Other methods of decorating mugs.

[John G]

Couple of questions:
Does he have a kiln to fire the mugs after printing
Do laser mugs scratch off
How much is this specialist toner - basic laser toner is about £80 per colour
Why does he have a spoil rate of 1 in 20

Cheers John

[Flash]

Does he have a kiln to fire the mugs after printing

I believe he now uses the Magic Touch Mug Machine:http://www.themagictouch.co.uk/hardware/mugpress.htm But before he got this he used a conventional oven and Mug Wraps.

Do laser mugs scratch off

You tell me! He is sending me a sample so I may attack it

How much is this specialist toner - basic laser toner is about £80 per colour

I don't believe he uses specialist Toner he runs an Oki with standard toners.

Why does he have a spoil rate of 1 in 20

Because he is not very good?:lol: But he is getting better he was killing 1 in 7 8)

Phil

[Flash]

basic laser toner is about £80 per colour

John,
Where did you get this number from? Toners for my Xerox Phaser 6110 are £12.50 per colour if you get 'em from the right place!

Phil

[John G]

Hi Phil,
I've looked into it a bit more now. Its conventional oven or press, standard laser toner and normal mugs, its the paper that's special - and it wants to be @ £55 per 100 sheets.

I've read the pdf on magic touch website and I think it differs from sublimation - the print sits on the surface of the mug and I think this is where the problem lies regarding scratching off. Also the print is matt so to get a nice shine on the mugs you have to heat it a second time without the wrap on.

It does sound like a good idea, i've got 3 laser printers but after trying sublimation printing I wouldn't go done that route.

Interesting thread though

[John G]

At 12.50 per colour, for laser toner, it won't be genuine - I never ever use third party toner and if your printing mugs I doubt whether the compatible inks would be any good.

Minolta laser 2300 - internet best price around £40 - £50 mark + del + vat
PC world/staples etc £85.00 - £90.

Cheers John

[Flash]

Interesting thread though

That's why I started it John
As my mother has said 'There's always more than one way to skin a cat!'

Phil

[NIGELG]

Seems like overcomplicating things - mug printing with sublimation inks is way easier and probably cheaper than any other method.

To screen print you'd need equipment and it cannot be do on a flat bed hand bench and you can only print in high numbers. Then you'd need a kiln to fire the mugs. Same goes with the laser method - an expensive laser printer that can only print ceramics and a kiln. For speed and workshop space I would only consider sublimation printing.

Cheers John

Hi john, i wouldn't use this as an alternative to sublimation as it cant really be beat.
Also this method is not done by yourself unless you purchase the equipment as the item has to be kilned to fix it permanently, so it is done by a company for you and very cost effective. I used them for for a wedding once where 24 large square vases with the bride and grooms photo and date had to be printed on , obviously there isn't a coated vase on the market and a press bit enough but the company produced the vase and they were fantastic.
This is a great method if you want to add something like the large photo plates where the guest sign around the edge with a message, they will produce the photo plate as a one of you add to that a porcelain pen to write the message a gift box and all the client does is bake the plate in the oven and the messages are fixed.

you can purchase the equipment but your looking at £5000 for and A3 laser printer and cartridges and a kiln around a £1500 but you can then glaze any shape object that is ceramic.

cheers NigelG

[John G]

Cheers Nigel

[Flash]

I think there maybe some confusion entering this thread regarding the 'Laser Toner' method of decorating mugs
John, you have read the .pdf on the Magic Touch website concerning this method & I don't think kilns are mentioned. Here is a link for your reference:http://www.themagictouch.co.uk/download/instrucs/ceramicmugs.pdf
Obviously in this link they use their (expensive!) mug machine but I believe all you need is HEAT. This could be a mug press, mini-oven or conventional home oven.
If you were to use a mug press you would not require mug wraps/clamps with a conventional oven you would.
Yes you do need to use their CPM 6.1 Paper @ £55.00 for 100 sheets but my mate claims to get 3 mugs from 1 sheet, so 300 mugs for £55.00.
Other than this you need a colour laser printer with non-oil based toners available these days for £100 which is a lot cheaper than an inkjet printer with a Dye Sumlimation set-up!
Ongoing costs, well is toner cheaper than Dye Sublimation Ink. This one is still up for debate!
Also to take into consideration, there are no head cleans with a laser printer
I'm sure that in time someone will stumble upon this thread who has actually tried this method, his opinion will be valuable
In the meantime, is/has anyone tried other methods of decorating a mug?

Phil

[Flash]

You can purchase the equipment but your looking at £5000 for and A3 laser printer

WHAT I don't think so! Here's one:http://www.printerbase.co.uk/acatalog/oki-c810.php

I will have your change out of £5K, that's Christmas sorted
And why A3 for mugs surely A4 will do, and they are a lot cheaper;)

Phil