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Dye Sub Mug Question…
Hi all,
I have just completed my first trial run with dye sub mugs. A few questions for the experienced dye subbers here. I am using Mug Pro Press/ Espon 1290/ Riotech Ink/ Novachrome mugs/ Espon photo quality paper.
Firstly I cooked the mugs for 4 mins at 400C (using a lot of pressure )– quality was ok on the mugs but it seemed as if the paper was sticking to the mugs – the mugs were very rough – later when the mug had cooled down I was able to remove the roughness by scrubbing the mug with a rough cloth and water.
Tried again – this time cooked the mugs for 2.75 min at 375C (with very little pressure) – mugs were very faint and still had the rough effect of the paper sticking to the mugs.
So my question after all that is should the paper be sticking to the mugs – I can get the result I want by scrubbing away the roughness after the mug has cooled down but do I need to this for every mug or is it a matter of fine tuning with the time, temp etc…
Thanks in advance for any advice…
Moss.
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8 Replies
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I have no problem with the paper sticking. Is there a right and a wrong side to the paper?
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Hi Becky – thanks for reply
Yeah – there are right and wrong sides to the paper. Think I’m using the right side…
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Sounds like you could possibly have a batch of uncured mugs. Epson photo paper should not stick to the mug at all, correct side is brighter white side.
I stopped using NovaChrome mugs a couple of years ago, I now get my mugs from Listawood.
Using my Mug Pro Press I cook for 2.75min at 370deg, with enough pressure that there is resistance when closing the press.
Are you letting the mugs air cool, a better way is immerse in luke warm water (don’t use ice cold or you risk either cracking the handle off the mug or the mug itself).
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Hiya Red Dragon,
thanks for reply…
Was using cold water to cool the mugs and also using the brighter white side of the paper. I’m in the process of ordering some mugs from listawood also so when they arrive I’ll give them a go and report back – hopefully like you said it’s the mugs at fault – only trouble is have 70 more of them… -
If you’ve paid for the mugs, and they are faulty, you should have no problem getting replacements (which should work properly) or even request a credit to use against other products.
Curious now, if you’ve got a MugPro Press and the mugs from NovaChrome how come you are using Rotech Inks? Did you buy your printer elsewhere or from NovaChrome?
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Well Red Dragon
I’ve been trawling thru the topics here for a while and ended up using some excellent posts from people like yourself to decide on the best suppliers and equipment – I had originally ordered the mugs from Listawood along with the printer but they couldn’t deliver the mugs straight away so opted for some mugs from Novachrome when getting the mug press. Also opting for the bulk ink system from Listawood – it’s on order so just need to check back with them…
it’s the people here on this site who have educated me as to the ways of sublimation so hopefully as i get to know a bit about it i’ll be able to give some help along the way…. thanks all…
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When I started sublimation printing on Mugs, I left the paper to cool and had to go through this process of ‘unsticking’ the transfer.
Now, I take it straight off as soon as it’s out of the press……..no more problems! 😀
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Hi Moss
I agree with Sharon – generally when you get a roughness on the mug after it is decorated, this is because the coating has not been fully cured when it was initially applied, and the paper is sticking to the coating as a result.
If you want to work you way through your stock, there are a couple of ways around this problem :
1. By re-curing the mugs. If you have a convection oven, you would be able to salvage your mugs by cooking them at 200 degrees C, for around 20 minutes. You may need to play around with these settings a little, as I am not familiar with the coating that has been used on these mugs, but generally this will do the job.
2. Using a high release transfer paper. I have found that high release transfer papers are far less prone to sticking to slightly under cured mugs than other standard inkjet papers. We sell it as Jewel paper, lots of other suppliers sell similar products which they describe as being suitable for textile printing. This way you would probably be able to salvage your mugs without having the hassle of sticking 70 mugs or so in the oven. Will gladly arrange for some samples to be sent to you to try if you like.
Hope this helps.
Alex.
Listawood Trade Supplies Ltd
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