# Problem with marks showing up on printed mugs



## kickice (Mar 5, 2007)

I've been printing some mugs recently, and I am having real problems with small dots (like dust sized specks) showing up on the mug once printed.

If I use predominantly white designs, they show up really obviously. I can't figure what the problem is, and its driving me mad, as this is a big part of the business I want to get up and running, so if I can't print out mugs properly I'm stuck  

I use an Epson D88+ which I have set up with a sublimation ink CIS. I thought maybe the printer was dirty or something, but when i did some test prints the paper wasn't showing up a load of dots or anything. 

Once I print the images, I'm checking to see if there are marks on the paper - and there don't seem to be. I make sure the mug is clean before sticking the paper to it with heat tape. Then I put it in the press, for 195 seconds at 190c (which are the times and temps given to me from the place I bought the mugs). Then I'm cooling them in water.

But, without fail, mug after mug is coming out with these small dark dots. Loads of them. Any clues what on earth is causing this?


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## Dalehughes (Apr 11, 2007)

Hi I had the same problem and found this post on a sublimation forum

the D88 spotting is a known issue. It had us all scratching our heads for a good while, but eventually we discovered that there's a problem with the D88. It's only noticeable when you're leaving a lot of white, IE if you're printing a full wrap mug you won't usually notice it, but a small image on a mug & it'll look like someone has sprayed a fine mist of black over the mug. 

i was told the D88 has been removed by epson and they are replacing it with The epson R265 and the CIs systems should be ready the begging of july sawgrass are still working on them 

hope this helps 
Dale


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## cprvh (Jan 23, 2006)

Look very closely at your transfers (use a magnifying glass if you need to). There may be very small specks of ink. 

Be sure you are using RGB white...not CMYK white. There is a difference and you will get small amounts of inks printed using CMYK white.

If there is still an issue, try pressing a mug with a blank sheet of transfer paper to see if they show up. If they still show up, try a different paper. If that still doesn't do it, call your mug supplier.


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## kickice (Mar 5, 2007)

thanks for the replies guys. I'll try again tomorrow with a couple mugs, see if I get better results, and go from there! If it means investing in a new printer, then I'd do it, as it's something I need to get sorted out


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## treadhead (Jul 26, 2006)

cprvh said:


> Be sure you are using RGB white...not CMYK white. There is a difference and you will get small amounts of inks printed using CMYK white.


Interesting... Maybe this is the problem I had on my last job?

I'm having an issue where there is a light "tint / haze" in the background that looks like a shade of red. Usually, I remove the white background from my design but didn't do it this time and am wondering if it was possibly process white and perhaps the cause of my issue.

This hadn't happened before but was consistent on 14 straight mugs. This is the first that I can remember not removing the white background. I guess I got in the habit with my DTG since it won't print white unless I set an underbase.

Might have gotten a bit lazy...


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## dim116 (Nov 27, 2006)

hi,
when doing mugs I always put a clean blank sheet (usually 3.5" high x 8.5" wide) around the mug & transfer before putting it in the press. If there is any stray ink on the heating blanket of your mug press this will keep it from getting on your mug. This may also be your problem.

Lar


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## treadhead (Jul 26, 2006)

cprvh said:


> Look very closely at your transfers (use a magnifying glass if you need to). There may be very small specks of ink.
> 
> Be sure you are using RGB white...not CMYK white. There is a difference and you will get small amounts of inks printed using CMYK white.
> 
> If there is still an issue, try pressing a mug with a blank sheet of transfer paper to see if they show up. If they still show up, try a different paper. If that still doesn't do it, call your mug supplier.


When I saw this post I removed the white background from my design and the problem went away immediately!!!

I didn't realize this issue with white but I sure appreciate the tip!!!

John


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## Charms4all (Jan 29, 2007)

I have the "black dot" problem real bad like... i tried the above recommendations, and all the other stuff... and they were still therel.. I have a C88 + printer at the moment, and i had a reg C88 and also had that problem.. I am wondering if i get a different printer like a 1400 or r1800 if the problem would go away.. anyone out there with out a c88 having the "black dot" problem??? or is it just C series owners??
thanks
jess


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## DAGuide (Oct 2, 2006)

Another thing to consider is making sure that you are printing in a perceptual rendering mode and not using relative or absolute colormeteric - which could change the white points in your graphic.


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## Charms4all (Jan 29, 2007)

hmmm lost me on that one.. i have no clue what all that means.. i use the power driver from sawagrasss for the c88... i have my color manageroff like instructed.. i use RGB color pallette like instructed... 
but even so the image doesnt have to have white left on the paper when transfering, you can see these dots on lite pastelly colors as well...
i will see if i can upload a picture on what i am meaning.. 
thanks


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## Charms4all (Jan 29, 2007)

here is the pic if i did it correct i circled where they are
thanks
jess


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## treadhead (Jul 26, 2006)

Don't know if this will help but something I picked up here on the forums is to make sure that your design does not have any process white in it. 

I had this problem when I left a white background in the design. Once I turned it off, the dots disappeared.

I also ran into this problem when I was using software that was not compatible with my ICC profile.


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## Charms4all (Jan 29, 2007)

Thanks for the reply... to turn off the process white... using corel 11 what do i do?
jess


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