# Mug sublimation problems - blurry spots and top half



## smlove611 (May 30, 2018)

I am having what seems to be two separate issues, one where the bottoms of the mug seem to print perfectly but along the top edge it starts to fade off. The other is just a spot on the mugs where it will blur, sometimes barely and sometimes a lot. I have the HPN signature series mug press and I am using HPN orca coated mugs. I don't know where I'm going wrong, I am heating at 385F for 155 seconds, any longer seems to make the text less crisp. 

I'm having enough consistency in my prints that I'm really not sure what the problem is. It doesn't happen every time, but it happens enough to be really frustrating. I've included some pictures of what I'm talking about - The two grandpa mugs are blurred at the G, and the other is blurred ever so slightly on the right underside of the banner. The meltdown survivor is where it is fine at the bottom but blurs at the top, it's not the best example but I've thrown away some much worse looking ones. Any help would be great! Thanks!

https://imgur.com/a/L56UgQr


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## customprinted (May 26, 2014)

Just from looking at it it seems like a pressure problem, there may be gaps where the surface of the press.is not pressing hard.enough and making that blurr happen, same for the top part you described, it seems lime you need to make sure your mug is getting sufficient equal pressure in order foe the temperature to be distributed equally otherwise you have shifting colors. The blurr looks to be a straight up gap. Try fitting the mug in your press while cold and look for any problems in pressure and fit. If there are indeed issues try to find a way to even it out, maybe try with a piece of cotton fabric inbetween the mug and press to help out. This is just my 2 cents.

Hope you sort this out.

-Cesar

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk


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## smlove611 (May 30, 2018)

Thank you for your help! Just to clarify, you're saying that the blur is occuring where there is not enough pressure, for instance the bottom half is tight enough but the top is too loose?


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## customprinted (May 26, 2014)

More likely that there may be a small gap and when there is heat and the sublimation process begins ink starts to gasify so it kinda spreads out kinda like a spray can effect


smlove611 said:


> Thank you for your help! Just to clarify, you're saying that the blur is occuring where there is not enough pressure, for instance the bottom half is tight enough but the top is too loose?


Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

That press has pressure adjustment knobs at each end of the mug. Sounds like you might need a little adjustment.


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## smlove611 (May 30, 2018)

NoXid said:


> That press has pressure adjustment knobs at each end of the mug. Sounds like you might need a little adjustment.


Yeah I think the reason it's so inconsistent and seemingly random is that I'm constantly changing the pressure between 11oz and 15 oz sizes depending on what order comes in. I think I need to buy a dedicated press for each size so that I can keep the press set at the right pressure consistently. Thanks everyone!


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## webtrekker (Jan 28, 2018)

smlove611 said:


> NoXid said:
> 
> 
> > That press has pressure adjustment knobs at each end of the mug. Sounds like you might need a little adjustment.
> ...


So, let's get this straight - you ARE changing heat blankets when changing mug sizes, aren't you? For 11oz mugs you need an 11oz blanket in your press, and for 15oz mugs you need a 15oz blanket.


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## smlove611 (May 30, 2018)

webtrekker said:


> So, let's get this straight - you ARE changing heat blankets when changing mug sizes, aren't you? For 11oz mugs you need an 11oz blanket in your press, and for 15oz mugs you need a 15oz blanket.


Maybe I'm confused by what you mean by "blanket" - the HPN heating element for my machine (as shown at this link - https://www.heatpressnation.com/replacement-heating-element-for-hpn-digital-mug-cup-heat-press.html ) accomodates both an 11oz and a 15 oz mug size, so no I am not changing that between mug sizes, I just adjust pressure knobs to fit whichever mug I am pressing and use a teflon sheet to protect the heating element. I'm assuming after reading everything here that I need to pay much closer attention every single time I make that adjustment.


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

smlove611 said:


> Yeah I think the reason it's so inconsistent and seemingly random is that I'm constantly changing the pressure between 11oz and 15 oz sizes depending on what order comes in. I think I need to buy a dedicated press for each size so that I can keep the press set at the right pressure consistently. Thanks everyone!


Really? That sounds like sort of a frustrating pain ... 
I wonder if one could mark the knob for each position and reliably dial-in the desired setting without testing a mug everytime?

I've been looking at presses and considering that one, but maybe I would be happier paying ~$100 less and getting the 11 oz press and forgetting about 15 oz mugs.

https://www.heatpressnation.com/mpress-digital-mug-press.html


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## Amw (Jul 2, 2012)

NoXid said:


> Really? That sounds like sort of a frustrating pain ...
> I wonder if one could mark the knob for each position and reliably dial-in the desired setting without testing a mug everytime?
> 
> I've been looking at presses and considering that one, but maybe I would be happier paying ~$100 less and getting the 11 oz press and forgetting about 15 oz mugs.
> ...


I realize the cost is higher...
The DK3's work great and dont really have these issues. You can quickly change the pressure and it is even across the whole mug.

We tried using the cheaper presses and found that with replacing parts and ruined mugs it cost more then just buying the dk3 in the first place.
Now we might ruin 2-3 mugs per year out of all the mugs we make.

