Steam Fast SF-680 Digital Fabric Steam Press Reviews

• Research other models... before you buy this one

  
  By A1E02Y4KUIAQ9Q on 2005-02-15
  Well, after two months of waiting, my 680 arrived. It was my Christmas present to myself. What had happened was the manufacturer didn't make enough of them last year. Demand far exceeded (incongruously) supply. That is why amazon, cyebye, smallappliances.com, and others had you on hold. I actually sent Top Innovations a griping email about the delays--this is how I found out what the situation was. By the way, Customer Service at TI is nothing less than outstanding! The first sentence from their department was this: "You are right. We need to do a better job of...." Imagine that. A company that still lives by the age old American adage--'the customer is always right.'
  Oh, if you're looking for the best price on the product--it's Cyebye--providing you don't live in NY (otherwise, you'll pay the tax). $219.00. And, that company's Customer Service is also pleasant to deal with. That's why I stuck with them (well, okay... more for the price than anything else).
  After tearing into my box like a lil' boy getting a birthday gift (mine is March 8th, case you want to send me something), I couldn't get the machine working fast enough. Design-wise, it's both sleek and very pleasing to the eye. Doesn't weigh too much and is easily portable.
  Now the cons.
  First thing I noticed was the tremendous jolting upswing the unit has when you elevate the top plate from the ironing board. It jerks the unit UP and BACK! You need to be cognizant of this. If you place this unit on the TI steamer stand, make certain you always keep one foot on the stand's base. Otherwise, the machine will dive backwards. That's how much upward force we're talking about here.
  Next is the irritating shutoff safety feature. On "top line" models, these features should not be installed--or, at least have them as a programmable option. If you leave the machine unattended for about 8-10 mins, it will go into "standby" mode. Meaning, the heating temperature that you waited at least 10 minutes for it to build up will vanish. And, reactivation isn't as simple as just using the machine. You either have to turn it off then back on, or, scroll through the power temperature settings. Did I mention this was annoying?
  Thirdly, not enough pressing power for thinner garments. I steam pressed two Italian cotton shirts and I was expecting extremely crisp presses. It does that for the sleeves (which is, of course, 2 materials thick), but, you will not get that same effect for the back or front of the shirt. The solution, place a thick towel over the board--place your thin shirt on that. Also note that thinner materials will acquire what I call "hole puffs" in them. The steaming plate has holes from where the steam exudes. Your thinner materials will periodically have those hole indentations on them. Rub them with your finger and they vanish.
  This may or may not be a con. But, when it comes to the steam burst operation... it's LOUD. It gurgles and also spews water droplets as well. {Note that the feature advertisement on this site reads, "Dual vaporizing system significantly reduces water droplets". I wonder how TI defines "reduces".) Meaning, KEEP YOUR FACE AWAY FROM THE UNIT when activating the steam burst.
  Another con deals with the instructions. Though simply annotated, it always stumps me when the writers/editors decide to use metric measurements (all of a suddenly) when the rest of the manual pertains to non-metric numbers. The section I'm talking about pertains to the steam burst mode. It states to lower the press no lower than 75mm from the board. 75mm? I don't mind the metric system because I'm fluent with it. But most Americans are not. (75mm is about 3 inches, by the way.)
  Another con pertains to the display panel. The manual states that when the light deactivates (at the particular heat setting you're at--e.g., cotton, silk, etc.), then the machine is ready for use. Well, I just spent 90 minutes pressing nothing but cotton. And, if I adhered to what it states in the manual, that 90 minutes would have easily evolved into 120 minutes! That cotton indicator light is consistently going on, than it is remaining off. I would almost venture to state that it spends more time on the former rather than the latter.
  The final con is the warranty. One measly year! That disappoints me tremendously. When you fork out more than $200 for a machine, 3 year warranty should be the minimum. Especially... ESPECIALLY with a digital product-which is what this is. One year warranty is insulting and doesn't speak well for TI (in my humble opinion).
  Other than that... there are indeed ample pros for this machine. Compared to ironing or steaming, this press wins hands down. It's 3-4 times swifter than ironing because of 3 elements: large surface area of the machine, the tremendous heat, and, the steam burst function (remember to keep your face away from the 680 when using steam burst). The machine also appears easy to maintain and clean. The manual states to use distilled water. You probably should do as it states--because I'm certain the heating coil and other components are quite delicate inside. Non-distilled water usually equates to faster corrosion development--depending on your state of residency (drinking water). Florida, which is definitely a "hard water" town, definitely purchase distilled.
  If I think of anything else, I'll come back and annotate. In the interim, the machine does what it says it'll do. But, I don't think it's the best one (home user models) out there. I could be wrong. I will keep this model, nonetheless.
  Hope this helps....
  
