# Coated or blank mugs?



## recrisp (Oct 25, 2007)

I have a question that is probably easy, but I just want to be sure.
(I'd ask the "Live-Help" on the website, but they are not online on the week-ends it doesn't appear)

What I am needing to know is, *does this place sell uncoated mugs and also coated mugs for sublimation?*
I am interested in this style (for instance) and *I'd need coated mugs*, but I'd also like to be able to have* plain mugs* too, so that's why I am asking...
*Blank 11 oz Color Mug Blank*
They have "*Blank Photo Mugs*" here, so what is the difference between the two?

Can someone please let me know if this is what it means, and also, is this place a good place, and *if not, who would be?*
(I see it says at the top that it says, "Your are currently in the Unprinted/Blank Mug Section", but does this mean "uncoated" also?)

Their _shipping_ sounds high, *$24.00 per case of cups*, but it breaks down to a little over $1.60 per cup, and with todays shipping costs, I'm not sure if they'd be getting to me or not... 

I'm a little confused, to say the least. 

Thank you!
Randy


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## jberte (Mar 25, 2007)

none of those appear to be coated for sublimation, sorry  i get mine from marck (they bought cactus mugs awhile back) and am going to try sublimators 1st choice next time i order as well.

shipping on mugs is NEVER inexpensive....if done properly they're double-cartoned and heavy as well. $24 isn't out of line with what i paid for my last order.

Sublimator's 1st Choice
Marck & Associates, Inc. - Home

ps: $24/case shipping on 36 mugs breaks down to $0.67 each


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

The blank color mugs are just that...unprinted mugs that are in different colors for pad printing or some type of transfer THEY ARE NOT COATED...these are not for sublimation.

The second..blank photo mugs are for sublimation ONLY...click on any of the images and you will see the warning that they are sublimation.

unprinted and uncoated do not mean the same...uncoated will mean no polymer coating for sublimatin..unprinted will be just that..plain..nothing on them..

Jan is correct in that mugs are expensive to ship..you will need to add 55-70 cents per mug to cover cost to you....and then you have to charge your customer to ship to them


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## recrisp (Oct 25, 2007)

Thank you both for your QUICK replies, now... I see... heh
That is just one more thing that makes me more knowing in this giant land of new stuff I need to learn, and I REALLY appreciate this forum (and people of course) for this knowledge.

I am going to go and check out the links too, so thanks for those. 

The shipping thing makes sense, I wasn't thinking 'breakables', I was thinking 'shipping', just normal stuff, but, it sure doesn't hurt to ask I guess... 

I have one more question...

_When I do ship a mug_(s) to my customers, *what method, box, etc., is used by you experienced sellers*, or anyone that knows?

*Anything else* that you can think of that a newbie (like me) might not be aware of?

Thanks to y'all again, that really helped me out!

Actually, I just thought of another question that you may know, and more than likely do...
* Are ALL of the sublimated mugs like the ones that were in my link*, meaning, a spot for an image on BOTH sides?
I thought there were mugs that were all the way around, with the exception of the handle area.
Also, I see in the links that were just given to me that *the mugs shown don't show where the coating is*... (So if it was all the way around, how would I know?)
Does that mean that it's invisible, or are they just showing the mugs without any coating.
It's all pretty confusing, 'cause they seem to assume newbies know all of this. (Or maybe it's just me... heh)
Am I dreaming? 

Randy


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

shipping methods will depend on where you are...where the customer is and then determine the cheapest method. with cups, I tend to solicit business outside my area.

As to the area to print on with sublimation...the entire mug is coated..so you can print all around..or on either side or front...what ever. 

by the way you do know that to sublimate you need a special printer/paper/ink system? It can be pretty pricey to set up..from around $500 for cheapest printer and sublimation ink carts...up to $1000 for printer and bulk system..you can also do laser sublimation...start up is not a lot higher...but then you get cheaper prints and no printer nozzle clogging


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## recrisp (Oct 25, 2007)

charles95405 said:


> shipping methods will depend on where you are...where the customer is and then determine the cheapest method. with cups, I tend to solicit business outside my area.
> 
> As to the area to print on with sublimation...the entire mug is coated..so you can print all around..or on either side or front...what ever.
> 
> by the way you do know that to sublimate you need a special printer/paper/ink system? It can be pretty pricey to set up..from around $500 for cheapest printer and sublimation ink carts...up to $1000 for printer and bulk system..you can also do laser sublimation...start up is not a lot higher...but then you get cheaper prints and no printer nozzle clogging


Thanks Charles,

As long as the shipper isn't trying to rip me off, I am willing to pay decent shipping charges, it's just that I know that most of the people here already know this stuff, and I'd hate to get burnt going in. heheh

_Ohhh_, O.K. on the coated area, but it was confusing to me 'cause I see that on some mugs they show (for instance) a black mug that has two separate boxes where the images go.
Some don't show any, and some show it all the way around.
That is weird that they do that to me... So I guess coatings are clear? (I thought they were white, or maybe they're both)

I do realize the costs of all of the equipment, I already checked into that, and all that goes along with it, I decided to have it printed, and I'll use a wrap to make them.
I already have someone that is going to do the paper printing for me, then I can do the warp myself.

