# Mug sublimation equiptment



## glitz (Sep 28, 2008)

I'M LOOKING FOR HELP IN MUG WORK? I HAD PLANNED TO PURCHASE A SINGLE MUG PRESS TO START AND SOMEONE SUGGESTED NOT AND GO WITH WRAPS. I REALLY AM WONDERIN WHAT I SHOULD DO. I AM NEW AND VOLUMN IS NOT GREAT,AND I DON'T WANT TO START OFF IN THE WRONG DIRECTION. THANKS FOR ANY HELP YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE.
GLITZ......


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

mug wraps work very well... I started with cactus mug wrap...google to fine...or go to our vendors...400 deg F in oven for 15 min...easy to start and cheaper than a mug press


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## Conde_David (May 29, 2008)

I have had good luck with both presses and wraps. I recommend a press for quick daily use and the wraps for volume or for odd shapes. Do not over tighen wraps as it will shorten the life of the wrap. What other questions?


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## Air Art Girl (Mar 29, 2007)

For the sake of investment, you might want to try some wraps first. I personally have 2 mug presses and love them, would never go to wraps but, wraps are a great way to start.


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## Tj Ryonet Tech (Jul 28, 2008)

The difference really is time. The wraps take about 15 minutes in the oven, a press is about 3 minutes. What type of production are you looking to do? Its all about price and time available.


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## jpkevin (Oct 22, 2007)

Personally all being even, I think you get a better imaged mug with a wrap, with an image closer to the handle and closer to the bottom of the mug. The oven heats the entire mug, and not just the outside, near the handle. The handle and the bottom "sump" the heat and does not get as hot as the other areas of the mug, so your image may lighten a bit in those areas. If you are doing mostly single mugs, and want to do them quickly, than a press will heat up quicker, and may be better for your business model. If time is not that much of an issue, then you can use a small Hamilton Beach Convection oven and have a mug in about 15 minutes. The bonus is that you can do up to 5 mugs at a time in that oven, so your throughput could be higher than a single mug press. Also, by doing 5 mugs at a time, you don't have to change them out as often, so it can be easier to multi-task and do other things while the mugs are "cooking". If your volumn really goes up, you can add another small oven and double your through-put or add a larger oven and do large quantities at a time.

Once you get your time and temp down with your wrap and oven setup, in my opinion and experience there is a lower mug scrap rate, than with presses. That is presses in general. Of course there are lots of different presses and they all have defferent scrap rates based on their designs. 

I have talked with lots of people, and some like presses and some like wraps. You could always get a single wrap and try it and see of you like that process. Hope this helps.


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## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

jpkevin said:


> Once you get your time and temp down with your wrap and oven setup, in my opinion and experience there is a lower mug scrap rate, than with presses. That is presses in general. Of course there are lots of different presses and they all have defferent scrap rates based on their designs.


I use a Chinese made mug press and I must admit, that it has never once scrapped a mug for me. I have always got consistently great results with it.

I tend to do mugs one at a time, in between doing other products. The system works well for me.


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## Conde_David (May 29, 2008)

We had done wraps for about 15 years . You do need to buy an in oven temperature gauge. I recommend three sets of wraps for volume folks. One set in the oven, one set ready and one set just removed from oven. Do not over tighten the wraps.


[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDKodX1gWmo[/media]


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## Snippetsco (Oct 23, 2008)

I just would like to verify that you are talking about a Hamilton Beach Convection oven that can be purchased at Walmart or other local store and not a "special" convection oven. We originally did some mugs in our home oven and then found out that you are not supposed to use the oven that you cook in so we stopped doing mugs since right now we don't have the cash for a mug press.

Thanks
Melissa


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

Melissa...yes...just a normal convection oven like you can buy at your local stores


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## DTFuqua (Jun 26, 2008)

It also might depend on where/how your going to market them. An open air market car show, or any such affair, you might want to do personalized mugs which would call for a press but, you probably would want to have some ready made ones of a general design appropriate to the occasion which probably would be more profitably made using the three sets of wraps like mentioned above by David.


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## EddieM (Jun 29, 2009)

anyone using this oven is it big enough to cook mugs on two layers?
Maybe 10 to 12 mugs at a time?
Hamilton Beach Countertop Convection Oven - 31197 : Target

Thanks


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## xXU4EAxX (Oct 15, 2008)

Hi,

I am (fairly) new here and also looking to get into mug printing.

Asides from a mug press itself, what is the minimum equipment and expenditure I would need to start creating mugs?

