Silhouette cloChé Heat Press Unboxing & In-Depth Review (5 Months Later)

When the Silhouette cloChé Heat Press first arrived, I am so glad I didn’t rush to put out an unboxing. With time and testing, my first impression has changed. In this post, I’m sharing a full Silhouette cloChé heat press unboxing and in-depth review, including my initial impressions, the testing I did, the projects I completed, and my honest thoughts five months after unboxing. If you’re wondering whether the cloChé (or cloChé Petite) is worth adding to your craft room, this long-term, real-use review is designed to help you decide with confidence.

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In this blog post, I’m sharing my thoughts and recommendations along with some still shots below, but you can also find the full unboxing and review on the Silhouette Secrets+ YouTube channel HERE.

The Silhouette cloChé can be found at Silhouette America and is available in Milky White, Chiffon Pink, and Ice Green. Mine is Milky White.

In full disclosure, Silhouette America did send me the Silhouette cloChé Heat Press for testing. I was not paid to do this review and all results and opinions are my own.

Silhouette cloChé Heat Press Unboxing

This little Silhouette cloChé Heat Press is well packaged. In the box is the main heat press body, the power cord, the cloChé Petite with it’s power cable, and an instruction manual with supporting papers.

The Silhouette cloChé is small, compact, and weighs 11 lbs. It has a unique design that reminds many of a panini press. The heat press platen is 6″ x 10″.

The Silhouette cloChé Petite is an accessory that is only available with the Silhouette cloChé Heat Press. It comes packaged in a bag along with the Silhouette cloChé Heat Press power cord in the box. It can be stored on the underside of the Silhouette cloChé Heat Press.

The Silhouette cloChé Petite can be powered by plugging in the included cord to the front of the Silhouette cloChé Heat Press.

Silhouette cloChé Heat Press Unique Features

The Silhouette cloChé Heat Press has some unique features to it that makes it stand out. One is the handle on the front of the machine. This is how the heat press closes and creates the pressure.

This handle design takes a bit to get used to locking and unlocking. While these features seem awkward at first, the more you use it the easier it gets.

The handle is composed of several moving parts and it can come apart. That doesn’t mean it’s broken. It can easily be put back together. Simply and carefully “pop” it back into place. I mention this because it can catch you off-guard if you don’t know before it happens. It happened when my friend and colleague, Sarah, first used it at the demo at Silhouette Summit 2024, which caused the Silhouette staff member to quickly fix it, so we were aware of this already. I’ve had it happen a couple times in the 5 months of testing before I write this.

Another unique feature is the lock when you raise the top platen of the Silhouette cloChé Heat Press. For me, this also takes some getting used to pressing the lock before you can lower the top platen again. This is a safety feature and just like the handle, just takes time to get used to.

The next unique feature is the On/Off switch. This is a dial that does not have temperatures. It does have several different settings indicated with a L-M-H setting dial.

This is very different than any other heat press and definitely takes time to get used to. For most regular HTV, I’ve been using the M setting. In the User Manual it does show this table.

The guide is in degrees Celsius. L is approximately 120 °C = 248 °F, M is approximately 160 °C = 320 °F, H is approximately 200 °C = 392 °F.

This definitely takes some getting used to and you just need to test with your materials. One thing I have found is that letting things cool a bit before peeling the carrier sheet can help.

The Silhouette cloChé also has a 45 second timer that begins when you close the press and lock the handle. I ignore the timer completely and just count myself. Then test. This is another area that will require some testing and seeing what works for you.

I did test a sublimation design which I’ll share later in this post and I cranked it up to the High setting and the blank only needed 45 seconds. If you are sublimating and the blank needs longer than 45 seconds, you will either need to listen to the beep or risk lifting the platen and closing the press again to reset the timer.

There are a couple disclaimers in the User Manual that I think are important to point out.

The first is that it requires a 30+ minute cool down period after 1 hour of usage.

The Silhouette User Manual states: “Do not use the machine continuously for more than 1 hour since it may lead to machine failure. If using the machine again, wait for more than 30 minutes before reconnecting the power cable.”

For this reason, I do not feel it is ideal for a business owner or use at an event. If the machine overheats, it can have issues. When at events, most don’t normally have time to give a 30 minute cool down period every hour when making personalized items.

This was stated at Silhouette Summit in 2024 when it was first announced, so it came as no surprise to me. I am glad to see that it made it into the User Manual, so it is clearly communicated to all users.

Silhouette cloChé Heat Press Initial Impression

My first day using the Silhouette cloChé Heat Press was a bit frustrating. This was due to user errors and simply that it is a new piece of equipment. Basically, I got in my own way which caused more frustration than it should have.

It is NOT like other heat presses and I was trying to compare it to others I use.

If I had released the unboxing video after Day 1, it would have been very different than what I’m sharing today. I did not like the Silhouette cloChé Heat Press the first day. However, I’ve been using it for many other projects and the more I use it, the more I do like it and believe it is useful for certain projects and uses.

I would NOT recommend starting with can koozies as a first project. I was looking for something small to create and ended up making my “quick” project much harder. Can koozies can be difficult with a normal press, but I did succeed.

Silhouette cloChé Heat Press Testing

I first started by testing the heat press platen with a digital thermometer. I did this over and over again the entire afternoon.

I tested all 4 corners and the center of the platform and wrote down each reading. The results were inconsistent every single time. Some of the readings would be close to the same temperature, but after repeated results over hours, I gave up on that.

Conclusion: it’s just a different type of press and it will not be a consistent reading across the platen. It can be close, but not perfect.

