# Mugs: thinking of getting a heat press for mugs



## lorena (Sep 27, 2006)

I'm thinking of getting a heat press for mugs. 

How are your sales for mugs. Do you sell many?

Are they easier than t-shirts?

I'm thinking of doing personalized mugs.


Any tips and or advice?


LORENA


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## bergenandco (Jul 30, 2007)

DONT GET A PRESS!!! THEY SUCK! WE'VE HAD TWO! THEY SUCK!

(We'll sell ours to you infact )

Seriously, the best and cheapest is to use mug wraps and a convection oven! Relaible and you can do several at a time. $20 per wrap and $100 for an oven. Can't beat it. I've spent over a year messing with quality control with the mug press and found the oven is the best way.


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## bergenandco (Jul 30, 2007)

lorena said:


> I'm thinking of getting a heat press for mugs.
> 
> How are your sales for mugs. Do you sell many?
> 
> ...


Oh, I should add...not worth it if your doing shirts. We've invest alot of money in learning and waste and we've maybe sold 50 mugs. We've only kept it around because we have to with a fulfillment center 

Bryan


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## lorena (Sep 27, 2006)

Are you guys serious??

Well I'm glad I asked. 

I'll have to look into the wraps, and you said they can be done in an oven?
wow! sounds like fun.

Anyone have a good experience?


LORENA


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## plan b (Feb 21, 2007)

Hi, I use the mug pro press and sell a lot of mugs,,,, and here is how I do it,,,, I contract with car dealerships,,, every car they sell they take a pic of the customer by their new car,,, the dealership emails me the pic and shipping info,,,, I then put the customers pic on one side and the dealerships logo on the other side and ship,,, cheap advertisement,,, and great for me..... hope this helps...

R.


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## lorena (Sep 27, 2006)

> Hi, I use the mug pro press and sell a lot of mugs,,,, and here is how I do it,,,, I contract with car dealerships,,, every car they sell they take a pic of the customer by their new car,,, the dealership emails me the pic and shipping info,,,, I then put the customers pic on one side and the dealerships logo on the other side and ship,,, cheap advertisement,,, and great for me..... hope this helps...
> 
> R.


 
Wow!


How did you come up with that? I bet that would work with other things to... like real estate people. 

Thanks for sharing.


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## plan b (Feb 21, 2007)

Hey, I am a marketing mad man, thats what I did for work, territory development,, I would develope areas and then turn it over to a sales staff,,, This will work for almost any type of retail that has a volume, rv dealers, real estate, pool builders or,,just about any high end ticket, same goes with t shirts, but mugs are cheaper.

R.


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## lorena (Sep 27, 2006)

for me the ideas are there, but the presentation of the ideas is what I lack in. 

because of being shy, and not a good public speaker. 

but maybey I could start with friends and family. 

by the way.... where did you get your press.. and is it good? because I've only heard bad things about mug presses. 

thanks

LORENA


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## plan b (Feb 21, 2007)

I bought the press used from a guy that had it sitting in his garage barely used,, stumbled upon it at a yard sale,,, its a older one but it works great, I get great press out of it, I take the cups out ,, take the design off and put them directly in room temp water. If you are doing a ton at one time the oven is the way to go, although I have talked to people the have a bunch of press working at once,, say they dont like ovens sooo it boils down to each their own..

R.


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## lorena (Sep 27, 2006)

Oh! but I forgot one MAYOR part...

Mugs are done with sublimation inks!

I dont have that. 


I have a Epson C88 with the durabrite ink. 

So I must need a different printer and ink.

LORENA.


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## plan b (Feb 21, 2007)

yep you can use cartridges pre filled to start a little expensive to get going.

R.


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## BRC (Mar 27, 2007)

I have a Phoenix Mug press, never had any problems with it and it will do top to bottom transfers.


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## mystysue (Aug 27, 2006)

I have a okidata with laser dyesub toner.. I do mugs with wraps and love them.. I started with just 2 wraps but bought 8 more the next week lol.. I also got the shot glass wrap and some shot glasses.. tommorow im making up a bunch of shot glasses with logos of a motorcyle company who is going to sturgis.. (he also is buying shirts, mousepads.. stickers and loads of stuff.. But i really actually enjoy doing the mugs.. ..
we are also doing a large order of mugs and plates for a church fundraiser.. here locally..


