Help with Mug printing

[melmster]

Hello , i am new on here so please bare with me ! , i am also very new to Mug and T-Shirt printing . please can somebody help with my problem ??.
I bought a separate T-Shirt and Mug press from E-BAY and all the other bits required .
I have finally been able to print on some mugs with out much success , the mugs do print so im doing something right , however the print quality is very poor on the top,bottom and sometimes sides of the mug .
I am using an Epson S22 as recommended with CISS Sublimation inks (which also keeps giving me loads of problems ). i have set the Temp 180 also 200c , i have varied the times from 180-200secs , also im printing on the sticky side of the paper !
i would really appreciate any help please
Many Thanks
Melmster

[WorthDoingRight]

I would start by making sure your transfer is dry before attempting to press it - I know it is tempting to print and press almost immediately afterwards but damp paper and wet ink do not sublimate very well. Also is your press at 180 degrees after the mug is inserted before you start timing? If you are not letting the mug warm to 180 degrees before timing begins you may be undercooking the item. Also do you make sure the transfer is smoothed down hard onto the mug before tapping it down? Obvious other causes are the mug press is not tight enough or uneven in its pressure.

[socialgiraffe]

As well as WDR's excellent assistance I would suggest the following:

Turn the mug press off and let it cool down to room temperature.
Place a mug with a DRY printed dye sub sheet in the mug press (10 minutes after printing should be sufficient).
Turn the mug press on and set your temperature to 180 degrees and your time to 240 seconds
When the mug press has heated up to the correct temperature I presume it sounds an alarm, press the normal button and print the mug

I have often found that the above is always a good starting point as the mug is allowed to warm while the press is also warming.

Just to clarify WDR's pont on how tight the mug should be. Once inside the press you should not be able to rotate the mug against the heat blanket. It does not need to be overly tight but simply should not move.

Let us know how you got on with all the above and good luck

[nik_decalarama]

I've experimented a fair bit with timings since starting but still only have 4 months experience with mugs. However, I allow my mug press to reach 180, place the mug inside, the temp drops around 40-50 degrees, then takes a couple of minutes to get back to 180 degress which is when it starts beeping, i then give it 20-30 seconds and remove. If I am printing mainly black, I remove the mug as soon as it reaches 180 degress to prevent overcooking. I'm sure some folk will say this is all wrong but this is how it works for me and my Ricoh setup. The results are fantastic. Ensure you are using good quality sub paper, DO NOT use cheaper stuff from ebay like I did - this is where the old saying 'you get what you pay for' really rings true. By the way, I use a fan to cool the mugs rather than dipping into water like most people do.

[socialgiraffe]

Hi nik_decalarama

No one should ever tell you that you are doing something wrong if you are getting results that are fantastic

This is the beauty/problem with dye sub. Everyone has different presses and printers and each set up will be slightly different. All you can do is what you have done, give them your times/temps to try and if it works then problem solved.

[nik_decalarama]

Cheers mate. When I started out I scoured the forum to see what times/temps people were using and found very useful advice - I hope my settings go someway to help someone out.

[Paul]

i would sugest to increse your pressure. set your press for 185C for start and time for 200sec. put mug in and start the counter right after sticking your mug in the press. longer pressing time will justify temp droping after puting cold mug in.

If you say poor quality on top and bottom i take it as you experienced some fading?? make sure your mug is tight in the press. But do not brake it lol

[WorthDoingRight]

If you are using poor quality mugs that do not have straight sides then fading top and bottom is a common issue as the paper is not pressed by the heat blanket.

[Paul]

well. they will be pressed if pressure is right. all you need to do is flip your mug half way through
as long as its not as bad as latte mugs lol

[accdave]

I am using an Epson S22 as recommended with CISS Sublimation inks (which also keeps giving me loads of problems ). i have set the Temp 180 also 200c , i have varied the times from 180-200secs , also im printing on the sticky side of the paper !
i would really appreciate any help please
Many Thanks
Melmster

S22 recommended by who ?

Sticky side of the paper ? Didn't even know there was one

What paper is it, what ink is it and what mugs are they. Have you got a profile for the S22 ?