About us
About Kerf & Press
Kerf & Press is an independent research site and lab for people who run small personalization businesses: laser engraving, heat pressing, DTF and sublimation, vinyl and embroidery.
Who we are
Kerf & Press is written by a small editorial team. Until individual authors are introduced with their own bios, pages are signed "Kerf & Press Editorial". We will not invent names or faces to seem bigger than we are.
The site is operated by [TO FILL: company legal name], a company registered in Spain. Full company details are in our legal notice.
Why this site exists
Buying a first laser or heat press is a business decision. Yet most of what you find is either the manufacturer’s own marketing or reviews that never say how anything was measured. We want to answer the questions sellers actually ask:
- How many finished items per hour will this machine make?
- What does each print or engraving really cost in consumables?
- How loud and how smoky will it be in a spare room?
- Will it pay for itself, and how fast, with my prices?
Our free tools let you run those numbers with your own assumptions today. Lab data will make them sharper.
What "lab" means here
A lab is not a white room. For us it means three things:
- Methods first. Each measurement has a written, versioned protocol, published before we test anything. So far we have 6: engraving speed, cut depth, fumes (pm2.5), noise, platen uniformity, cost per print.
- Calibrated instruments. A Class 2 sound level meter rather than a phone app, a thermocouple probe rather than the press display, a precision scale for ink.
- Open data. Raw measurements, settings and photos of every test piece, including the failures, so you can check our work.
How we pay for this
We earn affiliate commissions: when you click a "Check price" link and buy, the retailer may pay us a percentage. It costs you nothing extra. This money buys the machines, materials and instruments for the lab. Our affiliate disclosure explains the details.
We do not sell sponsored reviews, paid placements or "best of" slots, and we do not run display ads today. If that ever changes, this page and our cookie policy will say so first.
Our independence rules
- We buy lab machines at retail with our own money. If we ever accept a loaned unit, the page will say so at the top, and we return it after testing.
- Brands never see a review before it is published and cannot pay to change it.
- Commission rates do not affect our picks. Machines with no affiliate program are covered and recommended on the same terms.
- We never write "we tested" unless we did. Pages carry a status: researched, in lab or tested.
- Mistakes get fixed in the open, on our corrections page.
Get in touch
Questions, tips or a correction: hello@kerfandpress.com. More options on the contact page.