  

• Don't throw away your old iron yet

  
  By A26SGN1VMQFZBB on 2006-07-25
  My wife and I have to wear nicely pressed clothes to work. Trying to iron a week load of clothes took forever; hence, we decided to get the press. Here's the pros and cons:
  Pros
  1. much faster than the old iron
  2. gets the wrinkles out better due to the hotter iron and strong press
  3. it's heavy, which I like so it won't move around (could be a con for some folks)
  Cons
  1. the opening is not that wide so when trying to move the clothes around on the table, you'll have to be very careful to not touch the hot iron - I've touched it several times but fortunately, I haven't been burned
  2. you have to carefully lay out the clothes as flat as possible to get the best results. Pants are the easiest to do and those are the real time savers. Womens shirts are hardest because they have cuts that are hard to lay completely flat. If they are not completely flat, you will get a crease. Pleats are a PITA. I still haven't found a way to do those right. I've tried the supplied pillow and that works OK. So if you have lots of pleated pants, then you're gonna be very frustrated. You'll have to bring out your old iron.
  3. I think the steamer is just a gimmick. I've used it twice and all it did was wet the garment. Now wetting the garment and then pressing works great but it's easier to just use the supplied water bottle to wet the garment. I've found a trick to get the really bad wrinkles out by wetting the wrinkles and then use the press. The iron is so hot that it completely vaporizes the water along with the wrinkle.
  
  I would recommend this steam press to anyone looking to save time but it won't replace your old iron.
  
  

• A Real Time Saver!

  
  By A3IR834T7AROBT on 2006-02-24
  Forget hauling out the ironing board, distilled water and the iron. Plug in the steam press and you are ready to go---that simple. You need not empty the water resevoir when finished! I will say, it does take a little practice at first. After becoming more familiar with the press, things go a lot faster. This is at least twice as fast as the iron. I now press things, like Levis, that I had given up long ago. I cannot say that pressing clothes is my favorite sport, however this has made it a lot more tolerable!
  
  

• I LOVE MY STEAM PRESS

  
  By A3EAOUFI44PGA5 on 2005-10-18
  Not only has this press cut down my ironing time, I catch my husband ironing with it.
  
  The press is small enough to keep in our laundry room, I press our shorts, slacks, my child's school skorts and even my cotton robe.
  
  The steam is a very good burst or you can just spray from the bottle that is included.
  
  If you are thinking of buying this steam press do it today!
  
  
  

• Wow....what a difference

  
  By A19PJQ6VE268V on 2007-04-20
  Wow what a difference! Love this product. I'm a single man who never got the hang of regular ironing so I ended up sending most of my laundry to the cleaners. Not anymore....I bought the fabric steam press when the quality of my shirts coming back from the cleaners took a noticable turn for the worse, i.e. odd wrinkle patterns and broken buttons. I thought I would give a steam press a try since I had a read a review on how these types of pressers were definitely a cut above a regular iron. The Steam Fast wasn't my first choice..that was an Elna but I couldn't find a distributor for it and I really didnt want to spend the $800 it would have cost me. The Steam Fast was the right price on Amazon ( $230) so I bought it. I followed the rather sketchy instructions which came with it and lo-and-behold it works great. Shirts take almost no time...I just finished doing 5 shirts (cotton and linen) in less than 20 minutes and they look great. The digital controls are very easy to understand, it heats up quickly, and so far the steam is working great. I even end up doing some laundry I would never think of ironing before like my dish clothes which always come out of the dryer looking like SharPei puppies. I definitely would recommend Steam Fast Fabric Steam Press...I hate to admit it but I sort of enjoy the whole process of ironing now and I'm saving $2+ on each shirt and they look great now.
  
  
• Time Saver, Money Saver -- and you look Great too!
  By A2STATKUYAMV84 on 2007-07-12
  I originally bought a couple of these for my company (children's formalwear rental) to spiff up clothes before sending them out. They worked so well, I ended up getting one for myself to use at home.
  
