Other methods of decorating mugs.

[JSR]

With respect to quality and price, i have found that the mugs i produce are as good as any dye sub mug i have seen and when a customer holds both types in their hand, they really don't care how it was produced, as long as its what they want.
If a business buys a hundred mugs , they will only look at the cost, as long as it looks good. If an individual buys a mug they will either treasure it, so it will always look good or they will use it , in which case they will probably break it before the quality of the process used to make it will become an issue.

Are laser transfer mugs dishwasher-safe?

We're so used to hearing the phrase "RN-coated" for dye-sub mugs. Is there an equivalent for laser transfer mugs, or are they inherently dishwasher-safe?

Thanks!

J

[Stitch Up]

Hi Mik

Yes, I was referring to this ... Laser transfer however is the process where the toner is deposited on a specially formulated paper .

I'd guess we've produced several 1000 mugs using this method and we do return the mug to the mug machine for glazing after the transfer paper is removed.

If you're producing laser transfer mugs at the same quality as ink dye-sub, then you're onto a winner - price wise.

We got all our equipment from TMT and spent a day there doing training with Carl Newbury. Carl showed us mugs they'd produced with the laser transfer method and those they produced with the dye-sub method. The difference was huge, dye-sub producing a far better appearance.

Carl pointed out that dye-sub wins on quality everytime and this has been our experience.

John

[Market Mik]

Hi Mik


I'd guess we've produced several 1000 mugs using this method and we do return the mug to the mug machine for glazing after the transfer paper is removed.


John

Hi John,
I have to admit that i found that the result was better if you put the mug in a domestic oven rather than return it to the press. I found that the image didnt seem to have glazed evenly after a second time in the press and it just wasn't "glossy" enough.
From a financial point of view, if you are using a magic touch htp 616 it makes more sense not to use it for "glazing" as the lamps have a rated life of only 15 hours and at magic touch prices, replacements are very expensive. The way i look at it is that if i "glaze" in an oven then i am effectively doubling the life of the lamps.
Of course as i hate being tied to any supplier, i have already found a source of lamps at under half the price of TMT lol

Are laser transfer mugs dishwasher-safe?

Laser transfers attach to any ceramic, there are no special coatings necessary. You could take a plate out of your cupboard and use a laser transfer on it as long as it can handle the heat involved.
If the original ceramic is dishwasher safe then it will still be dishwasher safe after you print it, the laser toner bonds at over 150 degrees so the heat of a dishwasher will not affect it.
After xmas i am going to experiment with beer glasses . will let you know how it goes.
Mik

[JSR]

Laser transfers attach to any ceramic, there are no special coatings necessary. You could take a plate out of your cupboard and use a laser transfer on it as long as it can handle the heat involved.
If the original ceramic is dishwasher safe then it will still be dishwasher safe after you print it, the laser toner bonds at over 150 degrees so the heat of a dishwasher will not affect it.

Thanks for the info. I've dabbled with laser transfers using TMT paper in the past but wasn't very successful. The cost of the TMT paper put be off investing further until I'm in a position to look at it properly.

It's interesting that you say "the laser toner bonds at over 150 degrees so the heat of a dishwasher will not affect it" because that's different to dye-sub in that you could be sublimating at 200 degrees with no problem, but if it's not a dishwasher-safe mug it won't have a very happy life. I did some tests myself at one stage (
results here) which made me think long and hard about the durability of claimed dishwasher properties.

JSR

[GoldRapt]

Of course as i hate being tied to any supplier, i have already found a source of lamps at under half the price of TMT lol
Mik

Oh, Do tell me deareo

Some questions to ponder on might be:
Can one use a halogen oven to reglaze as that will be quicker/cheaper than your kitchen oven.
Surely theres more than just TMT selling the approariate paper and maybe cheaper.

Oops and I missed out one thing, this is all fine and dandy for doing "workmans" type looking mugs but how does one do a mug that has a diffent shape, is it another press or a different process?

[JSR]

Oops and I missed out one thing, this is all fine and dandy for doing "workmans" type looking mugs but how does one do a mug that has a diffent shape, is it another press or a different process?

That's a good question. Is it possible to use laser transfer for colour-change mugs and, if so, are there any non-dyesub colour change mugs around that are cheap enough to justify it?

[Flash]

As mentioned, went to Asda and got myself some mugs on Saturday


These are the ones you are looking for:


Dont go to Asda Broadstairs to get them, they are OUT OF STOCK

Phil

[Market Mik]

It's interesting that you say "the laser toner bonds at over 150 degrees so the heat of a dishwasher will not affect it" ...

JSR

Laser toner is a plastic polymer that unlike ink will not run so it shouldn't bleed onto other areas of the mug, also as it is designed to work at high temps the heat of a dishwasher shouldn't pose any problems to the integrity of the print.
Of course this is all speculation on my part as i don't have a dishwasher. I would be interested to hear from anyone who has actually tested laser print mugs.
mik

[GoldRapt]

These are the ones you are looking for:


Dont go to Asda Broadstairs to get them, they are OUT OF STOCK

Phil

Cheers Phil,
On both counts

[Flash]

Well the old Water-Slide transfers were none too sucsessful, or I got something wrong
After application they looked ok, I let them fully dry for about 3-4 hours, then baked them at 180 celcius for a few minutes. They looked fantastic at this point BUT they scratched off very easily
Now I did read somewhere that you could spray over the transfers after baking with Clear Acrylic Laquer but i'm affraid that if I wanted to ponce around like this I would have choosen a different career path
PLAN B me thinks!

Phil