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Re: MDP vs Novachrome mug press

Posted: 12 Feb 2020, 12:50
by LauraMargaret
Hi, looking for my first mug press and I've narrowed it down to either the MDP Supplies mug press or the Novachrome mug press;

https://www.mdpsupplies.co.uk/mug-presses-touch.aspx

https://www.novachrome.co.uk/equipment/ ... ments.html

Is it better to have a press that has two pressure points for more even pressure on the mug? The MDP press has this but from looking at it the Novachrome seems to just have the central pressure point?

I was initially drawn to the Novachrome as it seems to be able to print so many different items with just the 2 element option (mugs, bone china mugs, water bottles, travel mugs etc). For anyone who owns the MDP press - can you print similar with the 10/11oz element the machine comes with? Do you print bone china with the MDP press?

Thanks for your help!

Re: MDP vs Novachrome mug press

Posted: 12 Feb 2020, 13:08
by Mrteajunkie
I have the press from mdp and it’s fantastic.
I only do standard 10 and 11 oz mugs and water bottles and travel mugs.

before you order email and ask if they have one reduced that’s what I did and got mine a lot cheaper.
They are on eBay but I can’t vouch for these as they may be copies. But they could be genuine?

the standard element will do both mugs and travel mugs but for water bottles you need the other element.
the replacements are only £18 so not breaking the bank. ;)

Re: MDP vs Novachrome mug press

Posted: 12 Feb 2020, 14:39
by LauraMargaret
Can you print full top to bottom prints on the mdp press?

Re: MDP vs Novachrome mug press

Posted: 12 Feb 2020, 15:38
by Daninho
Mrteajunkie;141853 wrote:I have the press from mdp and it’s fantastic.
I only do standard 10 and 11 oz mugs and water bottles and travel mugs.

before you order email and ask if they have one reduced that’s what I did and got mine a lot cheaper.
They are on eBay but I can’t vouch for these as they may be copies. But they could be genuine?

the standard element will do both mugs and travel mugs but for water bottles you need the other element.
the replacements are only £18 so not breaking the bank. ;)
Usually online shops sell those mug presses under their own label, for HPN, Print Equipment, even well known brands like Stahls or Siser use China presses in their basic line. The company behind Galaxy, Stahls clam basic, Siser clam is as far as i know Lopo Tech from china. At least they look the same and the Lopo women told me. Other example is Microtec China, they build the machines for Secabo and other companies.

The so called Genie3 press is sold under various different names in europe.

I am still not sure which one i will get but the Genie3 has the advantage that it is a very well known press with spare parts and many proven time settings are available and videos on youtube showing that the model can produce good results.

To the original question from Laura: This may sound a bit harsh but i would never buy the novachrome press because its way to expensive, even with two heating elements. This is a generic china model sold for a higher price. The Genie3 is availbale for 125 pound and its absolutely equal, if not better. You can buy a galaxy mug press for 180 pounds excluding tax. As far as i know the full print alsop depends on the mug quality and how even the polyester coating is.

Re: MDP vs Novachrome mug press

Posted: 12 Feb 2020, 16:00
by LauraMargaret
I called mdp supplies and they confirmed the press will print full top to bottom prints and bone china mugs.

I hear what you are saying Daninho - the price of the mdp is much more attractive, plus, they have a warehouse near me so I might be able to just go in and buy it directly.

The problem with choosing a mug press is that you will always find lots of negative reviews online if you look! That's why I'm stuck at the moment! Every one I look at I find someone saying something negative! I haven't seen any reviews for the Novachrome but Mrteajunkie rates the mdp so that's reassuring to find someone who uses the machine and is happy with it! :)

Re: MDP vs Novachrome mug press

Posted: 12 Feb 2020, 16:11
by Daninho
LauraMargaret;141869 wrote:I called mdp supplies and they confirmed the press will print full top to bottom prints and bone china mugs.

I hear what you are saying Daninho - the price of the mdp is much more attractive, plus, they have a warehouse near me so I might be able to just go in and buy it directly.

