18
I just didn’t want to go through the hassle of returning it if it’s not a problem to use I’ll just keep it:) …
Thanks

[@startupscreenprinting]

Hi! Hmm the first thing that comes to mind is that you may have times when the shirt doesn’t cover the entire platen so your screen will hit a seam which could effect your off contact during printing. Some people print with seams on the platens all the time so it’s not always an issue but something to keep in mind. Or depending on your press your screen might not hit in a good spot on the platen so you might have the collar of the shirt in it instead of hanging off. I know it’s a hassle but if it were me, if it wasn’t an urgent need I’d probably return it and get the other size. It probably won’t be an issue for you, but it might. And if it is, you won’t know until you start to print an order and at that point you’re stuck trying figure something else out in a pinch.