Tips for Getting images Staight??

[petedale]

Hi All,

Still plodding on with my 5in1 press, i have been trying my hand with the mug press, 17 scrap mugs later and i still cant get the bloody images straight!! i keep finding that i am pulling the end of the image up or down, either way but straight, is it possible for the blanket to move the image as you clamp it? or it is just a matter of practice? i just cant seem to get 2 images level , i have tried printing both images onto one sheet and wrapping it all th way round and tried separate for each side but still i get crooked images I am thinking of pencilling lines onto the backs of the paper marking out the image position to see if that helps, i cut the images even top and bottom so that they are level with the edges of the mug but still they come out kicked up at one end or another


Any Help or Advice Highly appreciated,

At the moment i am using the heat press to recover the set up costs by making badges and single printed mugs so not all going sour,

[mrs maggot]

are you starting with a cut image thats straight ?? careful cutting of the sheet to start with, once you know the ends are straight you can tape the one end knowing the image will wrap around straight - a simple look at the paper vs the mug top/bottom will then confirm, perhaps you are not using enough tape on the ends to hold it in place, or pulling the image on firmly enough

[GoonerGary]

The problem is with the mugs. Mugs aren't made to the same standards these days and are very often misshapen; by the time you get round to the other side, the transfer might be half a centimetre down. Also during manufacture, when the handle is attached onto the body, it pushes the ceramic causing it to rise up around the handle, this gives the illusion that your transfer is crooked.

Individual mugs can be worse than others, so I would either use a full top to bottom print on that mug or a design which doesn't highlight the crooked mug. Never assume that mugs are perfectly level and parallel.

[JMugs]

Take one sheet of A4 sublimation, cut into 3 strips (guillotine helps).
Now A4 is 297mm long by 210mm wide. So you can have 3 strips 99mm by 210mm. Ideal for printing on mugs.

Set your printer up for this size of paper, set your templates up for this size of paper, now you can have consistency of the print.

Print your image, place mug on flat surface, place paper on mug with the base of the paper on the flat surface, now your image has to be straight. If the handle is pointing towards you centering the paper is easily done visually by making sure the gap either side of the handle is even.

Job done.

Janners

[AlanD]

The problem is with the mugs. Mugs aren't made to the same standards these days and are very often misshapen; by the time you get round to the other side, the transfer might be half a centimetre down. Also during manufacture, when the handle is attached onto the body, it pushes the ceramic causing it to rise up around the handle, this gives the illusion that your transfer is crooked.

Individual mugs can be worse than others, so I would either use a full top to bottom print on that mug or a design which doesn't highlight the crooked mug. Never assume that mugs are perfectly level and parallel.

So true and mugs can vary in the same box quite apart from supplier. I've had mugs from the same supplier that have been the best I've ever had - dead straight and printed top to bottom perfectly, the next box was the worst I've had with tapering and I struggled to get a decent print at all. I always put a rectangle keyline round the template and then trim just inside with straight edge and knife, I align that with top and bottom allowing 2 or 3 mm gap and centre to the handle, I use 195mm X 88mm for a 10oz mug

[petedale]

Hi All, Big Thank you for all the advice, I have taken it all in and put it to good use,

Well I had an issue with positioning and keeping the images level, well i am happy to say all is well and i am now producing level printed images on mugs,

The problem was down to my printer and my dubious guillotine, Simply put, the printer wasn't printing straight!

All happy now, as soon as i got the printer doing its job properly everything fell into place, Thank You

[Daninho]

I am struggling badly with getting the image straight, i received my AAA Grade Duraglaze mugs today and because my mug press hasnt arrived yet from the UK i just cutted a 9cm x 22cm piece of paper and whatever i do the paper is always misaligned to the top and bottom. I can see that the gap to the top is larger at the front part of the mug compared to near the handle. It looks terrible. Is my printer not right? Maybe im doing something wrong. Now it looks like the height of the paper is higher near the handle compared to the front of the mug. I never thought that even such an easy task is hard to do. My printer cant be the problem because i am using A4 paper and cut it out myself with an exacto knife, it is very straight, that cant be the problem.

[webtrekker]

All mugs taper towards the bottom to some degree. It's called the 'draft angle' and is needed to make sure the mugs release from the moulds. This causes the paper print to try and wrap itself conically, instead of cylindrically, around the mug. Make sure the mugs you order are as parallel as possible.

If you wanted to give yourself a lot of work you could design your wraps slightly curved to compensate for the taper (as in a latte mug, but nowhere near as severe) but I seriously doubt anyone would go to these lengths!

[Daninho]

All mugs taper towards the bottom to some degree. It's called the 'draft angle' and is needed to make sure the mugs release from the moulds. This causes the paper print to try and wrap itself conically, instead of cylindrically, around the mug. Make sure the mugs you order are as parallel as possible.

If you wanted to give yourself a lot of work you could design your wraps slightly curved to compensate for the taper (as in a latte mug, but nowhere near as severe) but I seriously doubt anyone would go to these lengths!

So if i choose a nearly top to bottom print this will be even more obvious i guess? When i look at printed mugs from others in youtube etc.. they all look pretty good aligned from the front to the back.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]6050[/ATTACH]

[Mrteajunkie]

The paper on that mug doesn’t look straight to me anyway.
I have a black border around my prints 9.2cm x 22cm and print.
Then use a sliding cutter to cut just inside the border making sure not to leave any behind as this will leave a black line on the mug.
Not only does this ensure my prints are straight but my paper too.