# How Do I Heat Press Mugs



## Amor365 (Jan 14, 2008)

Hi,

I have gone past the stage of t-shirts, clocks and so on. I have now started to make Mugs but I am not really sure what or if I am doing it right.

Please correct me if I am wrong on the following instructions (as if i was dumb):-


Print image with sublimation ink onto sublimation transfer paper.
After cutting the strip, attach the image onto the mug with a bit of tape at each end of the mug.
Place into a pre-heated mug press at 400f for 3 minutes on medium pressure.
once done, remove and lower gently into room temperature water to cool and set the gases.
Peel of the paper and dry.
Hopefully I got this right but do i need to use anything else like silicone paper or anything else?

I am sure I am missing something. I have a new D120 with Sawgrass sublimation ink and Trupix paper.

Also, what would you say is a medium pressure? Something that only needs a little preesure to close the press, firmer pressure or would you expect to hear a clunk?

Many thanks in advance.


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## Ib4E (Aug 21, 2008)

Hello,
As far as your pressure goes, don't be afraid to make it FIRM. As long as the handle of the mug


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## Ib4E (Aug 21, 2008)

Hello,
As far as your pressure goes, don't be afraid to make it FIRM. As long as the handle of the mug isn't touching anything, you won't jeperdize


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## Ib4E (Aug 21, 2008)

Hello,
As far as your pressure goes, don't be afraid to make it FIRM. As long as the handle of the mug isn't touching anything, you won't chance


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## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

Hi. Getting the pressure right will only come with experience. Have it too tight and you risk chipping the sublimation coating off the mug.

Nothing particularly wrong with your procedures, but I remove the transfer paper *before* immersing in the water. Less messy that way too.


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## Ib4E (Aug 21, 2008)

sorry, I sent an unfinished message.......

I used die sub also. I set my press to 390 and the time for 90 sec. The time starts once the press reaches 390..... When the mug is removed from the press, dip the entire mug, paper transfer and all into a room temprature bucket of water.

Pull off the transfer paper and ....voial

hope this helps!


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## Ib4E (Aug 21, 2008)

I quess it's up to the user....whichever works best for YOU. I leave the paper on the mug before dipping for this reason,...the mug is hot when you are pulling off the paper, thus the sublimation ink is still expanding into the mug. That extra second or so of removing before "dip" may contribute to a cloudy print.


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## lben (Jun 3, 2008)

OK, well I almost started a fire in my home the first time I tried to use a mug press. So, now that I've learned the process let me see if I can answer your questions.

So far you have almost every step down pat. There are 2 things you want to change. 1) You want heavy pressure on that press otherwise the dye will run and migrate under the transfer paper. Heavy pressure is putting the mug in the press and closing it and the mug won't budge. Jiggle it really good to make sure it won't move. If it moves even a tiny bit, you need more pressure. 2) You will want to put a piece of plain copy paper (no ink on it) completely around the cup pn top of your transfer paper. If your press holds the cup in a laying position make sure you have the paper cut to go through the handle to the other side of the mug. This paper should go top to bottom as well. That will keep the dyes off of your press. If your press holds the mugs in an upright position then the plain paper doesn't need to go through the handle.

Now, when I use my press at 400 degrees my paper starts to burn, so I had to turn mine down to 375. My press might run a little hot. I need to buy a temperature gun to find out. But my mugs come out perfect at this temp for 180 seconds, which is 3 minutes like you're already doing. I hope this helps. I used to cry every time I made a mug. Now I enjoy it. Nothing scares you more than seeing flames shooting out of a press! Live and learn.


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## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

Ib4E said:


> I leave the paper on the mug before dipping for this reason,...the mug is hot when you are pulling off the paper.


It's not THAT hot. Only about 400 degrees..


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## Conde_David (May 29, 2008)

What press do you have? What mugs?


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## rockgeneration (Aug 12, 2008)

There is a special heat press for mug


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## Conde_David (May 29, 2008)

Yes, do you know the brand of mugs? Where did you buy them?
What brand of press? Any details would be helpful.


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## dim116 (Nov 27, 2006)

As Loretta said, also wrap the mug & transfer with plain copy paper cut to fit the whole mug as it keeps ink from getting on your mug heating blanket, which could get onto another mug later on.
Also when not using your mug press a good idea is to keep a spoiled mug in the press with the handle half down (not locked down though) just enough so it forms around the mug. This keeps the heating element in the correct mug shape.

Lar


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## Amor365 (Jan 14, 2008)

Hi Guys,

Thanks for your responses, very much appreciated. I had already started making my mugs and was amazed to find how easy it really was to make them. Much easier than shirts and clocks. I have made a few allready and none of them have broke, cracked, brittled or anything like that. I hope its not beginners luck but I have read your responses and took some good tips from you guys.

Sorry it has taken me a while to respond but I am amazed at how busy I am with this business venture which has taken up all my time, hence the late response. Also, I might stop working next year and go alone which has allways been my dream. No boss and no slave labour, though the risks will all be mine.

*Just one thing though.* Do you think it is worth putting a cut out teflon sheet as well as the standard copy paper. I havent tried it yet but thought it helps.

Thanks again guys and i will try to keep up with my posts.

Paulo


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## prathap (Aug 20, 2015)

Make sure you have what you need. The items needed are, the following: inkjet printer with sublimation inks installed, graphic art software like Adobe Illustrator or Coral Draw, sublimation paper, mug heat press, pair of scissors or art knife and a ruler, heat tape and a few blank sublimation mugs. 

Have a template. This template is for an 11oz, 325ml mug. Diameter of the mug is 260mm. Print area is 70mm Wide x 90mm High on two sides of the mug. 

All mugs are slightly tapered so before we wrap our artwork around the mug we are going to make two cuts right in the middle of the paper so we end up cutting through about 3/4 of the paper. What this will allow us to do is once we have taped the paper to the mug with the image facing the mug the cuts allow us to adjust the center of the paper up or down just a little to allow for the taper. otherwise your text may not run parallel to the bottom of your mug. You will also notice that most of the time you can see through the paper so this will help you to align your images so they are horizontal. So now cut off about 3 pieces of heat tape about 1/2" 12mm long stick them on the edge of your bench. Carefully wrap the paper around a mug, image facing inward. Now rotate the paper back and forth until you have roughly the same distance between each end and the handle and the same amount of white ceramic showing at the top and bottom of the paper. Once this is done apply 1 piece of tape to the center of each end of the paper. Now check to see if your text is aligned with the base of the mug. If not you can slip the paper up a down a bit where the cuts are until it is. Once you have this right apply the last piece of heat tape half over the bottom cuts and half on the mug to hold the paper in place.

Now adjust your pressure setting on your mug press so that when you clap your mug in the press it have medium to heavy pressure on it. You can tell if you have enough pressure as the Teflon and silicone rubber backing of the mug press will bow around the top and bottom of the mug a bit.


Once the time is up release the pressure off the press and remove the mug by the handle followed by picking the edge of one the the bits of heat tape on one end of the paper with your fingernail then peeling the paper off the mug in one smooth movement. (watch out its HOT!) This part is important as while the mug is still hot the image will still be releasing ink gas and if you do not remove it in a smooth motion you may end up with ghosting (double image), over spray or a slightly blurry image. This can also happen if you cook the mug for too long. you may have to experiment with heat and times to get the right setting for your press.


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