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## COEDS (Oct 4, 2006)

I would not invest in a mug press. I would buy mug wraps and use a cheap $40 convection oven.I use this set up and it works great.I can do 6 mugs at a time and can still do other things at the same time.This allows me to get more done. If you need more info you can send me a pm. Good luck.... JB


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## mn shutterbug (Mar 19, 2009)

bergenandco said:


> DONT GET A PRESS!!! THEY SUCK! WE'VE HAD TWO! THEY SUCK!
> 
> (We'll sell ours to you infact )


What brand presses did you try? Were they good ones made in the USA of cheapies from China?


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## digiantiques (Nov 14, 2010)

COEDS said:


> I would not invest in a mug press. I would buy mug wraps and use a cheap $40 convection oven.I use this set up and it works great.I can do 6 mugs at a time and can still do other things at the same time.This allows me to get more done. If you need more info you can send me a pm. Good luck.... JB


I was reading the post and am wondering if you or anybody else knows of a place that I can get the sub prints made for the mug wrap? I can't afford the printer at this point but would like to get started with the printing of mugs..Any help would be appreciated.


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## HybridImages (Apr 21, 2008)

I've been looking into this. Trying to decide on what press myself we already print plates with a ceramic laser transfer paper and have many of our customers asking about mugs. So there's not a question to me as to if there is a market. I think I'm leaning towards a Geo Knight press...My other presses are Hotronix but their mug press is vertical load and you need a horizontal if you want to do steins. If anyone has had good luck with another press let me know...although I understand that the Chinese products are inferior. I know I would prefer a press over an oven because I will be using transfer, a press would consume less space than an oven, plus if I only had one to do I wouldn't have the heat an entire oven and then in return crank up the a/c...a press just seems more cost effective in the long run. Anyone else have experience with laser papers and using a glazer?


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## jdoug5170 (Sep 8, 2010)

We do quite a few mugs, sometimes 1 at a time, often in multiples. We have a mug press and feel that is the best way to go. One problem I have with a oven is when you doing sublimation there are so many things that can go wrong and in a oven, it is 20 minutes to run your first test mug. I suppose after you proof your run, a oven could be beneficial but just not for us.

Mugs are good business for us and service people are good potential customers. When I worked for a remodeling company, we left a mug with a plant in it on the kitchen counter for the home owner...with our logo on it of course!

Also, be sure that you do not try to use the home oven. The fumes given off may not be friendly with the next loaf of bread you bake.


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## NESBOW (Sep 10, 2006)

jdoug5170 said:


> We do quite a few mugs, sometimes 1 at a time, often in multiples. We have a mug press and feel that is the best way to go. One problem I have with a oven is when you doing sublimation there are so many things that can go wrong and in a oven, it is 20 minutes to run your first test mug. I suppose after you proof your run, a oven could be beneficial but just not for us.
> 
> Mugs are good business for us and service people are good potential customers. When I worked for a remodeling company, we left a mug with a plant in it on the kitchen counter for the home owner...with our logo on it of course!
> 
> Also, be sure that you do not try to use the home oven. The fumes given off may not be friendly with the next loaf of bread you bake.


thats a good thought on not using your home oven but wht not pick up a used home oven someone is discarding and perhaps set it up in the basement.


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## mn shutterbug (Mar 19, 2009)

With good convections ovens going for under $100, why waste your time on another person's reject? I'm just saying...


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## LB (Jul 25, 2009)

*"and you said they can be done in an oven?"* -a DEDICATED convection oven...not your cooking oven.


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## dglenniu03 (Nov 24, 2009)

We use an industrial oven and it works great and compact.


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## goad (Feb 7, 2007)

I have used my oven and a new convection oven...I get burn marks on my mugs with convection...cant seem to get the right temp...so that was a waste of money.
In the oven they come out great but it is an old oven and I only do a mug at a time...to preheat and the the bake time uses a lot of electricity.
I also want to try a press...but prices vary so much and I dont understand why they are so expensive so I want reviews on the less expensive ones....