I would like to know which printer would be best on a budget, the make of inks I would need and which colours I would need? Any and all help would be much appreciated.

Regards,

U4EA


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## xXU4EAxX (Oct 15, 2008)

With the hope I am not re-iterating here, can I just confirm what type of convection oven I would need? I am asking as I dont want to buy something that would be no use in the long-run.

Will any old kitchen microwave/convection oven do the trick? Is there anything I need to look out for?


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## Conde_David (May 29, 2008)

I like the GX7000. 
I have not found an oven that did not work


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## xXU4EAxX (Oct 15, 2008)

Thank you very much for your reply.


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## pwhite20 (May 20, 2009)

U4EA said:


> Will any old kitchen microwave/convection oven do the trick? Is there anything I need to look out for?


You might want to check out craigslist for any old used kitchen oven in your area instead of buying something new. Remember, it doesn't have to look nice and match your kitchen decor. It just has to be able to heat up mugs.

I'm not sure what your business model is, but something else to keep in minde is that if you plan to travel and do mugs at events an oven can be a lot to lug around. This is where a press might be a good alternative.


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## xXU4EAxX (Oct 15, 2008)

I was already planning on hitting Craigslist tomorrow 

If I do get into this, I will be doing it from home so I think any old convection oven will do the trick for me.

Can I ask which dyes I should be looking at in terms of make and different colours?

Thanks again.


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## xXU4EAxX (Oct 15, 2008)

Can anyone help me re: which inks I need?


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## DTFuqua (Jun 26, 2008)

U4EA said:


> I was already planning on hitting Craigslist tomorrow
> 
> If I do get into this, I will be doing it from home so I think any old convection oven will do the trick for me.
> 
> ...


You will need the dye sublimation inks/dyes if I'm not mistaken and you'll need mugs with a special receptive coating to accept the dys. There may be some other way with other types of ink/dye/toner but I haven't researched this area any for quite some time and am not aware of any particulars.


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## Cjoe Design (Jun 3, 2008)

Good advice on adding a extra oven thermometer inside. The best $3.00 I ever spent. I have a $35.00 Oster which works fine but the temperature gauge on the oven can be up to 15deg off at 400. I'm sure the more expensive you go on the convection oven, the better it will be at keeping a consistant accurate heat. Every once in a while I will get a bad mug (under or over cooked) but often enough to change my setup.


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## Cjoe Design (Jun 3, 2008)

As far as sublimation inks go, I have used Artanium Sublijet and Rowmark. They all worked great and will impress your customers. I am intrigued with the new Sawgrass gel ink for the Ricoh printers. Supposedly less clogging issues and only 4 color carts to buy.


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## xXU4EAxX (Oct 15, 2008)

How many colour carts will I need?

I am still a little confused on the printing side of things... I need to understand a bit more exactly what I need and why.


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## pwhite20 (May 20, 2009)

There are lots of places that offer sublimation kits, but for the sake of an example you'll need something like this. 

Ricoh Sublimation Printer Package 8.5x14" High Capacity / High Output

I just grabbed the first one I could find, so you might want to shop around for prices from other places as well. Looking at the kits will at least give you some idea of what items you'll need to purchase to get up and running.


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## xXU4EAxX (Oct 15, 2008)

What is the minimal printing equipment I will need to just do mugs? Are any Epson printers acceptable? I would really like to keep initial costs as low as possible...


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## pwhite20 (May 20, 2009)

No, you can't use just any ink jet printer for sublimation. I think Staples had the Epson 1400 printer on sale not too long ago for around $200, but the printer isn't really the expensive part of sublimation as much as it is the ink cartridges anyway. 

If I'm not mistaken, I believe Sawgrass has exclusive rights on the sublimation ink cartridges so you're probably not going to be able to escape their high prices. 

Do a google search for sublimation printers and you'll be able to find a bunch of them. Here's a few more printers if you want to look at buying things separately instead of getting everything as a kit, but usually kits are a little cheaper by the time you get done buying everything you need. 

Sublimation Systems For Sublimation Transfer Printing with Epson Printers

You might want to try attending one of the trade shows to see the printing in action and ask lots of questions before you buy. Sometimes you can pick up a good deal on a demo system from the shows as well. The way it was explained to me at one of the shows was if you go really cheap on the printer you can usually expect to get gouged even more on replacement ink cartridges, ultimately making it much more expensive in the long run. For example, the really large printers usually come with ink bottles instead of cartridges. While you'll spend a lot more on the printer, the bottles of ink are much cheaper to replace and hold a lot more ink than cartridges do. Before buying any printer, do yourself a favor and be sure to compare the cartridge replacement costs and ink capacities for those you are considering so you don't find yourself sorry in the long run.


