DSF

Sorry for the really obvious newbie questions!!
When you pre-heat - are these with out the printed designs on? (I’m just wondering if it’s easy to handle he warmed mugs without heat resistant gloves / how easy it is to get the design on if they are warm?!)
Also -I’m finding that wig my mug press (Galaxy Pro) I cant print within about 1.5cm of the handle either side - otherwise the print fades, usually in the corners.... Not sure whether this is the element (it is a second hand press) or whether I’ve not got the pressure right (I keep thinking I’ll crush a mug at some point!) - so I’m intrigued by the silicone wrap in the oven process... does the timings need to be a lot longer?

sorry for jumping on this thread - just the suggestions are things im struggling with at the moment!

Thanks!

webtrekker;128179 wrote:I preheat my mugs to 110 deg C in another press before pressing at 180/180 in my main press, however, even then, I can't print too close to the top or bottom, or too near the handle. I now find silicone wraps in an oven a much better alternative to a mug press, especially when I need full-area images.

I’d also hoped that I would of been able to print nearer the handle, even though the element reaches near the handle the heat transfer is poor and prints are appear faded near the handle and base. I think my understanding of what I could achieve is different to reality. Can the silicone wraps be used in a conventional oven? As all my previous ideas and designs took advantage of edge to edge coverage, which I’ve quickly come to realise isn’t the possibility I believed it was. This could be a different solution for those ideas.


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Preheating at 110 degrees C is below the temperature needed for sublimation, so I always tape my print onto the mug before preheating in my spare press.

When using the silicone wraps I have no problems with our kitchen gas oven which I set at gas mark 4 to 5 and it takes about 9 minutes to print one mug. No need to preheat as the oven heats the whole mug, including the handle, to the same temperature. This is what makes full-area prints possible.

rachjones0204;128194 wrote:Sorry for the really obvious newbie questions!!
When you pre-heat - are these with out the printed designs on? (I’m just wondering if it’s easy to handle he warmed mugs without heat resistant gloves / how easy it is to get the design on if they are warm?!)
Also -I’m finding that wig my mug press (Galaxy Pro) I cant print within about 1.5cm of the handle either side - otherwise the print fades, usually in the corners.... Not sure whether this is the element (it is a second hand press) or whether I’ve not got the pressure right (I keep thinking I’ll crush a mug at some point!) - so I’m intrigued by the silicone wrap in the oven process... does the timings need to be a lot longer?

sorry for jumping on this thread - just the suggestions are things im struggling with at the moment!

Thanks!

I use mug wraps with a halogen oven (cheaper to run than a conventional and heats up faster, tho temperature fluctuates a lot - get an oven thermometer).

It works well (mostly) now that I've worked out a system AND tried half a dozen different mug wraps. I'm printing standard ceramic 10/11oz mugs, and bone china 10oz mugs. They need different times and temps and you need to experiment (expensively) to work these out.

You don't need to preheat the mugs, and you CAN get pretty close to the handle (1cm ish) and right up against the top / bottom of the mug. However, they're fiddly to use, they need to be really VERY tight in order to get a reliably good transfer (which adds to the fiddly-ness as you're really straining the wraps). I'm now using 10oz wraps from Longforte for my bone china mugs which are really very tight indeed - to the point where you wonder if you're going to break the handle!

If you get a mug that's slightly bowed, a very light spritz of water (small spray bottle) onto the outside of the paper (once it's round the mug) will help to settle the paper against the mug before you clamp the silicone wrap around it. Don't overdo it tho otherwise you'll get patchy prints.

I haven't got a mug press but the fiddly nature of the wraps and the MANY MANY errors I've made in learning the process of using wraps and an oven - and understanding how to avoid them - have made me think that for anything other than full-wrap (ie top to bottom) prints, you're better off with a mug press. Still haven't bought one tho! I only do a handful of mugs a week tho, if I was doing a lot more I'd have to rethink my whole strategy!!

Good post. We bought a 3D vacuum recently and really like it for doing 12 mugs in one go especially top to bottom prints. We do stick to the adkins mug press for less than 12. Therefore I think there is a role for both.

I think this is about as close as I personally can get to the handle and the top and bottom without running the risk of a blurry section of print or a little escaping bit of colour somewhere you don't want it. Hope this helps... good luck!

Just received my halogen oven today from The Transfer Press and first attempt is looking good. Temp 180 C, time 15 mins with only one mug in the oven. Mug is a Listawood 10oz Duraglaze AAA. CIE inks and paper. Ricoh 3110 print. I need to do a bit more experimenting though ...


(PS. The actual mug looks much better than the picture. The white areas in the design are actually pure white, whereas they have a bluish cast in my picture. I'm not great at taking photos! ).

Looks great to me! But 15 minutes? Blimey, that's long - I'm doing 190 for 9 mins for a single bone china, and 10 mins at 200 for a single ceramic... with 12 mins for two. But then my oven temp is often over 200 (oven thermometer) even though the dial is set to 190...

Think I might have to get an oven. My results are still poor.
As recommended I’ve tried 180c for 180 seconds and the top and bottom look good but in the middle the blacks come out brown.




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RuthWinchester;128377 wrote:Looks great to me! But 15 minutes? Blimey, that's long - I'm doing 190 for 9 mins for a single bone china, and 10 mins at 200 for a single ceramic... with 12 mins for two. But then my oven temp is often over 200 (oven thermometer) even though the dial is set to 190...

I'll probably be able to whittle that time down, as I said, this was my first attempt with a halogen oven and I wanted to start at the high end to make sure I got good sublimation without fading.

Maybe I should get myself a thermometer though as you suggest.