Mug Press Best Practices

[bigj2552]

use tru-pix or xpres paper with nothing else and have a massive 5 speed fan next to mug press's. off the press and next to the fan @ full pelt for 5 mins. never had any bother with colours blurring.

[edwardsmedia]

I am using an Xpres (Adkins) Mug press and Xpres Sublimation paper and print with a Ricoh 3300N (A4 printer) using the recommended Sawgrass inks.
180 for 180 secs normally works well. Did 20 xpres mugs (10oz) today and they printed great, had one that didn't print correctly. the black ink went red... Xpres told me its probably because the machine being to hot and when the inks get to hot they will bleed/turn into a gas and go a different colour.

Also i have always put my mugs into cool water straight away once printed. and i leave the paper on until its nice and cool or i un-wrap it in the water while its cooling!

[mrs maggot]

we stopped using water to cool after an issue with some crazing on the inside of the mugs which was not apparent until they had been used a couple of times, these were the el-grande style mugs, took advice from others and moved over to the fan method - much better and no soggy paper

[Zipdorf]

Hey Everyone

Thanks for the replies and advice. I have left the paper on so far but will think about removing paper first.

I also have Truepix paper but haven't used that yet.

I did a "Keep Calm" mug with solid red and there are a few patches along the bottom. I guess I need to increase the pressure on the mug press?

Still learning but the sales are starting to come in.

[AJLA]

You could try increasing the pressure slightly but unfortunately its not always avoidable. Some mugs are not straight and taper quite a bit at the top and bottom. Unfortunately I can not always get a full wrap perfect.:frown:

I must admit the mug presses from Novachrome I have seen always look great.

I always buy A grade mugs and I have relatively new cactus wraps and a new heat blanket in my press.

Good luck with the sales!

[Zipdorf]

Besides the mug press from Xpress (Adkins) I did also purchase the one from Novachrome as I wanted to test them side by side. I am going to start producing mugs with that press tomorrow, next to the Xpress one. Should be interesting to see the results although it will depend (as you state) on the taper of the mugs. I will also try out the BMS mugs as well.

Good fun!

[AJLA]

It will be Interesting to hear your comments regarding the two.
BMS mugs are usually very good as are the Novachrome ones. Have fun!!

[logobear]

we make sure sub paper covers the mug entirely, - but the paper is cheap compared to ink, and you can get 3 mugs per A4 so you save nothing being tight with paper!
If the mug is fully wrapped you have no worry about bleed, - only if part of the bare mug is exposed to the heat blanket will you get any bleed.
We peel paper immediately, and do nothing else!
If you delay peel you can get fuzz,
If you dunk, you get a wet mug, - a wet workspace, and risk of wetting something you dont want wet !
if you use a fan, you get a windy work place,
we keep it simple and do nothing else, just wait about 15 min before we box em up.
We have done 300 mugs a day, no failures....
KISS

[bigj2552]

Hey Everyone

Thanks for the replies and advice. I have left the paper on so far but will think about removing paper first.

I also have Truepix paper but haven't used that yet.

I did a "Keep Calm" mug with solid red and there are a few patches along the bottom. I guess I need to increase the pressure on the mug press?

Still learning but the sales are starting to come in.

i had the same probs with reds on the keep calm mugs - more pressure and heat the mug on the press for about 20sec before you put paper ON cured it for me - full print top to bottom with no fading, and thats on 11oz mugs with a mug press from BMS - tru-pix and xpress papers

[GoonerGary]

Trupix paper with a sheet of plain paper. Remove transfer immediately after pressing and allow to cool naturally on a kitchen worktop. Plunging them into water is a drastic temperature change and you might hear a little ping as it cracks.