Has anyone had luck with the BlueWave 5 in 1 Mug Press? I haven't...

[Chad]

Hi Everyone,

I had been using the FreeSub ST-210 for a few years and wanted to speed up my production so purchased the 5 in 1 Blue Wave Mug Heat Press.


The results I have been getting have been very underwhelming. I have adjusted timings, pressure and temperature and have found a setting which works, however it takes an extremely long time and also results in an out of focus transferred image compared to the FreeSub 2in1. Please find below the settings I use on the FreeSub compared to what I have to use on the Blue Wave to transfer the image over correctly.


FreeSub ST-210
190 degrees
260 seconds (once mug comes to temperature)


BlueWave 5 in 1
190 degrees
400 seconds pressing whole mug
Additional 400 seconds pressing only the bottom half of mug


I have to press in the BlueWave for 800 seconds in total, 400 seconds for the whole mug and then 400 seconds for the bottom half of the mug, as otherwise the press doesn’t correctly transfer the print. I use the leading standard TexPrint DX Light paper and Epson L1800 using Sublinova inks. My thoughts is the elements in the BlueWave don’t fit correctly around the 11oz mugs. I have tried every tightness setting by rotating the red ball as well as the bottom platform which raises the height of the mug, all creating the same results. I have also tried pressing the face of the mug into the element before clamping, which has helped a little with the blurriness but hasn’t removed it entirely (the photos attached are by using this method of pushing the face of the mug against the element before clamping)


Has anyone been able to get sharp results with this press in a time similar to other presses? I've attached comparison photos below, same design but using the two different presses.... I could possibly live with the 10 minute cook time if the results were sharp. I've been offered a refund from SignzWorld but if anyone had any luck with fixing these issues, I'd rather that route first as it's a really well built piece of kit, I'm just not happy with the results I'm getting. Customer support suggest I adjust the temperature by 5-10c... which IMO will be a waste of time and money as I've already tried pressing at 200c and the designs turn out brown, also that wouldn't fix the blurry issue. They also suggest I try paper supplied by them, which again I don't think will make a difference, as I'm using high release paper from TexPrint which gives me perfect results on my other press, and I've tried Ink Express paper that came with my printer on the 5in1 press and the results were awful.
Anyway, sorry for the rant! ��

[ATTACH=CONFIG]7247[/ATTACH]
BlueWave 5in1

[ATTACH=CONFIG]7248[/ATTACH]
FreeSub 2in1

[ATTACH=CONFIG]7249[/ATTACH]
BlueWave 5in1

[ATTACH=CONFIG]7250[/ATTACH]
FreeSub 2in1

[ATTACH=CONFIG]7251[/ATTACH]
Comparison of the two

[GoonerGary]

Buy an oven! 12 mugs in twenty minutes. Perfect top to bottom printing with the right mug.

[Chad]

Buy an oven! 12 mugs in twenty minutes. Perfect top to bottom printing with the right mug.

Thank you Gary, however sometimes I print only a few mugs, and feel it wouldn't be very cost effective. Maybe in the future it would be a good investment when I start receiving larger orders. Have you had any experience with this press yourself?

[Justin]

Tried several of those presses over the years and they all fail to impress.

We use ovens as well, you would be better off having multiple single mug presses, all in 1 types never work particularly well.

[Chad]

Tried several of those presses over the years and they all fail to impress.

We use ovens as well, you would be better off having multiple single mug presses, all in 1 types never work particularly well.

Damn, thank you for the help! I'm a perfectionist when it comes to my printing, so if I'm fighting a losing battle with all in ones, I may have to go the oven route. SignzWorld are offering to send out new elements, but unless they're a different brand, I find it hard to see how it would rectify the issues I'm having.
I see Xpres do an all in one which may be worth a go before going the oven route https://www.xpres.co.uk/hpd-5-station-mug-press I'l give them a call and voice my expectations and see what they say.

[Justin]

We'ver never looked back since moving to ovens. I would assume you are doing a few to justify 5 at the same time. I just did a run of 14 mugs and 8 water bottles in my oven. So much easier and quicker. yes, the oven probably costs a little more when on but it keeps your sausage rolls toasty as well

[Chad]

So very tempting! The majority of mugs I sell are of my own photos in my shop, but I've recently started a separate business offering my printing to artists/businesses.

What would you say the benefits and downsides of using an oven is? I've not yet done any research on them, but putting the mug wraps on looks like it would be a faff

[Justin]

Consistency is the biggest benefit, top to bottom printing much easier and as close to the handle as is possible with the wraps.

Yes you have to put wraps on, we don't find this a major issue tbh but it is another stage to the process.

[Chad]

Consistency is the biggest benefit, top to bottom printing much easier and as close to the handle as is possible with the wraps.

Yes you have to put wraps on, we don't find this a major issue tbh but it is another stage to the process.

I try and specialise in top to bottom printing as they're quite hard to find people who print them.

What type of oven would you suggest? I see a few different types at similar prices ranges.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

The top loading one from SignzWorld looks quite good, and as they are only offering me a partial refund on the 5in1 (or a replacement of something else) it might be the way to go if people rate it
https://signzworld.co.uk/shop/st-3042-3 ... eat-press/

https://adexa.co.uk/Commercial-Electric ... rCHEGPelZD

https://www.amazon.co.uk/PYD-Life-Subli ... 2173&psc=1


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Justin]

Have a search on here and you'll find a number of posts discussing the blizzard oven, that's what we use.

Forget the signworldz one, that's not what you need.

Bear in mind the size and how many mugs you can cook.