Black Mugs

[Ian M]

Hi All,

Is there anyone who is able to print a full colour image onto black mugs?

I've just had an enquiry from someone who is wanting 30 of these & as we all know we can't sublimate onto a black mug.

Many thanks. Ian :biggrin:

[socialgiraffe]

Hi Ian M

You can get black mugs with white panels. I have had a few jobs like this and they have worked really well. Success rate is a bit lower than normal and I have found that some manufacturers you need to up your black background to 100C/100M/100Y/100K. But in general they do work.

[Ian M]

Hi Ian M

You can get black mugs with white panels. I have had a few jobs like this and they have worked really well. Success rate is a bit lower than normal and I have found that some manufacturers you need to up your black background to 100C/100M/100Y/100K. But in general they do work.

Thanks Simon & to be honest I had forgot about them. Thanks also for the top tip & I'll get a few to try. :biggrin:

[JSR]

I've found it impossible to get the black of the ink to be the same as the black of the mug. You can get it pretty close in certain lighting conditions but, as soon as you move to a different lighting source, you can tell that it's a different black. This is because the panel reflects light a little differently to the rest of the mug - it's not like a white mug where the whole surface is the same.

The white panel on the single-panel dishwasher safe mug from BMS has a different effect on the print than the wide-panel on the non-dishwasher black mugs.

In short, I typically recommend against them for logos and prefer to recommend them for when the panel is to be fully covered by a photo or similar. I have done some for some customers with logos/designs, but I've ensured that they were aware of the limitations (by explanation and an upfront mug) before going ahead with the order.

If your customer is expecting a black mug similar to how it may be if screen printed (or some other method), then they're going to be disappointed if you throw a "panel" mug at them without explaining what the limitations are ahead of time.

[Andrew]

I agree, it's impossible to match up the blacks so you are better off using full colour within the panel. Sublimation ink is always slightly translucent so the white area printed on will always affect the colour differently compared to a solid glaze which creates the panel.

[Ian M]

I've just seen that the white panel on the BMS mugs is too small as they want an image on either side of the mugs......Grrrrrrrrrr

[JSR]

I've just seen that the white panel on the BMS mugs is too small as they want an image on either side of the mugs......Grrrrrrrrrr

That's why I describe them differently to the "wide panel" non-dishwasher mugs.

[Ian M]

That's why I describe them differently to the "wide panel" non-dishwasher mugs.

Thanks Jonathan, looks like I'm going to have to say sorry can't do with this one.

[Andrew]

I think Novachrome usually have them Ian. ( I feel dirty now having said that name).

[Ian M]

Thanks Andrew I'll have a look. (I'll go get you a bar of soap mate). :biggrin: