# Heat Transfer on Glass not Mugs



## Hwy25 (Feb 2, 2011)

I wanted to know if you can use a mug heat transfer press machine to print on glass bottles?

Thanks!!!


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## jiarby (Feb 8, 2007)

mugs for sublimation have a polyester coating that makes them receptive to the transfer. Your glass would need a similar coating. 

An additional issue is that the inks are translucent, and there is no white. Your art would have to account for the lack of a white background.


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## Hwy25 (Feb 2, 2011)

jiarby said:


> mugs for sublimation have a polyester coating that makes them receptive to the transfer. Your glass would need a similar coating.
> 
> An additional issue is that the inks are translucent, and there is no white. Your art would have to account for the lack of a white background.


The design is simple and I will only use black ink just to do font letters. Would this suffice knowing that I don't have a white surface?

Thanks for your help


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## selanac (Jan 8, 2007)

You might want to look into a Pad printer.


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## jiarby (Feb 8, 2007)

no coating = no sublimating

+2 for pad printing, or screen printing


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## Lnfortun (Feb 18, 2006)

Joto has introduced several laser heat transfer for hard surface. It will be interesting to see how durable they are especially for mugs or glass when subjected to dish washer hot water.

Here is the anouncement.

"JOTO of Blaine, WA, has 
introduced new hard surface 
transfer papers as an alternative 
to sublimation. You simply print 
with your color laser printer and 
heat press on to blank hard 
surface substrates. No special 
toner or polyester coating is 
needed. CL Hard Surface 1 
works on ceramics, metal, and 
stainless steel, while CL Hard 
Surface 2 works on leather 
and wood. CL Crystal works 
on glass."

I suppose if your mug press will accomodate for glass bottle with good surface contact and not breaking the glass due to heat or pressure the press will work. You might want to call Joto and get some sample.


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## lausteve (Feb 9, 2010)

Lnfortun said:


> Joto has introduced several laser heat transfer for hard surface. It will be interesting to see how durable they are especially for mugs or glass when subjected to dish washer hot water.
> 
> Here is the anouncement.
> 
> ...



I talked with Joto at the ISS show (Long Beach) and they indicated that this paper still needs to use "special sublimation blanks". So essentially this is the same as sublimation but you use a color laser printer instead of a sublimation printer.

In other words, you still need to use the hard coated sublimation coated mugs or glasses (not regular mugs or glasses). I buy my sublimation blanks (mugs and water bottles) from Conde. They have good prices and have a West Coast warehouse.


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## Hwy25 (Feb 2, 2011)

Lnfortun said:


> Joto has introduced several laser heat transfer for hard surface. It will be interesting to see how durable they are especially for mugs or glass when subjected to dish washer hot water.
> 
> Here is the anouncement.
> 
> ...


 
Thanks when you say sample you are talking about the CL Crystal paper?


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## Lnfortun (Feb 18, 2006)

Yes ask for crystal or whatever Joto offers. if you are going to press on glass as indicated in the anouncement it seems Crystal is what will do the job.


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## Joto Paper (Feb 12, 2007)

Hi,

Just to clarify. If you are printing onto a glass bottle, you probably would want to try the CL Hard Surface I paper. As the CL Hard Surface I will image only where there is toner and are great for the translucent affect. We have tried on pieces of glass, crystal, and acrylic without the polyester coating and it has worked well. And of course the bottle has to meet the requirements Lnfortun spoke of:



Lnfortun said:


> I suppose if your mug press will accomodate for glass bottle with good surface contact and not breaking the glass due to heat or pressure the press will work. You might want to call Joto and get some sample.


CL Crystal is more for awards such as a glass/crystal plaque where you want the whole crystal imaged. Basically the CL crystal paper provides an opaque white surface to print on and then is heat applied onto the back of the crystal. You will have to trim the paper along the crystal/glass/acrylic pieces' edges once it is heat applied to the substrate and has completely cooled. The CL Crystal does not require a polyester coating to print onto. However you should do a test just to be sure as there are many types and sizes of crystal/glass/acrylic.

There may have been some confusion on the hard surface papers. A coating is only required for certain items such as ceramic tiles, ceramic mugs, etc. The coating does not specifically have to be a polyester coating. Although having a polyester coating should not affect it's useability with hard surface papers. Again some testing will be required as there are so many different substrates out there as well as a number of different coating methods.


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## Lnfortun (Feb 18, 2006)

Joto Paper said:


> Hi,
> CL Crystal is more for awards such as a glass/crystal plaque where you want the whole crystal imaged. Basically the CL crystal paper provides an opaque white surface to print on and then is heat applied onto the back of the crystal. You will have to trim the paper along the crystal/glass/acrylic pieces' edges once it is heat applied to the substrate and has completely cooled. The CL Crystal does not require a polyester coating to print onto. However you should do a test just to be sure as there are many types and sizes of crystal/glass/acrylic.


So basically it is only for transparent or clear material as the name implied(Crystal). Is there a paper backing, like opaque transfer, that can be peeled before pressing then press the transfer right side up on opaque material like mug (if durable when washed), tile, wood, metal etc. Of course the image has to be mirrored in this instance.


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## Joto Paper (Feb 12, 2007)

Sorry Lnfortun, didn't actually see your post until now. 

Here is an explanation of the hard surface Papers:

*CL Hard Surface I* is for smooth hard surfaces. You print mirror image. Place substrate on press with printable side face up. Then place printed transfer with printed image face down. Once pressed, peel off transfer paper and only toner will be left. 

In the case of crystal, it will vary. If doing a glass mug, it is basically the same application method as sublimation but with different temperatures and higher pressure. 

If doing a glass or Crystal plaque with Hard Surface I, it could be on the front or the back of the substrate. If on the front it will have to be mirror imaged. If on the back, it will be printed right reading. Again hard surface on Crystal will create a transparency effect. Most awards shops like to image on the back of the crystal to make the image more durable.

As for the Crystal, there is no backing to peel off (absolutely no peeling is required). Basically you are heat pressing the entire transfer paper to the crystal then trimming the excess paper on the edges off. The printable side is also the adhesive side. And you are printing only on to the back of the crystal. Any areas on the crystal where there is no toner will be white. Once pressed you will trim any excess transfer paper off the edges of the crystal.

Hope this helps.


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