DSF

Hey all,

First post but just wanted to say thank you for everyone coming together to share their knowledge on everything dye sub.

I'm currently pricing out different mug ovens in Canada and the U.S and have heavily been recommended the HIX counter top oven.
(Presses have been ruled out due to the slower production time)

I have seen many people using their own personal convection ovens to get the job done.
Is there any real practical difference between the ovens being directly marketed as such and the ones being sold as general purpose?
I'm concerned about the quality of the transfer as well as the overall affect the dye sub process might have on the oven.

Any one with some insight or personal experience?

Many Thanks from The Great North

In short no...

I, and many others on here, use a catering quality convection oven to produce the mugs with most getting around 18-24 every 20-30 minutes approx. This is for full bleed top and bottom and about 5-8mm from the handle each side. The one favoured here in the UK is probably The Blizzard convection oven due to its size, as most members are from the UK I have not seen any recommendations for something similar in N. America. You may want to do a Google and compare the specs of that machine to one that is available in your market.

What you are looking for is an oven that can remain at a constant temperature without too much variation. Normally this would mean you want a convection oven as they are ideal for this. You could also look at infa red ovens (if available) but I suspect they are really extortionate.

Regards

If you have money to burn then the Hix will be a good buy. Otherwise there are cheaper options as above. Depends on quantity that you want to get through per day. Multiple mug presses can run at a fair volume so all depends on your ultimate goals.

That's what I was thinking, thanks for clearing that up!

The Blizzard oven looks great so I will be definitely comparing it for something similar in my region.

Thanks again!

Yes indeed depends on volume. From the moment we have say 20 sheets of mug paper printed then we can walk over to our mug presses (three presses for 10oz), turn them on, start wrapping (and rapping!), sublimate and box up all 20 within 25-30 mins max. Basically you wrap mugs whilst the first couple are being sublimated and once the first ones are cold (after dipping in water and fan drying) then these can be boxed even before the last ones have gone into the presses. Although we have an oven it gathers dust although we are not doing anymore than say 150 at any one time.