We use them for:
Mugs, 11 and 15 oz
Steins
Water bottles
Coin banks
Coated mason jar mugs

We do use one of the Chinese presses for shot glasses though and it works well...but we do ruin probably 25% of them for various reasons.


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## MusicMama (Apr 2, 2007)

smlove611 said:


> I am pressing and use a teflon sheet to protect the heating element. I'm assuming after reading everything here that I need to pay much closer attention every single time I make that adjustment.


You should NOT need any Teflon with your heat press element. However, you should be using a piece of blowout paper (e.g., parchment or unwaxed butcher paper) to protect the element from gassing. It's possible that the Teflon sheet you're using around the mug is causing extra gassing out.


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## jflores0002 (Jun 8, 2015)

It’s all about pressure. Your blurry spots is where there is more pressure or where your heating band has hardened. I suggest you buy a small sheet of silicon made especially for mug presses. I believe it’s called heat conducting blanket. It’s sold on conde website and color is green. Might be like $17. Try that first. It should even out your pressure. It might be better than replacing your hearing band. Just my 2 cents....


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

jflores0002 said:


> It?s all about pressure. Your blurry spots is where there is more pressure or where your heating band has hardened. I suggest you buy a small sheet of *silicon* made especially for mug presses. I believe it?s called heat conducting blanket. It?s sold on conde website and color is green. Might be like $17. Try that first. It should even out your pressure. It might be better than replacing your hearing band. Just my 2 cents....


Yeah, I've seen that stuff. Not sure how old their press is ... I would assume a newish press wouldn't have that problem, don't know 

That said, my pet peeve is silicon vs silicone:
Silicon is for chips (think Intel).
Silicone is for tits (think Stormy Daniels).


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

Amw said:


> I realize the cost is higher...
> The DK3's work great and dont really have these issues. You can quickly change the pressure and it is even across the whole mug.
> 
> We tried using the cheaper presses and found that with replacing parts and ruined mugs it cost more then just buying the dk3 in the first place.
> ...


After reading this, I did find a few currently listed on eBay. Some have obvious wear/indentations on the heating element / silicone pad. Would you buy such a unit? If so, would you replace the heating element or just line it with a new silicone pad?

On many of the used units, the silicone pad seems to be held in place with folded-back metal tabs. I assume that means someone has installed a replacement silicone pad over the original element, as the photos of new units do not show any metal tabs holding the silicone pad in place.


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## Amw (Jul 2, 2012)

NoXid said:


> After reading this, I did find a few currently listed on eBay. Some have obvious wear/indentations on the heating element / silicone pad. Would you buy such a unit? If so, would you replace the heating element or just line it with a new silicone pad?
> 
> On many of the used units, the silicone pad seems to be held in place with folded-back metal tabs. I assume that means someone has installed a replacement silicone pad over the original element, as the photos of new units do not show any metal tabs holding the silicone pad in place.


Sorry for the late reply.
There are metal tabs on all off them, that is how they are from the factory.
The used ones that have had a lot of mugs go thru them will show them more then a new one or one that has had the heating element replaced (its $140/replacement). Those tabs tend to get bent over time, mostly from lazy operators. For the most part they dont affect the heating element. I included an image of the element which shows those tabs your referring to. The whole piece in the image is replaced. 

When I buy a used one if its really worn i will just replace it (the green pad). Otherwise I will just test a mug to be sure it is heating correctly and the mug is getting a good print (we use a large black box with a few small CMY squares thru out as a 1st print). If that comes out fine we do one with our logo and some business related text on it. If that comes out fine then we start producing mugs on it. If not we replace the element.
The most common issue i find with the used ones are: Alarm not beeping ($15 fix/1 min) or Timer not counting down ($10 fix/3 min). Half the time those issues can be fixed by taking the back off (unplugged from power) and checking to be sure they are plugged in correctly.

I never use an additional pad or try to replace just the green pad. I always replace the whole element. Also it should be noted...for some water bottles you need an additional green pad to make the circumference of the bottle large enough to work correctly in the press.

I bought one a few months ago, they said it had not worked in years and selling for parts. I opened it up and the internal power wire was off. Fixed that and adjusted the timing switch to work more accurately. It cost me nothing to fix it but about 15 mins of my time. I paid $40 for it and have basically a brand new press. These count how many cycles they have done and I dont recall the exact number but it was less then 400 cycles on it. 

Let me know if you have any other questions, etc.
I looked on eBay and there are a couple good ones up there.
I would lean to one with a purple/blue back lit screen. They are the current model. The ones without the back lit screen are fine just are the older model...same heating element and more or less everything else.


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

Amw said:


> Sorry for the late reply...
> 
> ...The ones without the back lit screen are fine just are the older model...same heating element and more or less everything else.


Great! Thank you for the details 

And no worries about timeliness. I'm still at the "thinking about it" stage with this.

Yes, I noticed the different screen colors. Most listings include a photo of the label, with includes the serial number, so that too gives a sense of how old the units are relative to each other.


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