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## PSGMark (Oct 6, 2010)

Get a good press - it makes all the difference. We did wraps and a cheap press. The cheap press was the worst! The big companies do their mugs with wraps and ovens much like our t-shirt dryers. Some suppliers have how-to vids. Like the other brilliant car dealership idea, it's all about the marketing and having confidence in your equipment.

For some reason departments in our local Police Dept have been creating logos of sorts. We do a lot of mugs for Homicide and Aggravated Assault (high crime here). They give mugs away to detectives from other departments/jurisdiction, DAs, and even witnesses for helping with cases. We also do a lot of mugs for the military. It helps fill the void from minimum orders you see with promotional products. We also do a lot of sublimated plaques.

I'm totally digging the car dealership idea!


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## goad (Feb 7, 2007)

PSGMark said:


> Get a good press - it makes all the difference. We did wraps and a cheap press. The cheap press was the worst! The big companies do their mugs with wraps and ovens much like our t-shirt dryers. Some suppliers have how-to vids. Like the other brilliant car dealership idea, it's all about the marketing and having confidence in your equipment.
> 
> For some reason departments in our local Police Dept have been creating logos of sorts. We do a lot of mugs for Homicide and Aggravated Assault (high crime here). They give mugs away to detectives from other departments/jurisdiction, DAs, and even witnesses for helping with cases. We also do a lot of mugs for the military. It helps fill the void from minimum orders you see with promotional products. We also do a lot of sublimated plaques.
> 
> I'm totally digging the car dealership idea!


THANKS PSGMARK...that is appreciated!!!


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## DoubleDaggerTees (Sep 22, 2016)

I know this is an old thread but people might still stumble upon it while searching.

I am going to buy a t-shirt heat press next week and might get into mugs, but I do print-on-demand with a printer in California and the results are amazing. I've had one customer and he loved the mug. And it doesn't cost me anything in supplies.

If you are just starting out with an idea, print-on-demand might be a good way to test the market for your idea.

-Rick


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## sinGN (Oct 12, 2016)

Hi,
Are you interested in tshirt printing.if you have an interest in tshirt printing then buy multipurpose printing machine and do both tshirt and mug printing.because i failed to sell mugs in large number.


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## dig111 (Oct 26, 2016)

are you still doing this? how is it working?? how much do you charge?


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## mrsmetcalf (Nov 6, 2015)

Do you still have to use sublimination ink when you do these in the oven?


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## olga1 (May 11, 2014)

sinGN. is my understanding multipurpose printing machine are not good. Do you have one ? what brand ?. Thanks


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## djque (Feb 5, 2013)

mrsmetcalf said:


> Do you still have to use sublimination ink when you do these in the oven?


 yes you still need to have sublimation ink/printer. 
And yes multi function machines are not recommended as if it breaks your out of business


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## Dekzion (May 18, 2015)

We use the mug press that came with the 8 in 1 unit we bought a couple of years ago. the first element nearly went up in smoke due to the control unit going west, BMS replaced the parts immediately and since then every single mug has turned out fantastic and it takes 200 seconds at 180c. trying to use an oven would be beyond a joke in our shop as the customer is waiting and can actually see the countdown so knows it wont be long waiting.


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## firedancer4 (Jan 8, 2017)

DoubleDaggerTees said:


> I know this is an old thread but people might still stumble upon it while searching.
> 
> I am going to buy a t-shirt heat press next week and might get into mugs, but I do print-on-demand with a printer in California and the results are amazing. I've had one customer and he loved the mug. And it doesn't cost me anything in supplies.
> 
> ...


Rick - Thanks for your post. I'm having a heck of a time finding print on demand printers for mugs! Any suggestions? Does your printer in Cali do mugs that you know of? Or just t-shirts? I'm just getting started and still brainstorming whether I want to stick with mugs or branch out to other products.


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## firedancer4 (Jan 8, 2017)

Dekzion said:


> We use the mug press that came with the 8 in 1 unit we bought a couple of years ago. the first element nearly went up in smoke due to the control unit going west, BMS replaced the parts immediately and since then every single mug has turned out fantastic and it takes 200 seconds at 180c. trying to use an oven would be beyond a joke in our shop as the customer is waiting and can actually see the countdown so knows it wont be long waiting.


Hi Derek!