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## Cjoe Design (Jun 3, 2008)

Yes you can use an inexpensive epson printer which is available for under $100. then buy the Sawgrass cartridges. That was the way I first started. But, like Paul said, it's all in the Sublimation Dye. I have had four different Sublimation setups in the past and they all used Sawgrass inks. There is no real way to go cheap on the inks. You get your money's worth. It is an amazing process. I wish it were cheaper like when I first got into sublimation but I just had to adjust my pricing like everyone else.


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## xXU4EAxX (Oct 15, 2008)

So basically, I can get a cheaper printer, but I need to make sure I dont go cheap on the ink set up, as that is what reduces the quality?

What exactly am I looking for in a printer?


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## DTFuqua (Jun 26, 2008)

Epson generaly but ricoh has come out with something or someone came out with a set up for a ricoh printer


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## VinnyYak (Jun 13, 2007)

I use both mug press and oven. One thing you're forgetting in the discussion is oven consumes more wattage, as high as a microwave oven I think, that is, up to 1500 watts. I avoid plugging my tv and other appliances on the the same power strip that I use for the oven.


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## pwhite20 (May 20, 2009)

DTFuqua said:


> Epson generaly but ricoh has come out with something or someone came out with a set up for a ricoh printer


I don't know if it makes any difference or not, but most of the sublimation vendors I talked to at one of the shows seemed to infer that the Ricoh printers were the better of the two for the entry level stages of sublimation printing, but Epson still holds the market on the higher end printers. Other than saying they were better printers at that level, none of them really gave me any specifics as to why they thought they were better so I don't know if this is true or not, but I thought I'd throw it out there anyway.


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## xXU4EAxX (Oct 15, 2008)

Thanks again for the continued help. It's very much appreciated!

Can I ask which graphics package is best for image manipulation? I want to try and be a little creative when doing this stuff to make as good a product as possible.


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## DTFuqua (Jun 26, 2008)

Depends on what you view as best, the most powerful that is impossible to use all the features without a college degree or something that can do a lot and is a little easier to use. I use Corel Draw suite and it works pretty good and has been relatively easy for me to learn.


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## xXU4EAxX (Oct 15, 2008)

Sounds good. Has it got nice little effects etc?


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## DTFuqua (Jun 26, 2008)

I use Corel Draw for rhinestone transfers, vinyl heat-press transfers, vinyl sign making and cutting, photos and designs that I use with a printer to transfer to T-shirts, and any other thing that needs special formatting and graphics. The X4 version is specialy usefull for the rhinestone templates because of the certerline trace function that makes it easier to do text and names in rhinestones. You can get Corel Draw X4 suite for around $100 on ebay but look at customer ratings before you decide who to buy from there and be sure to get the "FULL RETAIL " version and not the educational or OEM versions.


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## xXU4EAxX (Oct 15, 2008)

If Iwere to go onto Ebay right now to look for an Epson printer just for producing images for mug sublimation, what exactly should I be looking for?

Sorry if I am asking the same thing again, but I am a little confused...


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## Cjoe Design (Jun 3, 2008)

Any epson printer will work. It is the Piazzo head that makes it work. Also, you mentioned that you shouldn't go cheap on the ink because it would give you less quality. Inks other than sublimation ink will give you no quality! The actual Sublimation Process (Dye igniting into gas and burning into the mug) will not take place.


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## Cjoe Design (Jun 3, 2008)

As far as graphics programs for sublimation, I try to only use CorelDraw and Adobe PhotoShop. The colors are accurate due to the profiles installed when you set up the system. I use Adobe Illustrator for other graphic aplications such as Inkjet transfers and design but there is a lot more color tweaking during output in Illustrator.

If you are just beginning I highly recommend the CorelDraw Suite.


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## JaeAmera (Dec 25, 2006)

U4EA-

I don't know if this has been stated but a good source for referencing a ton of dye-sub info is DyeSub.org - An educational site for dye sublimation and digital transfer printing..

Take your time a continue doing research, continue to ask lots of questions and you will do fine.

I will tell you this..learn your graphics program. Buy books, source the internet, youtube, etc.

People don't buy blanks they buy the image that is on the blank. If you cannot create, transform, tweak, or manipulate your graphics and images to look professional, your created product will look novice; ultimately affecting your price point.

