DSF

O.K, so I purchased my first ever mug press earlier this week. It was part of a business start-up package from BMS. Having configured my new printer, like an over excited school boy on Christmas morning I eagerly removed the press from its packaging, hoping that any assembly and preparation would be minimal, so that I could crack on and embark on my new adventure.

Imagine my disappointment, then, when I looked at the instructions to find that the diagrams provided didn't mirror my equipment. Lights and buttons which appear in the diagrams, and which the bumph made frequent reference to, were absent. To make matters worse, the text had been compiled by someone whose first language certainly isn't English, and whose idea of translation, it would appear, is to give Mr Google a shout.


I mean, get a load of this: "Upon the finish of Step One, press the "Mode" button again, then the "Temp" and "Set" indicator work"...eh?


Or what about this little nugget of descriptive clarity: "Press the work button and the machine starts working. "SET" indicator works, the machine starts heating, and the display reads the current temperature. When the temperature reaches the set figure, "TIME" indicator works and is kept in the countdown period when the temperature maintains. The display reads the preset warm-keeping time. It is counted down and the indicator will out in a buzz." What the f#$%'s all that about?


Bearing in mind that reference is being made here to features which are not even on my machine; this makes an Ikea manual sound absolutely crystal. In fairness, it's not just BMS who tolerate sloppy literature like this. It seems that any time I purchase Chinese made goods the instructions are vague to the point where I'm left to fill in the blanks and scratch my head until my scalp bleeds. It's incredulous to think that when so much time and effort is put into designing (ahem!) and manufacturing these goods, the companies in question don't simply hire a competent translator afterwards, once all the hard work's been done. Alternatively, they could just ask their resellers to give their instructions a squint and amend them. I mean, what's so wrong with the idea of my machine's manufacturer contacting BMS and asking them to look at their booklet before it was committed to print? That's about an hour of someones time. More to the point, why doesn't BMS take the initiative and do something to address this problem themselves? They wouldn't even have to incur the expense of depleting their own ink cartridges; they could simply publish something online.


Come on, BMS; help me out here! Or, in words which you may better understand: mugs me want to make. Happy you are making me with words clear and diagrams accurateness.


Regards which are kind to you


REDQUASAR

P.S. If there's anyone out there who has a BMS mug press and a degree in gobbledygook, I'd be grateful for any help you can give me. I'd really like to start using my new machine over the weekend.

I think a quick message to BMS would be more productive. Your mug press has common features with many other suppliers including mine. Essentially you have 6 controls on the box. Power,4 press buttons, start button

Mode button will cycle through the setting options which are for:

Keep warm - adjusted so you dont have to wait too long before reaching operating temperature - I set to around 170 - blanket will cool when mug inserted. Dont set this figure too close to the operating temperature.

Operating temperature - varies but around 180

Time - varies but around 180 secs

UP/Down arrow - self explanatory.

Start button, press this after inserting mug to start the heating process.

Initially the display shows the current temperature, once operating temperature is reached the display counts down to zero and a buzzer sounds.

There are leds on the front panel to show what mode you are in.

Once you have the controls setup the instructions make more sense, yes I understand the paradox.

There are many video's on You Tube that demonstrate these presses so that may also help.

Thanks for your response, wayupnorth. I think communicating through the forum is my best bet. Firstly, I'd like to start using my press over the weekend. It's the only time I have off work, and, since BMS are closed Sat & Sun, I was hoping one of their staff might notice my post and give me some help. Secondly, I think having any explanation made via the forum might be useful to other members who are in the same situation as myself. Thirdly, I think BMS might be more inclined to do something about the literature which ships with their stuff, now that other forum members have been made aware of the problem. I don't think this is a simple oversight on their part, and when I spend over half a grand on equipment which is rendered unusable, albeit temporarily, by something which could be remedied so easily, I think that I am well in my rights to have a moan!

I think my machine may differ slightly to yours. I have only five controls: the power switch and four buttons; the arrow buttons you mentioned, a mode button and a button with the outline of a square on it. The instructions which I received with my press inform the user that temperature settings can be expressed in terms of Fahrenheit or Celsius. The accompanying diagram depicts two lights to the left hand side of the console which indicate which unit of temperature is being used. My machine lacks these lights, so there is no way of knowing its working temperature!


I've actually been able to print a single mug, but the colours are way too faint owing to the lack of control I have over the operating temperature. So, that's one mug used so far and one mug binned!

