21 Feb 2026, 18:37 Re: Blizzard Convection Oven Owners 21 Feb 2026, 18:37 Re: Blizzard Convection Oven Owners
Having just had some duff prints due to fading towards the handle I decided my adkins presses needed new blankets. BUGGER they are expensive!
I have a George Knight mug press which is a cracker. I suspect I would have heart attack if I needed a blanket for that.


Blizzard oven ordered. Wraps ordered.

This thread has been really useful in making the decision.

Cheers folks. :D

Martin (AKA Janners)

19 Feb 2026, 12:55 Re: Welcome to the new DSF! 19 Feb 2026, 12:55 Re: Welcome to the new DSF!
Thanks button now installed!

Please see attached screen shot, thumbs up (or down if you want to remove thanks) at the end of the blue icons.

21 Feb 2026, 08:00 Re: Welcome to the new DSF! 21 Feb 2026, 08:00 Re: Welcome to the new DSF!
I made it here. So coming over to the new home must be easy!
Great work Justin. I would miss it if it wasn't around.

Martin (AKA Janners)

28 Feb 2026, 20:27 Re: Time V Temperauture 28 Feb 2026, 20:27 Re: Time V Temperauture
Hi Tony

It's been trial and error. I get curious and start exploring variations.
Many years ago I read an article about sublimation on outdoor signs. The recommendation was low and slow for durability, but there was no explanation or proof of why.

If this (low and slow) does create better durability it's useful for mugs.
I have found that hot and fast means over cooking happens quick, but that is an obvious event.

I have just switched from presses to an oven, hence playing with time / temp again. :D

18 Jun 2024, 09:31 Re: St3042 mugs 18 Jun 2024, 09:31 Re: St3042 mugs
Yes, it seems to work well. I use 13 mins with a flip over inbetween and also find this works better then having the cups upright. This also works well for the metal type flasks. I add 30 sec onto the time for each cup multiple, so 13½ mins for two cups, 14 mins for 3 etc. this allows for the temp drop while flipping the cups.



in addition to this I also use silicon bands at top and bottom to keep the wrap snug and tight.

01 Mar 2026, 14:30 Re: Forum Update - Please Read 01 Mar 2026, 14:30 Re: Forum Update - Please Read
Where is everybody? It's gone quiet.

17 Apr 2026, 21:22 Re: eBay....Does it still work???? 17 Apr 2026, 21:22 Re: eBay....Does it still work????
my mate claude said
For bulk printed mugs (i.e. wholesale/trade quantities rather than one-at-a-time retail), the channels are quite different:
Best options

Direct B2B outreach — approach businesses directly: offices, pubs, cafés, sports clubs, tourist attractions. A cold email or call with samples is often all it takes. Highest margin, no platform fees.
Your own website — a dedicated trade/wholesale page on your WooCommerce site with a bulk pricing table and minimum order quantity. Easy to set up and positions you professionally.
Not On The High Street / Etsy — reasonable for branded bulk gifting enquiries, though fees hurt and it's more retail-leaning.
Trade shows and markets — good for face-to-face bulk orders, especially gift trade shows (Spring Fair, Top Drawer).
LinkedIn — underrated for B2B. A post showing your print quality and bulk pricing can generate serious enquiries, especially from businesses looking for branded merchandise.

24 Mar 2026, 21:17 Re: Odd question about cutting a vpd file in vw 24 Mar 2026, 21:17 Re: Odd question about cutting a vpd file in vw
Look forward to seeing it.

01 Mar 2026, 17:49 Re: Forum Update - Please Read 01 Mar 2026, 17:49 Re: Forum Update - Please Read
Hopefully members are making the transition but I'll send it a bulk email.

21 Apr 2026, 15:38 Re: eBay....Does it still work???? 21 Apr 2026, 15:38 Re: eBay....Does it still work????
Try not to pay £50 a month for premium, ive found it next to useless

24 Mar 2026, 21:20 Re: whats the best print and cut software? 24 Mar 2026, 21:20 Re: whats the best print and cut software?
Thats odd, Years ago I bought Signlab 5 and then flexisign. Visually flexisign was far bette to use.

All down to personal preferenc I suppose.

08 Mar 2026, 17:21 Re: Forum is Harder to Navigate 08 Mar 2026, 17:21 Re: Forum is Harder to Navigate
Found it

Quick links, top left hand corner "New Posts" also "Unread Posts" etc.

22 Apr 2026, 09:40 Re: Anybody used Raja? 22 Apr 2026, 09:40 Re: Anybody used Raja?
I sent the elusive "Raja" an email on Friday with a simple question regarding their 10oz and 11oz mugs. As they list them as the same height, width and volume i wanted to know what was the difference? It appears on obvious question.
The response? Errr no don't be silly, there hasn't been one!
I messaged the EU side of Raja when I didn't get a response to my initial enquiry asking if the UK warehouse was still open. They replied in 10 minutes.

So I give up with Raja UK. I might just stir the pot a bit by sending an email to the EU side highlighting the lack of response from the UK. Just for my own amusement. :lol:

Martin

27 Mar 2026, 18:37 Re: Odd question about cutting a vpd file in vw 27 Mar 2026, 18:37 Re: Odd question about cutting a vpd file in vw
Im glad you came at it from another angle and got it sorted mate.