I have clients who sell imaged mugs for $12.00; we have renowned artists selling imaged mugs for $39.95 (tons of them). Same $2.50 mug.......different images different layout designs.

It is my opinion that the artwork makes the sale.....the substrate is simply a tool for delivery.

Jae


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## xXU4EAxX (Oct 15, 2008)

Thanks again for this info guys.

I am learning more and eager to get started soon! But not before I am ready!

I COMPLETELY agree that the image and not the mug itself is what sells. I've downloaded a trial of CorelDraw and I am having a play about with it just now. I sure dont want to make junk - I want to produce a design and quality that will stand out. I am a bit of a perfectionist so I want this to be really good.

I now need to get clued up on the technicalities of images for dye-sub.

Thanks again folks!


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## xXU4EAxX (Oct 15, 2008)

So, if I were to look on Ebay etc right now for a printer, literally any Epson will do the job? Is there nothing I should be looking for in terms of spec etc? I just get the printer, then source the ink set-up seperately?


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## pwhite20 (May 20, 2009)

No, not just any Epson printer will work. You need to make sure that sublimation ink cartridges are available for that particular model. Be sure to compare the ink cartridge prices of the different model printers you are considering before you buy one. Buying the cheapest printer won't necessarily mean that your whole setup will be cheaper if the ink for that particular model is really expensive - especially when you consider the ink is going to be an ongoing expenditure and the printer you only have to pay for once.


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## xXU4EAxX (Oct 15, 2008)

Thanks mate. I am taking a general look at inks right now and will keep that in mind.


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## xXU4EAxX (Oct 15, 2008)

what does it entail to make boxes for mugs with the image represented on the box?


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## DTFuqua (Jun 26, 2008)

U4EA said:


> what does it entail to make boxes for mugs with the image represented on the box?


Just print a label on a sheet of labels for almost any printer and stick it on. Just use the same image you put on the mug and send to the printer for documents.


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## xXU4EAxX (Oct 15, 2008)

What about printing directly onto cardboard for a more professional look?


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## DTFuqua (Jun 26, 2008)

a lot more expensive unless you use thin cardboard and can keep it in the shape and size of a piece of paper


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## maggie4851 (Feb 15, 2011)

Mug Sublimation using an electric oven. This is my first time asking a question, bear with me. I put 20 mugs in the oven at 400 for 20 minutes and some mugs came out correctly with black letting and some came out with brownish lettering. What would the reason be? Also sometimes when I heat them the mugs come out with a brown streak by the handle, what would cause this. Thanks


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## Pvasquez (Feb 19, 2011)

maggie4851 said:


> Mug Sublimation using an electric oven. This is my first time asking a question, bear with me. I put 20 mugs in the oven at 400 for 20 minutes and some mugs came out correctly with black letting and some came out with brownish lettering. What would the reason be? Also sometimes when I heat them the mugs come out with a brown streak by the handle, what would cause this. Thanks


If your having inconsistent blacks then two things are happening black will go red with too much heat or time, it will look green with not enough time or heat. So make sure you have good mug wraps and gave a consistent time and heat. Also important is your file when printing change your black to 100% k 0% CMY or 0,0,0 RGB and test. No idea on your handle issue post a pic before ( with the mug wrap ) and after where the mark is.


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## maggie4851 (Feb 15, 2011)

Thank you for the information. I will try another batch tonight and will try and get a pic to show the brown color by the handle. Sometimes even the tape leaves the brown mark.


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## CreativeInk (Sep 17, 2011)

So, i have a cooks convection oven. I first had an oster from walmart and with both i cannot get the temp to hold at 400 deg. it will stay at around 370. I had the same issue with the last oven i had but it had a crumb tray so i thought maybe too much heat was escaping through the gaps. I have 100 mugs to do for my husband and i need to get started soon lol. Any suggestions? Also i did 3 mugs with the temp holding at 370 and one of them has a spot where it seems the coating is comming off. Not sure if it was bc of the temp or something else i did. one more question. If i put in one mug for 15 min do i add 2 min for each additional mug? or just 2 more min total? Thanks in advance.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

maggie4851 said:


> Mug Sublimation using an electric oven. This is my first time asking a question, bear with me. I put 20 mugs in the oven at 400 for 20 minutes and some mugs came out correctly with black letting and some came out with brownish lettering. What would the reason be? Also sometimes when I heat them the mugs come out with a brown streak by the handle, what would cause this. Thanks


In addition to the others comments, very likely you may have variation in actual oven temperature from place to place in the oven. Some mugs may actually be getting hotter or colder than others.


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