  This product is fantastic, and it has almost completely replaced the need to ever get out the iron and ironing board. Dress shirts can be pressed extremely quickly -- I can do a dress shirt (front left, front right, left arm, right arm, back) in under 30 seconds). Slacks are even faster.
  
  I generally don't need steam, except on linen items, but it's always available with the buttons located on either side of the handle (nice, since you don't have to use a particular hand to open and close the presser top). Also ameliorating the need for steam is that I've learned to take things out of the dryer still just slightly damp, press them, and then let them hang dry. Doing it that way has all but eliminated the need to send stuff to the dry cleaners, saving me a TON of money while giving me the same crisp look.
  
  
• Mixed Feelings
  By A1CSXI7MKL6UKR on 2007-07-24
  
  This unit replaced my Singer Magic Steam Press CSP-1.
  
  When I first got this iron I like it better than the Singer Magic Steam Press. After using it for a while I have changed my mind. It's still a good iron but there are some cons to it.
  
  Pros:
  1. Big ironing surface
  
  Cons:
  1. Not enough clearance in the back of the iron - might burn hand.
  
  2. Distance between top and bottom plate too small - might burn hand.
  
  3. Turns on to "Nothing" state (digital). This is a nuisance because when the power is turned on you "must" move the switch to either wool, cotton, etc. before you get "any" heat at all. Otherwise you'll come back 10 minutes later to a cool iron. The Singer turned on the "last position saved (manual switch)"
  
  4 Once the iron auto shuts itself off it goes to the "nothing" state. You can't move the switch to Nylon, Silk, wool, etc., you "must" re-power the darn thing with the power switch.
  
  5. Power switch located on the far back side of the iron. A nuisance to access.
  
  Overall the iron works great - I just wish it was not digital. I wanted to rate it 3.7 stars.
  
  
  
• Finally, a solid productm that really saves me time!
  By A29JSJO8BMTJ3 on 2007-02-19
  I had been thinking about purchasing a product for years that makes ironing easier on my arthritis ...I like everything ironed and this product really is perfect. No more aches from ironing. Guys would really love this item.. one could iron ten pairs of pants IN LESS than half an hour. The steam option rocks!!!
  
  
• Just Started Using it, So Far So good
  By A1J5NS19L8D7UI on 2007-07-30
  Because of my hectic schedule, this product sat in its box for quite awhile. I only opened it up and used it this weekend. I'm quite the novice and don't really know what I'm doing, but I did learn a couple of tricks. First, the steam only comes out when the setting is on silk and higher. I found the higher the temp, the faster the wrinkles come out. I was amazed at how nicely it does work. My only problem is that I can't figure out how to do long-sleeved shirts. I can't seem to get the sleeve to stay down flat to press, as it bunches up, and eventually had to end up ironing them with my other iron. Anyone have any tips?
  
  But all in all, I really do like it. And once I master shirts, look out! I'll probably open up my own steam press in the neighborhood.
  
  The only reason I'm giving it a 4 star as opposed to a five, is the shirt thing.
  
  P.S. Setting it up was a snap! The instructions are very easy. My only suggestion to the manufacturer, is send a video along to show us how to professionally steam shirts!
  
  
  
• Good. Saves time.
  By A3ARP7HAMLROZS on 2006-11-16
  Excellent for ironing wrinkled suits. should have slightly larger surface area -- usually takes 4 presses to iron one shirt properly. dont use the steam function--- use a spray bottle.
  
  
• professional results in a few minutes
  By A2LCR26KHYB64S on 2007-01-09
  This steamer allows you to sit in front of it while pressing. Top, quality sweaters, such as angora and cashmere come out as if they have been prefessionally done, with no iron lines. Pants press beautifully leaving no marks on the fabric. The creases are the most impressive part of the pants.
  
  Two major things are saved...time and money....when using this product.
  
  I brought it home and now my skeptical wife is using it on all of her finer clothing including suit jackets, so as not to worry about potential harm from the drycleaners, nor the friction of movement from conventional steam irons which many times leaves shiny areas.
  
  Great product...reliable....quality made.....simple to use.
  
  
  
  
• TIME SAVER!
  By A2B1K00DXQGXD6 on 2006-12-26
  My husband is a tall and proportioned man. His shirts and trousers seem massive to me and ironing them has been very time consuming. For instance, to iron a pair of trousers using a regular iron and board, I need to reposition the trousers at least 6 to 8 times; now I reposition the trousers about 4 times.
  
