# Printing directly to mouse pads/coasters



## skyweb54 (Aug 14, 2008)

i have mouse pads and coasters from best blanks. i am printing with a dtg kiosk. the print is coming out kinda dull. what do i do to make the print "pop"? pretreat? what?


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## Don-ColDesi (Oct 18, 2006)

Hi Karen,

Hope all is well. Are the mousepads cotton or poly?


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## skyweb54 (Aug 14, 2008)

how do i tell? they have the grey rubber on bottom covered by white fabric on top.
we are doing fantastic, don.


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## bornover (Apr 10, 2008)

I have never seen a mouse pad with a cotton top yet. Do they exist?

I have printed on poly top mouse pads on my DTG. I used the pretreatment for white ink on light colors and it makes a huge difference. The colors come to life. 

To be truthful though, it is not quite as good as sublimating nor does it last as long.


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## skyweb54 (Aug 14, 2008)

thanks for this reply. i will try pretreating some pads. by the way, i love your website and your mission statement. i can proudly state that i have been born twice!


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## equipmentzone (Mar 26, 2008)

skyweb54 said:


> i have mouse pads and coasters from best blanks. i am printing with a dtg kiosk. the print is coming out kinda dull. what do i do to make the print "pop"? pretreat? what?




You can get very good print results by pretreating the mouse pads with FastBright Pretreatment.


Harry 
Equipment Zone


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## Don-ColDesi (Oct 18, 2006)

Since mousepads do not get washed I would recommend using the regular white ink pre-treatment and then doing a "hover cure" on the printed mouspad instead of direct contact. This will minimize the flattening effect you often get when applying pressure and the white ink pre-treatment will keep the colors up on top of the pad.

Hope this helps.


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## skyweb54 (Aug 14, 2008)

thanks don and everyone else who replied and offered tips, hints and help. it worked. they are coming out a lot better. i have to perfect how i spray them (they certainly act differently than a shirt that lays still and flay!) fortunately, the ones from best blanks are inexpensive enough to learn on!


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## Don-ColDesi (Oct 18, 2006)

Don't keep us in suspense - which pre-treat are you using and what is your secret to spraying and curing?

Thanks in advance.


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## skyweb54 (Aug 14, 2008)

i am still experimenting. i used the fast color (pre-treat for white shirts) on one and fast bright (pre-treat for white ink on light colored shirts). as i said, spraying is a bit of a challenge to get the pad to lay flat while the air is blowing it all over the place. drying the pre-treat is something i will have to experiment more with as it dried a little splotchy. i adjusted settings in rip pro for canvas. to cure the print i placed it under the heat, but did not close the top. i am going to do a couple more experiments in the way i dry the pre-treat and cure the print. overall, i am not afraid of attempting to print mousepads anymore. just need to work with the process a little more.


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## Inked2012 (Aug 31, 2009)

I printed mouse pads at the ISS shows for five years and had the best luck with FastBright. Make sure the pretreat is completely dry before printing. The top surface is 100% polyester. If you don't use pretreat, the ink can still smear after curing. Petroleum based mouse pad and water based ink. The best way as stated in an earlier post is to sublimate.


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## skyweb54 (Aug 14, 2008)

ok, so i will go ahead and let me ignorance show.
what is sublimate and how do you do it?


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## Inked2012 (Aug 31, 2009)

Sublimation is an entirely different process using special sublimation inks printed in reverse on special sublimation paper and then heat transfered onto the mousepad. In the sublimation process, the solid ink on the paper turns to gas from the heat and the gas molecules stick to the polyester.


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## bornover (Apr 10, 2008)

Here is a quick but fairly in-depth answer as to what sublimation is from a very good supplier of sublimation equipment and supplies. Also BestBlanks, where you are getting your mouse pads has a sublimation section.

What is Sublimation Imprinting? - DyeTrans.com

Sublimation Supplies For Heat Transfer Printing - See Everything You Need Right Here!

Since you already have a heat press you are halfway there to being able to sublimate several products.


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## DAGuide (Oct 2, 2006)

skyweb54 said:


> ok, so i will go ahead and let me ignorance show.
> what is sublimate and how do you do it?


This should help you - General Information about Sawgrass Dye Sublimation Printing - MultiRIP Hybrid Software


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## skyweb54 (Aug 14, 2008)

so, i am learning that sublimation takes another special printer (not my dtg or inkjet all in one workhorse). and i have to purchase special inks and paper! the heat press is just a very small part of this whole process!


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## DAGuide (Oct 2, 2006)

Correct. You don't want to mix dtg inks and sublimation inks in the same printer. You can use most of the Epson printers (which cost significantly less than a dtg printer), you will need to get some sublimation release paper and dye sub inks. You should also know that sublimation ink will only stick to polyester... so it does not work on cotton garments. Also, the sublimation mugs, license plates and other blank substrates sold by distributors have been coated with a special polyester spray. So you can't just any mug, tile,... for sublimation. You can get very bright colors and the prints are one of the longest lasting decorating techniques in our industry.

Best wishes,

Mark


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## bornover (Apr 10, 2008)

Karen,

Don't get us wrong, were are not saying you *should* do sublimation, we are just helping you learn what is out there in our industry and specific best applications for certain products. Sublimation only makes sense if you have a market for the types of products that are best sublimated. 

So if you can sell a bunch of mouse pads every month, then a cheap Epson to sublimate with would make sense. Or if you have a market to sell a lot of coffee cups or other types of sublimated products, then the specialty presses to sublimate them would also make sense. But only you can know if you need sublimation or not.

One last note. I think you will find that DTG mouse pads will not really satisfy your customers because they will lose their good looks pretty darn fast. I quit doing them for that reason.


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## skyweb54 (Aug 14, 2008)

thanks for the replies and explanations. i really don't want to sound so harsh and hateful, it's just that i have had a few requests for these types of items, and i had sunk a lot of $ into embroidery and dtg stuff. i guess it's just a lot to digest, and it really would open up a whole new market. you're right about the mouse pads. they really do look YUK! that may be something i think about for next year to expand my business and reach new customers with a whole line of new items! please excuse my first reaction.


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## bornover (Apr 10, 2008)

skyweb54 said:


> i really don't want to sound so harsh and hateful


You did not sound harsh and hateful at all.


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