Can you give more info on the 8 in 1 unit you purchased? For instance, where did you purchase and do you have a link? I'm doing research on whether to start up with a mug press or mug wraps. I notice people are pretty passionate about the method they chose, so it's hard to know which one would end up being best for me. But your press sounds good to me so far and I'd love more info. Thanks!!!


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## firedancer4 (Jan 8, 2017)

I am very envious of marketing gurus. I only WISH I could just go talk to people like you can!


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## Dekzion (May 18, 2015)

It was this one Nima, But it's in the UK DF18 8 in 1 Combination Startup Business Package - Combination Press | BMS - Sublimation and Printer Cartridges and Edible Inks 
There's probably cheaper ones out there but I can go and knock on their door if needs be.

There's really no such thing as marketing gurus, only professional BS'ers trying to screw you over or people that know what they are talking about and don't mind giving someone the benefit of their experience.
It takes a lot of hard knocks to be able to face people but everytime you are polite and show confidence without being arrogant and know when you have to say "I'm sorry but we can't do that yet, here's a great guy who can help you" You get better and customers will come back to you for advice and different jobs that they know you can do.


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## firedancer4 (Jan 8, 2017)

Dekzion said:


> It was this one Nima, But it's in the UK DF18 8 in 1 Combination Startup Business Package - Combination Press | BMS - Sublimation and Printer Cartridges and Edible Inks
> There's probably cheaper ones out there but I can go and knock on their door if needs be.
> 
> There's really no such thing as marketing gurus, only professional BS'ers trying to screw you over or people that know what they are talking about and don't mind giving someone the benefit of their experience.
> It takes a lot of hard knocks to be able to face people but everytime you are polite and show confidence without being arrogant and know when you have to say "I'm sorry but we can't do that yet, here's a great guy who can help you" You get better and customers will come back to you for advice and different jobs that they know you can do.


Derek, thank you for your reply. I loved your response about marketing gurus, lol. I've met some professional BS'ers, and I've met some great sales people who were genuinely kind and sincere about wanting to help. I think there is a skill for marketing, though, and what hinders me is that I care way too much about what people think of me! I'm not good at trying to make someone see why they need my product. But...that is something I'd like to work on, and I know there is some great literature out there that could help me. Honestly, I'm terrified at the idea of calling a high-volume prospect and presenting a mug idea. But luckily, my husband said he'd do it. HA!  I'm still gonna try and improve, though.


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## Dekzion (May 18, 2015)

Nicely designed mugs sell themselves, companies and clubs always like a mug with their logo on.
Dye sub mugs always come out with a deep gloss on them that is soooo smooth!
one small tip is to put a drop shadow on lettering or small logo's which makes it 'pop' off the surface.


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## AZArt (Dec 20, 2016)

firedancer4 said:


> Rick - Thanks for your post. I'm having a heck of a time finding print on demand printers for mugs! Any suggestions? Does your printer in Cali do mugs that you know of? Or just t-shirts? I'm just getting started and still brainstorming whether I want to stick with mugs or branch out to other products.


redbubble.com 
gearbubble.com
cafepress.com


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## sandhopper2 (Apr 26, 2010)

Problem with outsource to someone to print and press you mugs is the shipping cost 
I have done some mugs for a dune buggy club member 
Pics of his buggy 
The shipping was $15 for 2 mugs and packing material cost was another $2 or so 
Hard to sell mugs if not local 
I started buy having some one print the sub paper for me before I got my printer and sub ink set up 
I bought my press for e bay used made in usa press , found the second same press so bought it for parts just incase 
Good luck on what you try 
If I can help send me a PM 
Larry


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## Twisted Trail (Sep 28, 2018)

mystysue said:


> I have a okidata with laser dyesub toner.. I do mugs with wraps and love them.. I started with just 2 wraps but bought 8 more the next week lol.. I also got the shot glass wrap and some shot glasses.. tommorow im making up a bunch of shot glasses with logos of a motorcyle company who is going to sturgis.. (he also is buying shirts, mousepads.. stickers and loads of stuff.. But i really actually enjoy doing the mugs.. ..
> we are also doing a large order of mugs and plates for a church fundraiser.. here locally..


Can you tell me about these wraps and where you get them and what oven you use? I just got an Oki printer and was seaching for a press, but this sounds like maybe a better way? Any help is appreciated.


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