Hot Foil Press any regrets?

I think the look is lovely but not something I would use on scrapbook pages - just on cards personally. And I thought about how many cards I would actually MAKE using it and my personal history of not jumping in with two feet with new techniques...and decided it wouldn't be worth the investment for ME. My budget isn't unlimited - it's fairly small - so that factors in for me. If I was used to spending more, I might not have hesitated as much.

I think you need to consider how much you would use and how much on-going expense it will be for you and whether that's worthwhile.

I also have the Gemini Foil Press & I echo what lokismom said.

I find that I mostly use it for Christmas/Holiday cards and not so much for everyday cards.

I haven't bought the Better Press yet and am trying to resist it...LOL! My friend is looking into getting one so I think I'll wait & see how she likes it before I decide.

I found a Glimmer system at our crafty resale store for $50 and bought it on a whim. I had not had any intentions of dabbling in foil or Betterpress.

My opinion: I LOVE it. Like, I would go back and buy it at full price, knowing what I know now. I am extremely surprised at how much I like it.

I have used several regular dies in it, from shapes to background plates. Most do great. Always test first. Some with more open areas do not do as well, and get foil in the middle of the image, but I have had really good success with doing this. I will say the lines from doing this are thinner than the foil plates.

I have a few foil plates now, and all have worked beautifully. I ordered an Altenew bundle that came with a Press Plate and HOLY MOLY that thing does amazing in the Glimmer. Better that the foil plates, IMO. And I bought black foil and love it. In fact, I prefer it to the metallic. The images I have gotten from the black are so crisp and clean that I may not ever buy another stamp again, and just buy whatever images I can get on the press plates to use.

I have played around with a silicone mat in it and get a letterpress look that is pretty good. Not as crisp as the BP system, but I thought it looked good.

I have the foil press and the mini minc and I love them both. Although truth be told, I love my minc more! The new GinaK Fuse is exactly like the minc, only the outside is different and from what I've heard it is at a much better price!

I have not been lured to the BetterPress, it just doesn't appeal to me.

If you do choose the Foil Press (hot foil) or the Minc, Fuse (toner foil) go check out the Foiling Snobs Club on youtube. We aren't snobs and Nancy (the creator) has a lot of wonderful info comparing machines.

I just got the better press & the glimmer for the holidays. I love my better press it is so easy to use.

I haven’t tried my glimmer yet but it’s on my agenda this weekend. I had a class for the better press so I was comfortable using it. Whilst I have used a glimmer before in a class at my local store, it’s been a few years and I want to brush up on it before I screw cut up & foil my plate or something dumb like that. It would be like me.

I ended up recently getting both of these. I LOVE the Betterpress- use it with regular paper and ink- love the results and look. I like the Glimmer, but on reflection would not purchase it again. The results are pretty, but I find it fiddly to use, the results are never perfect and I don’t love the plates as much. However, they do work well on the Betterpress!
I would recommend deciding how much you love the look of the projects and then try the machine that has the ones you love best.

Try some of your BetterPress plates on the Glimmer - the plates are much more detailed and are really pretty when foiled.

Oh, I saw that plate and spent a goodly amount of time finding a shop that had one available that was willing to ship it. It just got here today. I can't wait to get home from work to try it out. I was able to get the stencil add-on as well. No local shop to get it from directly.

I have a Glimmer, Betterpress, and Minc. I wish I had more time to use them because the results are beautiful.

Glimmer: The machine has a bit of a learning curve. Using a specific type of paper like Hammermill 100lb yields the best results. There's a bit of trial and error involved but I highly recommend Jennifer McGuire's video and Spellbinders videos. Once you get used to it, it's easy to use. It's a bit time consuming waiting for the machine to heat up, etc. But I understand it's not for everyone.

Betterpress: This is so easy to use right out of the box. But sometimes I like the look and sometimes I don't. I actually prefer using the betterpress plates to hot foil. Only complaint, wish there was an easier way to ink everything all up.

Is it worth it? It is for me. However, I don't use mine nearly as I would like to. Sometimes heat embossing creates a similar look and feel and I reach for that because it's easier. And you also have invest in a lot of plates, which can get pricey, and foils.

THANK YOU FOR THIS!   I had not heard of this, and googled around last night.  One lady used sticker release paper and one lady used acetate.  I tried an overhead transparency sheet with no luck.  Someone in comments suggested parchment paper.  I tried that and it works really good!