new to mug press - advice before I start please!

[mfacer]

I found the pre-cut paper on eBay - £40 for 1000 sheets, I am sure it was from MarvelPress.

Also I hear that the printed sheets do degrade over time, best to test an ancient one if you have one. I print sheets of my Mug Base Stamp and sometimes its a while before I get to use them but normally only a week.

what do you use to stamp the bottom of the mug? I searched for that and didn't really find much!

[NikGrey]

My systems:

Base: Ear.

Mug Handle: Ear.

[mfacer]

I have tried a few Mugs but the results are the same with my settings of:

I80 secs at 180c (360f in our case) - and my Idle temp is 220f.

AS you have the same machine as me, maybe you could please confirm I'm doing things in the right order?

Switch on machine.. it gets to 220 ish temperature and beeps away
I put the mug in and press the square button.
the temperature gets up to 360
the 180 seconds start to countdown
I take the mug out

is that correct?

Thank you!!

[edit]I've done my first mug! woo! There appears to be a little browning around some black lettering.. maybe I've left it in too long?[/edit]

[Scotty@BMS]

You're too long and too hot. Cooking temp should be 338 and time no more than 140 seconds, but with trial and error you may get down closer to the 80-90 second mark.

[mfacer]

You're too long and too hot. Cooking temp should be 338 and time no more than 140 seconds, but with trial and error you may get down closer to the 80-90 second mark.

OK cool... so I switch the machine on, let it get to it's idle temp of say 220, then do I put the mug in and start the thing off? It then gets up to temp (say 338) and starts the count down? (ie: the mug shouldn't be put in once it gets to 338?)

I'll try reducing the time too - thanks

[Scotty@BMS]

I tend to use a dummy mug and leave that in the press as it comes up to the cooking temp, then swap it over for the mug I want to press just before the press gets to the correct temperature.

[NikGrey]

Sorry for the delay - I got sidetracked for a couple of days with a project.

Your description as of 2 days ago is spot on - that's how I do it and get perfect results but as has been said you are overcooking them if you get browning. as these are cheap Chinese presses we cant expect them all to perform like peas out of a pod. in any case - you might be working in a Sauna !