The problem with choosing a mug press is that you will always find lots of negative reviews online if you look! That's why I'm stuck at the moment! Every one I look at I find someone saying something negative! I haven't seen any reviews for the Novachrome but Mrteajunkie rates the mdp so that's reassuring to find someone who uses the machine and is happy with it! :)
That MDP press is also a generic china press, they are sold for under 100 pound on ebay. https://www.ebay.de/itm/11oz-Digital-Di ... 8bd6fc567d

Re: MDP vs Novachrome mug press

Posted: 12 Feb 2020, 17:28
by Mrteajunkie
If you buy a eBay one there's no guarantee your buying the same press or even the same heating element.

You buy from mdp you have a support network and guarantee.
I would never buy a press from eBay EVER again.
If you buy an mdp press and need any advise on time temps etc just shout I have it perfected. ;)

Re: MDP vs Novachrome mug press

Posted: 12 Feb 2020, 17:56
by Daninho
Mrteajunkie;141877 wrote:If you buy a eBay one there's no guarantee your buying the same press or even the same heating element.

You buy from mdp you have a support network and guarantee.
I would never buy a press from eBay EVER again.
If you buy an mdp press and need any advise on time temps etc just shout I have it perfected. ;)
true but its very unlikely since its a generic OEM press, not made by MDP. Another thing is that she could buy the heating element from MDP, its only 18 pound but i doubt its a different one for that price.
The factor press and temperature settings is valid but then i would buy the genie3 because there are tons of settigns for this machine on youtube.

Another suggestion is the galaxy press or the microtec mug press on signzworld, they have a 10% discount code on it and microtec makes pretty good stuff for the money, Secabo and some HPN machines are Microtec China.

I can not decide between the microtec, the Genie3 or the freesub mentioned above. The microtec seems to have the best build quality, its also much heavier than the others. They also claim "Thick & Dense heating element: With high quality heating element, the heat press mug machine is with more even heat distribution and longer life time."


https://signzworld.co.uk/shop/microtec- ... mug-press/

another good offer https://subliblanks.com/products/galaxy-mug-press-pro

Here is a video about the press mentioned above


That press in the video starts with the countdown as soon as you press, the genie3 starts the countdown after you reached the aimed temperature. According to this video the setting the women used translated to the genie3 would be more or less 180 C - 185C - 60 sec.

In the end i would invest like 10-15 mugs and press them with different settings and a test chart and decide which one is the best. Thats at least what i will do.

Re: MDP vs Novachrome mug press

Posted: 12 Feb 2020, 19:23
by Mrteajunkie
It does start to countdown as soon as you close the press yes.

How I have overcome this.
I set the temperature to 180*C and time to 200 sec.
I allow the press to heat to temp and it will beep to let you know it’s at the right temp.
I then put on the mug and close and that’s when my 200 sec starts.
Removed after the 200 sec I get a perfect print every time.

if I’m doing a batch I allow the temp to hit the 180*c again before I add the next mug.
200 seconds later another perfect mug.

Re: MDP vs Novachrome mug press

Posted: 12 Feb 2020, 19:43
by Daninho
Mrteajunkie;141880 wrote:It does start to countdown as soon as you close the press yes.

How I have overcome this.
I set the temperature to 180*C and time to 200 sec.
I allow the press to heat to temp and it will beep to let you know it’s at the right temp.
I then put on the mug and close and that’s when my 200 sec starts.
Removed after the 200 sec I get a perfect print every time.

if I’m doing a batch I allow the temp to hit the 180*c again before I add the next mug.
200 seconds later another perfect mug.
Its slightly different to the settings in the video above, she used 190C for about 180 secs. It probably also depends on the mugs itself, i read about Duraglaze mugs have sligtly different settings. Those are pretty popular in germany.

So your settings converted to the Genie 3 would be like 180C - 80 secs.

Strangely the expensive Schulze mug presses for over 700 Euro have the setting 200C for about 3-4 minutes depending on the color and black in your picture, if its a full print or not. Do you get good black levels? I guess that also depends on the ink, paper and all that