Help with Mug printing

[Ian M]

Because having a blanket at 180 deg and on without a mug in it isnt good for it. So safer to turn it off, replace mug and turn back on!

So, if I'm printing a run of say 50 mugs does that mean I have to turn my press off everytime I take a mug out & then turn it back on when I put another mug in?

[Charlie_]

So, if I'm printing a run of say 50 mugs does that mean I have to turn my press off everytime I take a mug out & then turn it back on when I put another mug in?

Well I heat mine up with a scrap mug in it, then whip out the scrap one replacing with the new one as near as possibly at same time without switching off.

[WorthDoingRight]

Well if you are doing an almost instantaneous swap then on a long run then it is your call, however I was assuming this was instructions for a new mug press operator. For the 'experienced' it makes no odds to me if you do or do not turn the press off as it is not my press to worry about lol

[accdave]

Personally I think there's more chance of wearing the switch out than the blanket

[WorthDoingRight]

Personally I think there's more chance of wearing the switch out than the blanket

Well switches are cheap, blankets are not lol

I spoke to one of the importers of blankets a few months back that told me that if no precautions were taken by using a sacrificial mug whilst heating then a blanket that was heated up to 180 degrees (without a mug in place) would very likely not live long enough to press more than about 50 mugs in total.

Whether this information is accurate I cannot confirm but I for one would prefer to switch off and replace the mug then switch back on and if necessary have to replace a switch costing a couple of pounds than a blanket costing significantly more.

[Paul]

I can tell you this now that thos infois not acurate. I never used to us dummy mug for heating up my press. Had my blanket for about two years
and i have done more tuen 50 mugs.

[WorthDoingRight]

I can tell you this now that thos infois not acurate. I never used to us dummy mug for heating up my press. Had my blanket for about two years
and i have done more tuen 50 mugs.

Well either the quality of blankets has declined lol or as you say the information is duff. Thanks for the information.

[JSR]

Well I heat mine up with a scrap mug in it, then whip out the scrap one replacing with the new one as near as possibly at same time without switching off.

When using my mug press, this is what I do. I heat up with a scrap mug in it, and swap one in when taking one out. If I need a moment to faff around with the mug before putting it in, I pop the scrap one back in. I only turn the press off, if I know it's going to be at least several minutes before I swap out the mug again.

[socialgiraffe]

I never use a duff mug to heat up. When starting the press either for a run or for a single mug I do the following:

Put wrapped mug inside the press and clamp.
Turn on mug press, set time and temperature and then hit the button
Once the press reaches 180 degrees it alarms and I hit the countdown button
Once the time has expired I take the mug out and mug is printed perfectly

If I am doing a run, when the time has expired I simply take out the already pressed mug and put a new wrapped mug in, Obviously the temperature drops significantly with the inserting of a new "cold" mug. I hit the button and the temperature then starts to climb to 180 degrees again. When the alarm for 180 degrees sounds I hit the button and it starts to countdown again. Mug comes out perfect everytime.

I have done it this way for years and on runs of 2000+ mugs. If I get more than 5 rejects on a 2000+ run I am surprised.

I am not saying the above is the way everyone should do it, in actual fact quite the opposite in that each mug/print/wrap is different and requires different settings and procedures.

None of the above is using top quality gear, presses and wraps come from HeatpressUK, paper is Trupix and mugs are either direct from China or the cheap 62p plus VAT ones from BMS (no offence to BMS on the quality of thier mugs as I find them pefect and very good quality).

If my wraps last less than 1500 presses I complain to heatpressUK as I think there is something wrong with them. But to be fair to them, I have only ever had one set of wraps that have lasted less than 1000 mugs and they did me a very good deal on replacements. My current wraps are on about 4000 to 5000 presses and still going strong.

[melmster]

Hi , thank you for replying to my post , im still having problems printing mugs !
they are getting loads better , however i still have a problem with the lower bit of the mug , when i print the mugs , the lower part seems to fade out ? also some have looked almost mottled ?
Is this because the mug is thicker at the bottom ? ive tried to turn mugs half way through ! ive pre heated mugs etc , also set temp at a higher temp (200c) and set timer at 200secs !
Thanks for your support
Many Thanks
Melmster