This is also referenced in the User Manual as well in the photo above – “The L to M to H ranges do not support fine temperature control, and should be used as a guide only.”

So I set it to M and began my first project. First project = first failure.

At least I got the failure out of the way right out of the gate. This was 100% user error. Like I mentioned above, can koozies probably are not the best first project. In general, I think it’s best to let it cool a bit before peeling the carrier sheet off. I did not and that equaled a project failure. I flipped it over and used the other side.

The good news after the frustrating afternoon is that I was successful with my project! Whether it was from determination or stubbornness – the end result was a success.

It worked once I started testing it and stopped trying to make it work like other heat presses. I just kept going.

I also used the Silhouette cloChé Petite to add some individual hot fix rhinestones to the can koozies. That worked too! Again, a little bit of a learning curve and referencing the User Manual to get the Silhouette cloChé Petite connected and powered up.

Once it was finished, I had to test it out with a can in the koozie and it worked. The HTV has stayed in place and the rhinestones were secured. I tried to pick them off with my fingernail and they didn’t budge.

Day 2 with the Silhouette cloChé Heat Press went much better. I came at it from a different mind set and just started playing, testing, and seeing what worked and what didn’t.

I made faux leather earrings using Siser Easyweed Adhesive HTV to glue the layers of Silhouette Leatherette together.

Next I tested a full design with Siser Easyweed Adhesive HTV. This is typically designed to be used with deco foils, but I wanted to see what it would look like just by itself on a black shirt.

And then I turned the dial up on the Silhouette cloChé and tested a sublimation project using Artesprix sublimation supplies and a luggage tag. This particular blank only required a 45 second press, so it was perfect to test with.

And then I did another t-shirt design.

For larger blanks such as a t-shirt, you do have to roll the bottom of it up in order to close the handle on the press. This is different and takes time to get used to, but it does work!

I’ve worn this shirt often since creating it and it’s been washed and dried and the HTV still looks great!

The Silhouette cloChé and I had made progress. Day 2 was a success with less frustration than Day 1.

More Silhouette cloChé Projects

Since I did not get the unboxing out right away, I’ve had time to create more projects with the Silhouette cloChé and find I do like/love it more than Day 1. It is a useful little machine, that is also light weight, and compact to store.

I tested Siser EasyPuff Glitter HTV on a canvas zipper bag. Puff HTV can be finicky at times. I used a small pressing pillow with the Silhouette cloChé to account for the seams and get pressure on the design area. It worked!

More faux leather with Siser Easyweed Adhesive HTV. As a note, some faux leather changes colors after being pressed, just in case you decide to try it.

I figured the longer it took me to get the unboxing video edited and the blog post written, the more projects I’d get done to share.

The faux rhinestone design above is with the Silhouette Heat Transfer Vinyl – Silver and is the most recent project as I write this and I had the Silhouette cloChé Heat Press set up on a flimsy folding table. Since the machine creates it’s own pressure with the handle on the front, you don’t have to have a heavy duty table to set the press on. It’s 11 lbs and doesn’t require you to press down to close the top platen, so a lighter table will do.

Pros and Cons of the Silhouette cloChé Heat Press

Pros of the Silhouette cloChé Heat Press

• lightweight at 11 lbs
• compact
• stylish
• heats up fast
• can be used on a light weight table like a folding table
• travels easily
• easy to store
• Silhouette cloChé Petite included for small projects

Cons of the Silhouette cloChé Heat Press

• different than other heat presses
• no temperature reading
• 45 second timer
• timer cannot be changed
• limited on thickness of items it can press (0.5 mm maximum thickness Silhouette stated)
• larger items need rolled for the handle to close
• 6″ x 10″ platen may require multiple presses of large designs
• 1 hour usage and then 30+ minute cooldown

Who is the Silhouette cloChé for?

Please keep in mind that this is my opinion only from my background using larger, more industrial heat presses and testing the Silhouette cloChé.

I’d love to say the Silhouette cloChé is for everyone, but that’s simply not the reality. Of course, the same can be said for a large 15″ x 15″ heat press as well. There is no one product that will work for all users 100% of the time.

I would not recommend this for business use unless you are planning to use it for a specific project and can stick within the 1 hour usage time and let it cool down properly before powering on again.

I would say it’s a neat little press for traveling. It’s light-weight and compact, which means it can travel easier than an industrial heat press. I’ve had (2) 9″ x 12″ heat presses that I’ve used for classes and both weight in at 35 lbs. That can be manageable, but also has it’s negatives too when traveling with them. I’ve also traveled with my big presses that are 75 lbs and while it can be done, those suckers are heavy.

The Silhouette cloChé would be good for a crafter who is limited on space and does not need to use a press all day long.

I am loving it for smaller projects and the t-shirts I’ve done have all been successful so far. And now that I found out it will work on my little folding table, I no longer have to clear a spot off my work bench to use it.

It did work for sublimation, but it will have it’s limits on those types of projects due to temperature and press time.

Conclusion

This little Silhouette cloChé has grown on me since Day 1 when I started out frustrated with trying to make it fit into my own heat press idea box. Once I let that go, I’ve had a lot of fun creating with it. I do love that it heats up quickly.

I think you will either love it or hate it. Just like everything else in life. And only you can make that decision. Between the unboxing video and the information I shared above, hopefully it gives you an idea of what it’s all about and if you do get it, don’t judge it too quickly. Give it some time and you might find that the little thing grows on you too!

Don’t miss the unboxing video on the Silhouette Secrets+ YouTube channel HERE.

And additional details on the Silhouette cloChé from Silhouette Summit 2024 can be found HERE.

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Enjoy !

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