  I would estimate that this product has cut down ironing time on all items by at least 1/4 and I truly appreciate its performance. Like any other new interactive product, getting the results you want takes reading the manual and practice. After ironing 4 or 5 shirts or trousers, you get the "hang" of it. I would recommend this product to anyone who wants to reduce ironing time. FYI, I did not purchase the stand; I use the steam press on my kitchen island.
  
  
• Excellent
  By A296A7V4T4E24K on 2007-03-11
  Positives-I've had the steam press for about one year now. I use it 5 days a week to iron my dress shirts, and my pants that don't have creases. I love it. I press the front of both long sleeves, and both front panels and I'm done. Heat time takes about 4-5 minutes, pressing a long sleeve shirt takes about 30 seconds to 1 minute; much faster than old fashion ironing. It is powerful enough; plenty hot and steam. Shipping was fast.
  Negative-It's not good to press the creases on pants. You have to line up the crease twice, below the knee and above due to the platform being only 25 inches long. If I don't get it just right it will make a new crease. If your pants don't have creases, it's fast. I may buy a pants press in the near future.
  
  
• It takes a bit to get used to but ...
  By A3M968XI3QC5RI on 2007-02-19
  in the long run, I can see it being faster than pulling out an iron and board after some practice. A perfectly ironed shirt is not one of my requirements but if it is for you, you might want to stick with a regular iron, it will do a more detailed job especially with the cuffs and collars and a regular iron IS required on badly wrinkled items. These presses are best for slacks or items that are for the most part flat.As far as the units operation, I had no problem what-so-ever, I cleaned an area off my living room table, placed it on the end and sat on the couch and worked on a couple of shirt while watching the TV.I probably didn't use the steam as much as others so I didn't have a problem with the press cooling off or having to wait for the steam light but the steamer does leave a lot to be desired, several times I ended up with wet patches on my shirt because it seems to spit rather than steam. It worked from start to end without having to wait on it. It also heated up pretty quick. After reading some of the reviews others left on the smaller unit I decided to buy it anyways and the larger unit, over all, I'm pleased with it and will continue to use it. I'm now thinking about purchasing the table for it so i can set it up in one of the spare rooms and leaving it for when ever i need a quick press.. Now I can return the borrowed ironing board..I rated this a 4 out of 5 because you still need an iron for badly wrinkled items and because it spits instead of steams!
  
  
  
  Hope this helps....
  
  
• Pleased !!!
  By A35J8CE8NE942R on 2007-02-19
  This is a great product! I have never ironed my clothes so easily and fast. Presses clothes the way it advertises. Ease of use... a snap. Steams well. It has lots of different heat settings. After I bought this product, most of my family either wants one or has bought one recently. Thumbs up! You won't be sorry with this one.
  
  
• Ironing press
  By A6K4MM7S0DI13 on 2007-02-28
  This is a great iron. It also was shipped to me very fast and I am loving using it.
  
  
• Not impressed
  By A23THPNQY4T3IM on 2007-12-07
  This is my first review of an item or many items I bought from Amazon.
  
  I bought this iron because my wife does my shirts. Bless her heart.
  Before we met and got married I iron my shirt for ten years.... usual 5-10 minutes before work.. and my drive to work was 5 minutes. what a drag. Now my wife irons the shirts AND puts them on a hangar for me but my drive to work is now 45-60 minutes.
  
  Anyway... I really appreciate my wife doing this for me.. especially since she suffers from muscle pain allot.
  
  I have been eying this steam press for her for a couple years now.. but since it is rather expensive as far a irons go.. I always wanted to get it as some sort of birthday or Christmas gift. She would never agree one of her presents being a big iron... she would flat out say she didn't want it.
  I went ahead a bought it one day... I just told her that a surprise was on its way. I'm pretty tight with money so when the press did arrive she was looking at me as if I had gone nuts... and she not exactly thrilled.
  
  Since the directions say to only use distilled water we had to wait to try it until the next time we went shopping.
  Couple weeks later, she gives it a try.
  
  Long story short.. if your trying to save time by using this steam press.. don't waste your money.
  If you were expecting to save money by avoiding the cleaners.. You will find it impossible to get the same quality.
  
