Printing inside a mug - Is it possible?

[galerion]

You can see it done in this video

youtube_share;Q2I4wugHP1w

http://youtu.be/Q2I4wugHP1w[/video]

[ArferMo]

Umm me thinks that was a mock-up as I don't think the sublimation process would pass through the heat tape but saying that I have never tried.

[Justin]

Should pass through the heat tape no problem.

[UK Printed Mugs]

Well I must admit that technically there was a sublimated image inside the cup. Top marks. Aside from technically though then what an ugly cup and I think it was polymer rather than ceramic. Still brain storming a way to do sublimation on regular 10/11oz though...

[galerion]

Its a polymer travel mug used in the video but the point is that if there were ceramic mugs that had a coating on the inside that same mold or similar could be used to sublimate them. The next question is are the coatings available good enough to be used on the inside of a mug, polymer mugs don't have this problem as the is no coating and the product itself has its colour changed.

[pisquee]

I can't see why the current coatings wouldn't be good enough to coat the inside of the mug, more that the current machinery/systems used for coating the mug - essentially spinning the mug, whilst it is sprayed wouldn't be able to do it. So, new machinery would be needed/invented to evenly spray the inside somehow, most likely now making coating a mug a two step process, either you now coat all mugs inside and out, making them all more expensive for the benefit of the few who would print on the inside, or you only coat a small proportion of the mugs inside, making this batch even more expensive to the end supplier. How much more is joe public prepared to pay for a mug that is printed on the inside?

How many people, as a proportion, across the whole sublimation mug printing industry are actually using vacuum ovens to print mugs with who would actually want to print on the inside. A tiny proportion of a small market to begin with I would assume, which then makes it hard for the coating/manufacturing factories to buy in the extra equipment, or the equipment manufacturers to do the R+D and actually produce the machines.

[James990]

I expect though, with a teaspoon being used inside the mug, that the image would scratch off! I have a number of sublimation where I now have marks inside the mug where I have used a spoon to stir my coffee! Black one sugar please!

James

[ArferMo]

could be a bonus...... repeat order

[socialgiraffe]

How many people, as a proportion, across the whole sublimation mug printing industry are actually using vacuum ovens to print mugs with who would actually want to print on the inside. A tiny proportion of a small market to begin with I would assume, which then makes it hard for the coating/manufacturing factories to buy in the extra equipment, or the equipment manufacturers to do the R+D and actually produce the machines.

I agree with you on the numbers and I think it will be something that only a few will be able to offer for quite sometime, but it will change as customers get more demanding and want more bespoke items. Being able to offer printing on the inside (and in time I suspect the base) will be a bonus in the promotional industry as it gives customers more choice and subsequently will open up them up to dye sub companies.

I also think that dye sublimation mug companies in the retail sector will possible move towards vacuum ovens eventually as well. Having the ability to print under and on the handle does give you a bit of an edge at the moment

I expect though, with a teaspoon being used inside the mug, that the image would scratch off!

Depends where it is placed, every time a customer requested inside print from me it was always about 1cm down from the lip so would not normally be touched by a spoon.

[UK Printed Mugs]

Glad my question is prompting lots of feedback as I am going to devise something to do this damn it and not going to use vacuum but standard mug press. I was thinking though about coating inside and mug companies do this at the moment with colours. We have had a few clients recently requesting the inner black mugs and so mug companies have the equipment to put an equal amount of solution into a mug. The cost of a colour surely cannot be more than a sublimation coating (not in china anyway!) and so the only issue is the equipment. This I have ideas for...