You may have received a different press but if you have the Geniius mug press the manual is on the BMS website, in plain english !.

http://www.printerowners.co.uk/docs/df1manual.pdf

Ya pays for whats you gets ! actually the bms mug presses for their price are pretty good little machines but they are chinease and the chinease are not the best at translating as my boxes of rat handle mugs will testify (they're actually mouse handle but theres no translation for mouse so they call them rat handle have you ever tried selling rat handle mugs!!)
The problem here is that we all want good equiptment but dont want to pay for it , you will find yourself complaining about customers of yours who want everything for peanuts well thats pretty much how we all are when it comes to machinary and stock .
Why do we think all this stuff comes from china ? because they produce for next to nothing paying a pittancde of a wage using cheap materials and no extras like decent translators. these cost money so your machine would cost more or BMS could provide ledgable instructions this would cost money in essance it would ultimatly cost you the end customer more money Theres a reason this stuff is cheap!
You could pay 3 times more and buy an adkins press or a europa and probably in the long run this would be a wiser buy . they come with clear instruction bulilt like the proverbiale brick s*** house and are excellent machines but thats what you pay for .
Your next problem will probably be blanks ie mugs you may be buying bms mugs (excellent mugs by the way) and then see some on say fleabay for half the price just remember theres a reason they will be half price.
Im not having ago honest this is just friendly advice from some one whos been there done that and printed the t shirt. this is not as it seems an easy business to break into you will probably see photo mugs being sold for £3 on ebay with free p&p and wonder how the hell they do it . the answer is they buy cheapest of the cheapest produce low quality with crap inks and paper with copy right violated images and do much to put us legit businesses out of work so if you have a problem with your equiptment be paitent the forum is a great help you tube is a huge help and bms will be open again on monday anyway

one mug used so far and one mug binned!

Trust me.... You are going to go through a lot more :biggrin:

Its only four buttons, surely it is not that difficult to work out.

wayupnorth;93313 wrote:You may have received a different press but if you have the Geniius mug press the manual is on the BMS website, in plain english !.

http://www.printerowners.co.uk/docs/df1manual.pdf

That one should be more understandable

Thanks guys, but I think you're missing the point. For example, for the time it took purpledragon to write his/her response, a BMS staff member could have penned a set of simple instructions which actually pertain to the press I have bought (and not some other model). It's just a mug press. What's required here is a couple of paragraphs, if that. I'm not asking for War and Peace. I'm no economist, but I do grasp the fundamentals of supply and demand. Might I suggest that if the good people at BMS were to ask a single staff member to spend an hour or so clarifying their instructions, the financial burden would not be such that its effects were necessarily passed on to the rest of us. I'm sure that if they were to take these simple measures they could avoid a tailspin and the world economy would be safe. Seriously, though, I'm not asking for an act of altruism on BMS' part. You'd think it would be in their own interests to address this problem and keep their customers, current and prospective, happy.

Another point I would like to make is that I did a lot of research before I purchased my press. BMS have a lot of satisfied customers and I'm not suggesting for one moment that my press is inadequate in any way (although I've yet to try it properly!). Nor am I suggesting that the stuff which gets shipped over from China is itself in any way inferior. I simply would not have purchased my press if I was of that opinion. No, what I am saying is that the instructions which are provided quite often leave a lot to be desired. I've just spent over £600.00 on equipment which, for the time being, I cannot use with any real confidence. The other issue is that the problem could be so easily rectified. It's just a shame.

I purchased my press from:

http://www.subli.co.uk/shop/dye-sublima ... d_860.html

which is made in China but to subli's own spec. I had cause to open the control unit as the cutout button was loose and was impressed with the quality of construction & wiring inside the unit (I am a retired electronics engineer). This was a pleasant surprise and may be due to the interaction between manufacturer and vendor. I have no idea if this quality exists in other units but credit where it is due. Without China very few of us would be in this business.

As mentioned there is a learning curve that we all go through to get the best from this equipment and mistakes are easily made so be prepared to have a fairly full rejects box... Each product will take practice to get right and even then a change in supplier may produce different results. I recently found I was getting fading at the base of my mugs but that has been solved by purchasing a:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Andrew-James-El ... teppanyaki

Good to get an infra red thermometer from eBay (around £5) to keep an eye on the plate temperature, I set mine to around 100c. Also I found putting the mugs into the press the other way (rotate 180 degrees) helps, probably slight differences in the heater band.

I just purchase one of these tape dispensers:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281203309316? ... EBIDX%3AIT

Initially thought it was a pile of crap but now have it working with 5mm heat tape. Trick is to cut a paper feeder to help pull the tape through initially. Spool needs packing out with masking tape or similar to secure the tape reel

Thanks BMS. You replied as I was sending my previous post, and I'm sorry for the delayed response. Unfortunately, wayupnorth's reply, although gratefully received, didn't really help me much because it made reference to a different model. I'll take a look at your website and see if that helps. Before I do, though, might I make an innocent suggestion? Could you not pop a note in with your mug press boxes telling their recipients to do so, as you do with your printers? Perhaps then the name Genius Mug Press may not be deemed as an overstatement (only joking!) In all seriousness, though, do you think any of the issues I have raised are valid, and, if so, do you intend to do anything about them?