Printing Black onto Gold mugs

[Judebill]

Just doing my first batch of gold sub mugs with a logo and a few colours. I was worried about the yellow but that actually looks fine....the problem is the black not looking very black? its the same size mug as the white ones ive done with the same logo so I know its not any printer/software/mug press problem but i'm wandering if I need to change temp or time? has anyone experienced this? the mugs are from Corelgraph and there are no instructions on their website about temp/time.

[Andrew]

What is the print problem? Is it the colour looks wrong, patchy or grainy, faded etc ?

I would imagine the black would have a tint no matter what you do as the ink has a transparent finish, hence working best on a white base. I have tried silver in the past and they were simple to print and worked well enough.

[Judebill]

I have the machnine set at 180C for 180secs which works fine for white. The black on the gold on the first one (same time/temp) came out a bit uneven and brownish. It looked from the transfer paper that it all transferred fine but not evenly? I did another one at 30secs less - so 150secs - and it looked better but still not good enough. The black has a gold reflection to it which is fine but its not even enough. I found that there was also a horrible smell coming out the press so im wondering if I should reduce the temp slightly? what were the settings you used for the silver ones?

I only brought 15 gold mugs and need 6 good ones so hoping to get a good result soon!

[Andrew]

I am guessing you have a ricoh? Dropping below 180 secs seems the wrong way to go. Never used a ricoh but would have though a little extra time or even temp. Epson would be more like195 for 200s as a starting point when we did silver.

[Judebill]

Yup, have a ricoh. Maybe i'll try a bit higher temp on the mugs although the smell suggested it was burning? its like a smell I have never smelt before with the white ones so wondering if its to do with the gold coating? I dipped the second one in warm water which may have helped a bit too.

Good to know about the silver. I brought a mixed box of 15 silver and 15 gold as I only needed 6 gold and didn't want to be lumbered with a box of 30 gold left over! was hoping to find another customer for the rest of them. I shall make a note about the silver temp/time

[Andrew]

The silver temp was for Epson not Ricoh. Ricoh printers can print at lower temps. Search on here for other threads on Ricoh printers and you might find similar discussions. The problems could be down to other things beyond the printer though such as the mug. It is often trial and error which gets you there in the end.

[Judebill]

I tried a longer time but it looked worse, so back to 150secs and its definitely given the best even coverage on the black. How strange! but I guess that's the beauty of sublimation :biggrin:

[Andrew]

Was that 150 after the temp went back up to 180 when inserting mug? Doesn't really make a difference now as you have found what suits best, just might make a difference to someone else in the future. Some presses set the time off on putting in a new mug whilst others have idle temps and the time starts when getting back upto optimum cooking temp. Everyone tends to have a different set-up so easy to get crossed wires.

What does often help on problem solving are phtots of the print problem. It's easier to recognise and overcooked or undercooked print along with the various other issue's that occur, than it is to work out from a description.

Glad you are sorting it now though and won't have too many wastages.

[Judebill]

I have an Xpres mug machine that stays at the same temp and doesn't have an idling temp. I've packaged them up otherwise I would take a photo. The annoying thing is that some black looks perfect for the some didn't and its the same bit on each mug which is maybe suggesting part of the wrap isn't heating as much as the rest? I will have to experiment by turning the mug the other way next time to check.

Thank you for your help!