The Chinese were purportedly the first to use a hot iron to smooth
cloth. Between their putting metal in pans filled with hot coals, and the
Europeans using stones, glass, and wood for smoothing, women around the
civilized world utilized various methods
of "ironing." There were
"slickers," "sleekstones," and other shapes such as
inverted mushrooms, that would be used to smooth a fabric when the idea of using
burning heavy metal (usually iron), wasn't available or desirable.
There were presses for laying out cloth, and stretchers where damp
fabrics were held between rollers or "calendars." But ultimately, during the 19th century, with
such inventions as the gas iron (white gasoline was put inside a metal canister
with a smooth, flat base, and lit to heat up the metal), and the electric
flatiron that was patented in 1882 by Henry W. Seely, the regular practice of
smoothing garments professionally, was born.
There are all kinds of irons.
As fashions changed and developed over hundreds and hundreds of years,
the irons, themselves, changed to accommodate the types of fabrics, and the
need to deal with a particular articles of clothing, or special styles.
The sadiron, or flatiron with 2 pointed ends and a removable
handle, is one of the most familiar.
Fluting irons were designed to crimp and press ruffles. They were also used for collars and
cuffs. Slug irons carried a
"slug" of metal inside them, and revolved around the handle so that
the part of the iron that touched the fabric was always hot. These were used for polishing, glossing, or
embossing designs onto a fabric. From
these came the tailor's iron, with a heavy top that was forced down upon a
bottom--what we call a "buck press," today.
Domestically, housewives and maids were using smaller irons
for years, and in truth, homemakers'
needs continue to send a strong message to technology. General Electric was among the first to
produce an electric iron for household
use. In the 1920's, however, when the
boys came home from World War I, technology began to change more rapidly. America was quickly becoming a world power,
and had multiple inventions and patents at its fingertips. Fulton had invented the steam engine in the
1800's and pairing that with the electric iron, the steam iron was created in
the early 1900's.
Initially, fabrics were wet down, then ironed with hot metal
irons. With a steam iron, the hot
moisture allowed wrinkles to be pressed out of a garment in one step, also
dampening it so that pressed-in creases and perfected finishes without
scorching were possible. It wasn't until
the 1950's that pressing equipment became both steam and electric, so that one or
the other could be used. Now, it is computer driven as well.
Within the manufacturing industry, the steam iron-- and
subsequently steam presses--made ready-to-wear clothing possible. With the changing world of technology, with
ever-increasing ready-to-wear garments, with the advent of dry-cleaning and
laundering facilities, presses allowed
men and women to have their garments neatly made, purchased, and worn so that
they kept their appearance for years.
There are all kinds of presses: Collar, shoulder, shirting, cuff,
hat, buck presses in all sizes for coats and larger garments, the Suzy-Q
presses for dresses, and more. These
presses are either run manually or by computer.
The more powerful and multiple the presses, the larger the
boiler has to be to run them.
Compressors are used, but ultimately, the steam boilers are there to
drive the equipment with anywhere from 10-300 horsepower, or with multiple
boilers of smaller power, such as three 50 horsepower boilers. They are enormously powerful, and a large
manufacturing plant can spend up to $100,000 on its boiler system. In the past, any boiler over 30 horsepower
had to have a fulltime person on staff to supervise the machinery, it was that
dangerous. Today, the equipment is built
with multiple safeguards, so that most boilers can be maintained by the owners,
themselves.
The majority of presses and boilers are made in Italy or in
Asia. American made items are all but
gone. It used to be that American machinery
was built out of steel and cast iron and made to last 50-100 years. Hoffman, Ajax, and Sisal were such companies. Now, all that remain of them are parts and service replacement dealers. Old machines are still better than any new
items on the market that are only built to last 10-15 years. These are less expensive, easier to maintain,
largely computerized and electronic, but they're quickly outdated with no
replaceable parts. Make no mistake: A modern press can cost $7,000 - $40,000, and
that doesn't count installation, parts, service, or building the room to put it
in.
It used to be that fabrics were made from all natural fibers,
and the presses accommodated them.
Everything was about precision and quality. Today, quality is not the primary goal;
economy is. If a company can purchase a
throw-away press that can do the job cheaper and faster so that more garments
can be pressed at a time, there is less overhead; hence, more profit. The shops that have the old manual presses--the
steam presses without multiple garment capacity-- will ultimately be outshone
by companies who press more rapidly, if not quite as well or expertly.
Dennis Trotter of D&R Enterprises, who has been in the
business for almost 40 years says, "The primary change in the pressing
industry is that fabrics have changed so much.
With technology, there are permanent press, wrinkle free finishes. There are many fabrics that don't need to be
dry-cleaned; people can do their clothes at home, throwing them in the dryer or
hanging them up to dry. Items don't even
need to be pressed upon being manufactured." It will be interesting to see where the future
of the pressing industry will go--forward with newer and more highly developed,
expendable equipment, or increasingly discontinued as more advanced technology
develops fabrics that have no need of presses, at all.
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