Keep posting

12 Mar 2026, 08:07 Re: Forum is Harder to Navigate 12 Mar 2026, 08:07 Re: Forum is Harder to Navigate

Justin wrote: 09 Mar 2026, 10:01 Yes there's a navigation bar across the top, I need to change the colour to make this stand out. Click on Quick Links....Unread Posts to see posts made since your last visit.

Thanks, told you I was basically lazy.

29 Apr 2026, 09:14 Re: Anybody used Raja? 29 Apr 2026, 09:14 Re: Anybody used Raja?
Well this morning I decided to put my "big boy pants on" and overcome my aversion to Raja after all the faffing.

Ohhhh..... They print very well.
160 degrees in the oven for 20 minutes.
Epson ET-1810
Inktec Sublinova
Ink experts 120gsm paper.

Now if only they weren't such a useless company to deal with. :roll:

10 Apr 2026, 14:43 Re: Thread order when viewing a topic 10 Apr 2026, 14:43 Re: Thread order when viewing a topic
Cheers Justin

19 Feb 2026, 11:38 Re: Can you buy a customised screen print kit ready to use 19 Feb 2026, 11:38 Re: Can you buy a customised screen print kit ready to use
The boxes are for banners so i use colompac 108 x 108 x either 610 or 705mm.
Yes the text will only be the website address and basic logo.

19 Feb 2026, 11:53 Re: Welcome to the new DSF! 19 Feb 2026, 11:53 Re: Welcome to the new DSF!
I cant find a thanks button?

99% chance of user error here but....
i couldn't upload a picture it said forum has reached threshold or something like that?
I tried it as a bb code but that didn't display either so gave up.

09 Mar 2026, 10:07 Thread order when viewing a topic 09 Mar 2026, 10:07 Thread order when viewing a topic
Hints & Tips #1

By default you will see the first post made at the top of the screen. If you want to reverse this so that you see the last response made to the thread, head to the bottom of the thread, click on Display and Sorting Options, drop the menu down and change Ascending to Descending.



Screenshot_1.png

07 Apr 2026, 11:58 Re: Who made it to the new forum? 07 Apr 2026, 11:58 Re: Who made it to the new forum?
I have sent a mass email out to all members, assuming they received it things should get busier again.

We have had a small influx of new members joining as well in recent weeks.

19 Feb 2026, 09:31 Re: Welcome to the new DSF! 19 Feb 2026, 09:31 Re: Welcome to the new DSF!
Looks fresh, I miss the old style friends seton on the left side of a persons profile page but thats phpBB for you. bye bye vbulletin

11 Apr 2026, 11:00 Re: Any Etsy Experts out there 11 Apr 2026, 11:00 Re: Any Etsy Experts out there
I'm no Etsy expert but we've been on the platform for a number of years. Initially we preferred it to NOTHS as fees were around 7% on Etsy, 25% on NOTHS. The fees have increased over the years on Etsy to the point where they now take a % of your shipping!

Issue with Etsy is you have to really be on the ball, if you don't respond to a message quickly, ship quickly etc. you get a reduced rating. This happens very easily and impacts your products visibility on searches. Very soon you can get warnings from them.

Contacting Etsy as a seller is made extremely difficult. Best description I was ever given for Etsy is that they are the farmer who owns all of the land, you are renting some of that land without a contract. if they want you "Off my land!!" They just boot you off. Happened to us many years ago, we came in on what should have been a busy Monday morning to find zero orders. Not notification from Etsy but they'd suspended our account. It took me 2 weeks to get to speak to a human being in Ireland and I had to really push to get it investigated. Most folk give up at this stage it appears. Eventually after a further couple of weeks the suspension was lifted. No apology, we were told our account had 'incorrectly' been associated with another seller who was breaking the rules! Ever since we've been fine.

You need 500+ products to stand any chance of standing out. Great titles and descriptions, the algorithm was always getting changed so the goal posts move, it's a full time job keeping on top of everything.

Etsy can and does work but you have to put in the time. Everything is pretty much saturated and it's hard to stand out. Advertising does help but you can find yourself paying £300 per month only to get £300 a month in orders so had to be carefully monitored.

07 Apr 2026, 13:20 Re: Wide format fastest print and cut? 07 Apr 2026, 13:20 Re: Wide format fastest print and cut?
We looked at going down the route of a wide format coupled with a graphtec cutter at one point but realised it’d be too much hassle. The only advantage would be it could’ve been left to run overnight but then we’d have loads of mug wraps to collect and make sure they were right way round, etc.

We went down the route of a desktop printer (currently sawgrass) and pre cut mug sheets. On a busy day we do about 500 mugs a day and the sawgrass just about keeps up.

11 Apr 2026, 11:43 Re: Any Etsy Experts out there 11 Apr 2026, 11:43 Re: Any Etsy Experts out there
My advice would be to concentrate on your own website and drive traffic there, far better in the long run, you have full control. Sure, it's not an easy option but imo much better.

Lots of folk rely on Etsy and it bites them in the bum.