silk screen or heat press?

I'm not sure exactly what you want to know...but how's this? A heat press is only going to go as fast as it can, verses a screen press that will go as fast as you can.
A good person on a manual screen printer can turn out a one color print in maybe five to seven seconds...slow down to ten to twelve seconds and you will not even get sweaty. Plus it is more cost effective in a long run. A gallon of Ink can go a long way verses the cost of Toner and Sublimation Dyes.

I may be wrong in that area, if so, someone more knowledgable should correct me.

A few years back I estimated that the cost of Pastisol Ink per one shirt printed with six colors was only 5 cents. (That's only if you buy in bulk). Now...cost aside...it's my opion that a screen printed shirt will last longer without cracking or fading. Every transfer I ever bought or made began to do both of those things after only a few washes. If you want those orders too repeat, give the customer the best product you can.
On short runs or for something fast and " very realistic " as far as reproductions of photos or artwork goes, Heat presses and sublimation printers are the best. Profits are great for doing very small runs. I set up in a mall once to do photos on shirts and made twenty bucks per shirt and stayed busy.
But I'm still an advocate of Screen Printing. Several orders of one thousand shirts and you just paid for your equipment.

Hope this helps....................Greg Hamrick

I would have to echo these sentiments. Screenprinting, if done properly, will outlast the shirt it is printed on. I have had a screenprinting business since 1990 and I have a heat transfer machine but it is merely to do for short run photographic recreations and I tell the customer it is almost a novelty item and won't last forever. I also use my HT machine for putting names on the back of jerseys, 2" #'s on shorts and doing reflective letters on jackets. Those are services I have added or improved since I got my machine.

Both styles have thier place but I don't think you can accurately compare on to the other.

Matt
JuBilee Screen Printing
& Embroidery