First Time Press

[rgarner]

SO, I have my mug press (http://www.coralgraph.com/heat-press/mu ... er-machine) and my mugs (http://www.coralgraph.com/sublimation-m ... mation-mug), my printer is in tip top shape and I'm ready to roll... except, there are a few problems.

I have tried two mugs so far, both have been a failure.

Attempt 1: The first I set to 180c for 200 seconds, then upon removing it, as per the instructions, dipped it in cold water. The edges of the mug appeared to be fine, but as you move in toward the centre of the design, the colours fade.

I noticed two things during this. Firstly, the element has a few ripples, is this a problem? The second is that when I remove the first mug from the press and replace it with the artwork mug, the temperature drops by around 30c, and slowly goes back up. So I thought maybe this was the reason for the faded mug - not so.

Attempt 2: I took the first mug out of the press having waited for it to heat up to 180c, added my artwork mug and waited for the temp to go back up to 180c and then started the timer. This mug (I expect having been exposed to heat for much longer) came out with the same dim colours and also smudges at the edges.

Anyone know where I am going wrong?

[smes9]

Hi, I hope you got some answers before now!

im still a bit new at this, but I found that my mugs come out great when I press the timer to go and THEN put the mug in, as otherwise, like you said it takes ages to get back up to temp. When in for too long mine would bleed and be overcooked.

I don't dip mine after, I just let them cool naturally. I also find, depending on what the image is, I use heat tape along the top and bottom as well and this seems to help prevent fading if its a big block type image.

Also, don't go too close to the edges of the mug with your designs.

Hope that helps! It's been a few months so you are probably an expert now haha!