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View Full Version : Advice from you great people needed!



lemontdetroit84
11-10-2012, 01:36 PM
Ok so I'm new to sublimation mug printing! I am in the process of sorting out my profile with the amazing Paul who has helped me soooooo much with that issue. While I am waiting for my profile I have been messing with my mug press and I thought I would try a full colour mug just to test it out. I have a chinese mug press with no tempreture changing ability on it. When I do a full colour mug print you can see an outline of the heating elements. Im getting confused as to wether Im not cooking the mug for long enough. I have put a blank mug in for 180 seconds and then put the full colour mug in for 180 seconds. After taking out the mug it shows the outline of the heating elements that are in the wrap. The mug press I have is:

http://www.cityinkexpress.co.uk/ink-products/sublimation/machines/mug-press/mug-press---v2---ce-approved---yellow/fr-sub-004

any help would be greatly appreciated :)

socialgiraffe
11-10-2012, 01:41 PM
It sounds like the blanket you have is too cheap or the pressure is not right.

To get the pressure right you need to be able to place the mug inside the wrap and not be able to turn/rotate the mug easily. I always say, if you can turn it with one hand then it is too loose. If you can not turn it with two hands it is too tight.

If you pressure is right then I would say that the blanket is not up to the standard you or anyone else would expect.

WorthDoingRight
11-10-2012, 03:41 PM
Do not be afraid to try a sheet of plain white paper around the sublimation paper in the press. It does sound like the press is clamping too hard. Follow Simon's advice and check your clamping pressure.

jennywren
11-10-2012, 03:44 PM
Do not be afraid to try a sheet of plain white paper around the sublimation paper in the press. It does sound like the press is clamping too hard. Follow Simon's advice and check your clamping pressure.

I do that with all the mugs , it helps also with ink being transferred on your press.

meldean
12-10-2012, 01:04 AM
ummm thats confused me now.... lol

are you saying you put your sublimation transfer on the mug and then put plain paper round and press...
if so why do you do this please as i feel like im missing something...

mrs maggot
12-10-2012, 10:07 AM
meldean, the ink can come through and will bleed into your mug blanket (the bit that heats up) so you can end up with smudged prints on future mugs, i buy a cheap baking re-usable baking sheet and cut it into strips, you get 3 mug wraps per sheet, and use those until they split normally 50/75 mugs or you can just use plain a4 paper and discard when you see its dirty

jennywren
12-10-2012, 10:52 AM
God I envy people that can explain in simple terms, I would have like to answer that question but would have ran around the woods and back just to explain what you put in a few words, me I would have bored them to death with how I explain things well done mrs maggot

WorthDoingRight
12-10-2012, 01:07 PM
Well I was also suggesting it to try to reduce the element marks he was experiencing.

meldean
13-10-2012, 01:30 AM
Ahhh right im with you. Thanks for the wicked explanation.

RogerC
13-10-2012, 03:15 AM
Are you certain you cant control the temperature because in the ad it says "Temperature Range: 0-220 C". If you can't control the temperature how will you know if the heat is too high or too low? If you really can't control the temperature I think you will be wasting a great deal of mugs trying to 'guesstimate' the cooking time for each mug you put through it.

Charlie_
13-10-2012, 09:22 AM
Are you certain you cant control the temperature because in the ad it says "Temperature Range: 0-220 C". If you can't control the temperature how will you know if the heat is too high or too low? If you really can't control the temperature I think you will be wasting a great deal of mugs trying to 'guesstimate' the cooking time for each mug you put through it.

Looking at the description, then the pictures i can only see a timer, no temp control. Really puzzling

socialgiraffe
13-10-2012, 09:44 AM
Hi Charlie

I think you are right in that you can not adjust the temp. I have had a similar controller on a cheap one I purchased from Sunfly and ended up throwing it away because I could not adjust the temperature.

My suggestion would be to purchase a Infa Red Digital Thermometer which you can use to get a true reading of the temp that the press is heating to. Without this information it will be very difficult for you to get consistent results. These can be found on ebay for about £10-15 and is something you will find very useful as you get more and more into dye sub.

Charlie_
13-10-2012, 09:53 AM
Hi Charlie

I think you are right in that you can not adjust the temp. I have had a similar controller on a cheap one I purchased from Sunfly and ended up throwing it away because I could not adjust the temperature.

My suggestion would be to purchase a Infa Red Digital Thermometer which you can use to get a true reading of the temp that the press is heating to. Without this information it will be very difficult for you to get consistent results. These can be found on ebay for about £10-15 and is something you will find very useful as you get more and more into dye sub.

I do have a digital thermometer, I was just going by the description posted in the link and by the pictures. I do have a cheap mug press but it has temp and timer on it, theb results are all that I require from it. Cheap n cheerful yes but good consistent results.

socialgiraffe
13-10-2012, 09:56 AM
Hi Charlie

I must admit I am confused (which does not take much!!!)

I thought you said you couldn't adjust the temp on your machine, hence taking readings would be the way to go.

Have nothing against cheap kit, you should see some of mine!!!! As long as it works then thats all that matters mate.

Paul
13-10-2012, 10:01 AM
For £20 extra.you can get half descent mug press. What pushed you into this one?

Charlie_
13-10-2012, 10:02 AM
Hi Charlie

I must admit I am confused (which does not take much!!!)

I thought you said you couldn't adjust the temp on your machine, hence taking readings would be the way to go.

Have nothing against cheap kit, you should see some of mine!!!! As long as it works then thats all that matters mate.

Hello no i have no problems was just replying to link originally posted after looking at the description of the press and the pictures. They didn't tally....

Charlie_
13-10-2012, 10:04 AM
For £20 extra.you can get half descent mug press. What pushed you into this one?

Paul I paid £107 for my press with 36 mugs (crap) and 100 sheets of paper (also Crap) but the press has been first class from day one.............

Paul
13-10-2012, 10:09 AM
Great price. Has it got temp and time clocks? Mugs always good to practice on :-)

Charlie_
13-10-2012, 10:12 AM
Great price. Has it got temp and time clocks? Mugs always good to practice on :-)

it has one digital display but you set the times and temp. Then when you start timer it counts down on the display, until the buzzer lets you know its time up.