*Thanks again for all of the helpful information too!*

*If anyone else has any other stuff to add, for me, and other newbies, I'm sure it'll go to good use. *
(Links here on the forum would be good too, I did search already, but there's about 40 million things that refer to "sublimation", "mugs", etc., and I may not know the correct words to search for)

Randy


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

There are black mugs that have a white space to sublimate on. I have never seen any other mugs with two white spaces....they could exist..I have just not seen them. there is also a totally black mug that has a polymer coating that you can sublimate on and when hot liquid is poured in, the black turns white and image will show. This can be seen at Welcome to Photo USA, Corp.

If you are going to do sublimation you should read all the posts that refer to that


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## Ernie (Nov 2, 2007)

jberte said:


> none of those appear to be coated for sublimation, sorry  i get mine from marck (they bought cactus mugs awhile back) and am going to try sublimators 1st choice next time i order as well.
> 
> shipping on mugs is NEVER inexpensive....if done properly they're double-cartoned and heavy as well. $24 isn't out of line with what i paid for my last order.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the tip about Marck. They have some interesting things on their website, including saying that the Cactus coating can be used with laser sublimation. Interestingly another vendor told me it could only be used with inkjet sub. I have searched the web for many hours looking for 15 oz mugs for laser sub and didn't come across marck until you sent it in.

Ernie


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## jberte (Mar 25, 2007)

there are colored mugs have have a white subbable area - and many of the stainless travel mugs as well - but they look kinda dorky unless you completely print the white area (IMHO of course )

when i ship mugs to a customer - i double carton them just like they came from the supplier - if it's a full case, i just put them back in their same cartons. if the order is less than a full case, i still double carton - i get individual mug boxes and then pack them in another heavier box, surrounded by bubble wrap or peanuts.


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## recrisp (Oct 25, 2007)

charles95405 said:


> There are black mugs that have a white space to sublimate on. I have never seen any other mugs with two white spaces....they could exist..I have just not seen them. there is also a totally black mug that has a polymer coating that you can sublimate on and when hot liquid is poured in, the black turns white and image will show. This can be seen at Welcome to Photo USA, Corp.
> 
> If you are going to do sublimation you should read all the posts that refer to that


Thanks again Charles,

Weird, today I looked around and saw quite a few mugs that didn't have the white spaces on there, but said they were sublimation...
I know that to make an image that needs white, that needs to be white, but still, their sites were kind'a not truthful looking.

I like the idea of the temperature changing mugs, I've seen those but not thought seriously about that, until now, I'll look into that after I know what I'm doing more. heh

Yeah, I know, I need to read a lot about all of this, but, I do have to start somewhere, and I have been reading, but some of this stuff is hard to look for when it's not really explained, on the site, or here on the forums.
Also, my little mind gets confused too with all that I'm trying to learn. 

Thanks for that link and ALL of your help Charles, I really do appreciate your time.

Randy


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## recrisp (Oct 25, 2007)

jberte said:


> there are colored mugs have have a white subbable area - and many of the stainless travel mugs as well - but they look kinda dorky unless you completely print the white area (IMHO of course )
> 
> when i ship mugs to a customer - i double carton them just like they came from the supplier - if it's a full case, i just put them back in their same cartons. if the order is less than a full case, i still double carton - i get individual mug boxes and then pack them in another heavier box, surrounded by bubble wrap or peanuts.


I'm definitely trying my best to stay away from "dorky"... heheh
Those types though would be covered in images like a flag for example, or something that covered the whole area.
I'll play around with a few to get an idea, then I'll learn as I go, hopefully anyway.

I kind'a doubt I'll have orders that would need a full case, and I'd do what you suggested, but, what I guess I meant is, where do people get single boxes, or boxes that will take 2 or 3?
I know, I could look around at the Post Office, and other places, but I am hoping that someone here has already ran into this and found a perfect box. heh
(I need to use the US Postal Service [I hope] 'cause my wife works there)
Anyway, I'll keep looking, but again, if anyone has a good place to get these boxes n'stuff, that's sure help.

I know that box companies have that stuff, and I have a link somewhere, and I'll look too. 

Thank you for your time Jan. 

I did find some in my old (box) links from another business I had...
Boxes, Shipping Boxes, Shipping Supplies, Packaging Materials, Cardboard Boxes - ULINE
Paper Mart Packaging Store


Randy


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## jberte (Mar 25, 2007)

yep those would be the two suppliers that i would recommend. if you're only shipping a couple of mugs (maybe 3 or 4, i really haven't tried packing it) USPS has a 'shoe box' for priority or express mail service that might work well for you.


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## recrisp (Oct 25, 2007)

jberte said:


> yep those would be the two suppliers that i would recommend. if you're only shipping a couple of mugs (maybe 3 or 4, i really haven't tried packing it) USPS has a 'shoe box' for priority or express mail service that might work well for you.


Thanks Jan, I appreciate your help on this, it'll save me (and probably others too) a lot of headaches. 

I'll check into that "shoe box" too.

Randy


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