# Uneven print on Mugs



## JAKsConnection (Aug 25, 2010)

Hi, 

I have been trying out printing on mugs. The problem I am having is the print is uneven when finished. The "top" part of the mug is burning, and the ink is bleeding a bit, the middle of the mug turns out perfectly, and the "bottom" of the mug, not all of the ink is transferring from the paper to the mug. I am not sure how to resolve this problem. We have tried different pressure settings as well as different lengths of time. Right now we are using a medium/firm pressure for 3 minutes at 400 F (205 C). The mug press we have is a "Mug King"

Thanks in advance for your help!


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## lben (Jun 3, 2008)

I would say you either don't have even pressure on the mug or you are printing outside of the heating range of your press. I know my presses stop heating near the edges so I had to bring my designs in a little to miss this part where the element doesn't get hot enough or just doesn't reach.


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## JAKsConnection (Aug 25, 2010)

Here is the link to some pictures of the mugs I tried making today. 

Flickr: JAKsConnection's Photostream

We bought our mug press second hand, and I have samples of mugs that the previous lady had printed and they are color right up to the top and bottom. No part of her mugs are faded either. We are quite confused as we know that it has worked for her, so it should work for us! 

Thanks again!!


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## joeshaul (Mar 1, 2008)

Believe my mug press is a mug king as well. 

Unsure how you are currently pressing, but when I bought the press from Coastal, I was told for the best results to do something like the following:
Start the mug press open without any mugs in it, wait for it to stabilize in temperature.
Once it's stabilized, put an unneeded mug in (don't use damaged ones, as they may shatter from the heat if there is a crack in it, I use the same 11oz blank mug that I've been using for over a year now).
You will see the temperature drop as it heats the ceramic up
Once it reaches 400 degrees (or when the timer starts/dings/etc), take the blank mug out and put your mug in.
The temperature will drop again, usually to around 300'ish, then just wait for the temp to hit 400 and for it to do the 10 second countdown, then remove. 
When doing multiple mugs, it's best to just remove the current mug, and put the next mug in. If you have to take a break or something, start back over at step one. 

I've had very few print issues doing this. Some other info: Usually I will peel hot and leave it sit to cool. I've peeled cold before without much issue (occasionally the paper will kind stick to the front which I don't like though, so I tend to peel hot). Some folks use warm or cold water after it's pressed, however I've heard of mugs having issues with that (especially with cold water from the temperature difference) and will only do this if the customer is waiting in front of me. 

There is a pressure adjustment on the unit that you can do by loosening the bolt. I'm always at the 5 or 6 mark when I close the unit. I only adjusted this once because there was too much pressure when doing 15 oz mugs.


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## JAKsConnection (Aug 25, 2010)

For the mugs in the pictures shown I have peeled the transfer off as soon as I have removed the mug from the press. Then I let my mugs cool off at room temperature. I have not used water at any time. I have heard that some people dunk them in water with the transfers still on etc. 

Joe - I like the idea of putting in a blank mug first. I noticed today that when it reached its idle temp, I put the mug with transfer in. The temp then dropped to about 350 F and the timer for the 3 minutes didnt start until the temp reached back up to 400 F. At that point the mug had been in the press for over 3 minutes (in the pictures it is the multi-colored patterned mug)


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## vadan (Mar 9, 2010)

I dunk in water with transfer in. Never had a problem with uneven print but sometimes u get residue. It comes of the image unaffected.

Could it e the heating element?

Also on our press we have a separate platen or ceramic mugs. Does yours require this?


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## lben (Jun 3, 2008)

When I first started making mugs I was told that the fuzzy appearance was caused from the dye migrating due to lack of pressure or the dye was migrating after it was printed before I was able to peel off the paper. Make sure your pressure is tight enough so that it doesn't break the mug but so that the mug won't budge at all in the press. Immediately after pressing lower mug into room temp water to cool quickly. If the mug breaks, (better to break on you than on a customer with scalding liquid in it) it's because the mug was defective to begin with.


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## mn shutterbug (Mar 19, 2009)

I never dunk. As soon as I remove the mug from the press, I peel off the backing paper and transfer and set it on a cookie sheet in front of a mini fan. I've heard that if the water is too cold when dunking, you can get hairline cracks in it.

I'm wondering if you have a defective press. I can't think of any plausible reason why it should burn at the top and not at the bottom. That should not happen, no matter what you do wrong. If the press has even pressure and equal heating, it should burn equally. Also, make sure you cover the transfer paper with another sheet of blank white paper to avoid ghosting or bleeding.


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## vadan (Mar 9, 2010)

Maybe it is the heating element then. Have u tested with temperature strips across the entire band?

And yeah we cover the print with release paper.

We dunk in luke warm water to avoid exactly that problem..hairline cracks. It would make sense if the water was too cold given how hot the mug gets. We've not had any bleeding or defect.

Have you tried mugs from a different supplier? Not that I think it'll make a difference.


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

the mug may be irregular and/or your press may not heat that close to the edge/handle. 

or, the press may have a cold spot or high spot.


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## JAKsConnection (Aug 25, 2010)

I think we may have figured it out. I will post more pictures of the recent mugs we have done. Thank you everyone for your help! It is greatly appreciated.


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## delaney (Aug 24, 2010)

what kind of printer and ink do you use ?

(sorry if my english is not perfect, i am french !)


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## yourlogomugs (May 12, 2015)

could be not perfectly round mug too and pressure of wrap or mug press


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