  For pressing things like my shirts and pants for work, A.) it took me 15 minutes per shirt and B.) it will not get 100% wrinkle out. It is next to impossible to get the garments to lay flat before you press. It's not like you can hold the garment down with your hands before pressing. One thought that ran through my head was that I should first iron my shirt before trying to press them.
  
  If you intend to use this for things I would never bother ironing.. maybe this is for you... if you want to save time ironing your dress shirts and pants.. stick with the a $30 black and decker...
  
  
  
  
• Needs a decent instructional DVD
  By A1A0JJPS4JAZHI on 2008-05-31
  This is a great appliance, but the instructions are hopeless and it is an appliance that requires some skill to use fully effectively. Had they had a decent DVD with it, I would happily have rated it a 5.
  
  So here is what it does really well and fast (REALLY fast) and for which the supplied instructions (or the little video on the Top Innovations website) are adequate: trousers, T-shirts, and household linens (sheets, napkins etc). Basically anything which you could iron well by folding and smoothing and then plopping a great weight on.
  
  But a lot more effort and skill is required when doing highly tailored shirts (eg brands like Anne Fontaine, Alicia Bell, Pink). Hopefully one day I'll be able to do those without keeping the iron and ironing board on hand. But I suspect that will be only after I can persuade my local cleaner to spend time teaching me.
  
  In the meantime, the most useful instructions I have found for using a steam press are in a little video on the UK Domena site [...] There is also a useful series of pictures on how to do shirts on the UK Singer site [...]
  
  You'll see when watching the Domena video that there is a point to using this unit while sitting in front of it as opposed to standing above it. You are less likely to burn yourself on the upper hotplate while rearranging and smoothing garments on the bottom plate if you are reaching in as opposed to down and around, and likewise, the steam blast that comes out when you press the steam button as you hold the top lid about 3 inches above the bottom plate before pressing something is less likely to hit you if you are in front of it as opposed to above it.
  
  I'm sure it is some sort of cultural difference, but I found all sorts of other useful tips on the various UK sewing sites (which is where the steam presses are usually dealt with). Like using melted ice from the freezer so you get mineral-free water which won't clog up the innards. Happy researching!
  
  
  
• Very Pleased
  By A10TZTC0K66FQ0 on 2007-07-17
  Delivered quickly, works well, much easier to use than an iron. Makes it fun to press pants. Even shirts are easier
  
  
• Time saver
  By A2VQX1EYYPT67Q on 2007-01-23
  This is a really great product, it saves a lot of time ironing. I like my jackets looking crsip and it does the job really well. Even if you don't have the stand it can work on a table. Be careful with the kick back when opening. The stainless stell exterior is really nice.
  
  
• very pleased
  By AMZ63BUY5S29H on 2007-07-05
  I never thought ironing could be fun. This is great and it really can give you the same level of pressing that you get from the cleaners.
  
  
• Steam Fast SF-680 Steam Press
  By AC68SEHDCQA91 on 2007-12-20
  If your looking for a professional dry cleaning steam press then this
  is not what your looking for. For that, you'll have to pay WAY more.
  Now with that said, this thing puts your hand held steam iron to shame.
  I'll admit, it took some time for my wife and I to get the hang of it
  but within a dozen garmets or so we were off to the races. This thing
  paid for itself within a few weeks!! We're both in management roles in
  our careers so nothing less than starch pressed is acceptable on the
  job front. After almost two years of HEAVY use it still works as good
  as the day we bought it. Highly recommended!
  
  
• Nice Press
  By A2Q5EKLVBUI23C on 2007-01-10
  I gave this a a gift and she loves it! Mom said it has cut her ironing time in half. If Mom likes it, it must be good :-)
  
  
• VERY PLEASED
  By A3142UR9W5NFJ1 on 2007-02-07
  Upon receiving my Fabric Steam Press I was apprehensive about the quality of pressing this machine would achieve, but I was very pleased after pressing the first pair of pants. I believe this machine will save dry cleaning dollars in the long run!
  
  
• Steam Fast SF-680 Digital Fabric Steam Press
  By A3DNKMH8FBH9UV on 2008-04-16
  This product is amazing and I would recommend to anyone. I've had it for 3 months and I am so impressed with it. I would say it is commercial standard. I am a guy who is always in a rush and needs to get casual and dress clothes done quick and and looking fantastic and this machine does it!!!!!!
  
  

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