Printing 2000 mugs

[socialgiraffe]

as for farm stores, i dont know what you mean. we have proper stores where i am...

I take it then that your ethos of keep small businesses going doesn't stretch to when you are shopping then. By using a shop are you not simply doing exactly the opposite of what you are preaching as I am pretty sure that a supermarket does not actually produce a single thing but simply buy it at a cheaper rate and then sell on, which in effect is what Tom would be doing?

Perhaps you had a bad experience previously, but I am not sure why you think that a company producing bulk mugs would not be able to match your quality, in my experience they are probably better quality as they have only got to that status by producing good quality products at a good price.

[gemmaeve]

Mr design and gift, after reading your thread above I want to know if you can help with a problem we are having with a halogen oven. We have a large print area and we have left a white space on the paper each side, we are also using a mug wrap to keep the graphic in place, however we are getting discoloration on the handle and it is like the image from the print is being blown out in the oven and making the area that is not covered in paper (around the handle) become slightly discoloured and a bit pink (there is a lot of pink in the print). Any suggestions?

[socialgiraffe]

500 does take time admittedly (18mins for 4)

That equates to 18.75 8 hour days.

500 three or four colour screen printed mugs would cost between £1.30-£1.50 ish

An end user would not expect to pay more than £2.00 MAXIMUM for that many mugs. Given that it costs an absolute minimum of £1.00 per mug to produce then the MAXIMUM profit would be £2000. Divide that by 18.75 days and you are only earning £106 a day. Not worth it.

[Designandgift]

hey gemmaeve
as i am new myself i can only share my experiences and hope they help
i am using the Russel Hobb 16L cap halogen ovens and when i first started using the ovens i had the same problem..
i tried everything, but after reading on a forum (cant remember which one), it ended up i wasnt pre heating my oven enough...
i bought a couple of cheap temp gauges and now i dont put the mugs into the oven till the temps on or about 190. i do set oven to 225 to get to the 190 mark
also if you make sure your design is taped down securely and air tight before you put the wrap on.
i have not had problems since.. full wrap images also come out great

Thanks
Carl

Design and Gift

[Dave271069]

I have to agree with socialgiraffe on this one, sourcing work out is a great way to move your business forward. If I had a order for 2000 mugs then I would use a company around the corner from me who put 2000 mugs into one of there ovens in one go. I could never get them as cheap as they would sell to me so would just add 50p per mug and sit back whilst my small business makes some money for doing nothing.

[gemmaeve]

Thanks Carl, I will give that a go in the morning.

[Designandgift]

socialgiraffe i get your point.
i would be happy with an extra £106 pound a day tho and i have not had a bad experience with large suppliers all i am saying is support the little ones.
if you have the time to make them, then why not make them. i started making mugs as a hobby because i enjoy it... if i make money from it well thats a bonus... would i like to be as big as some larger suppliers yes of course, who wouldn't.. but i am happy making my mugs just plodding along...
i like to think i produce good quality mugs and hopefully will continue... and i can still offer same day dispatch with my halogen ovens your time scale works assuming i only have one halogen oven for smaller orders we always use heat presses
but i think we are off topic... poor tom wont know what is going on...
you obviously are more experienced than me alot will be ... but i can still share my views

Thanks
Carl

Design and Gift

[Designandgift]

Dave i completely understand the concept around it and i can see why it would be great to do nothing at all but watch the money come in
i just feel if your going to sell something and advertise it then why not make it and sell it your self
i dont know i guess im just odd

Thanks
Carl

Design and Gift

[Dave271069]

Not odd at all, I personally think 2k of mugs is a great order to have, I suspect any one that orders for personal use should get a personal service and like your web site (which is nice) it's down to you to supply that service. But when it comes to orders like the one you got it's all about being clever and making some money.
Ps I have just converted to a halogen oven but have so many issues to start with I just subbed out 4 mugs to my nearest competitor, as I wanted my customer to have the perfect mug which I can't supply at the moment until I sort out my times and temperatures out....

[Designandgift]

Not odd at all, I personally think 2k of mugs is a great order to have, I suspect any one that orders for personal use should get a personal service and like your web site (which is nice) it's down to you to supply that service. But when it comes to orders like the one you got it's all about being clever and making some money.
Ps I have just converted to a halogen oven but have so many issues to start with I just subbed out 4 mugs to my nearest competitor, as I wanted my customer to have the perfect mug which I can't supply at the moment until I sort out my times and temperatures out....

Thanks Dave. i have really just started the webpage to see how it goes, and i am trying to design images and create gifts for listing and make them etc it gets hard, but yes i guess the more personal approach is what i am happy with..
i wish it was me that is making the 2000 mugs but that is tom from first post...
i have kept with heat presses as they are simple plug in and and go more and less, but once you get the halogen oven set up its just as easy to use
i would love to get the 3d printer but im jumping well ahead

thanks
Carl

Design and Gift