Bleeding Text on mug - any ideas please?

[AdamB]

Hi Guys,

as I said in my post a few days ago ............. I thought I was squared away with the mug stuff, but aparently not!

After finalising my design I got a mug that was 100% perfect. The missis was just about to put the dish-washer on (o.k - I was, it's one of my chores!) so I thought i'd stick the mug through as I had heard of fading etc when using "power-ball" tablets etc.

So it went through a cycle and then I examined it - great I thought, perfect!

I stuck it on the draining board and then the next day I picked it up and noticed some bleeding around where I have some text.

I have uploaded an image below.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/woodentop/DyeSubImage_01.jpg

The bleeding is really faint but noticable - I notice it, so it isn't good enough in my opinion. You may need to move your screen around to see the bleed I am on about which is on top of the letters that I have marked with black arrows.

Anyone know why, or is it a case of "these mugs are not dishwasher proof" as I first thought? I purchased them from a seller on e-bay that has sold loads of stuff and has 100% feedback so I thought there would be no problem.

I have just checked the item description and it states the following:


Special for customized designs
Size: 11oz international standard
Size: 8.2 x 9.6cm
Material: Ceramic
Smooth shiny white surface,Straight Sides

Double Coated

Packing :42x29x35 Double Sided Cartons (36/carton)

Please note this mugs are specially coated for sublimation printing,heat press in our ISO 14001 certified factory

But nothing about being dishwaser-proof?

Any ideas please?

[Paul]

it may be the chamicals in dishwasher then... stick to dishwasher proof from reputable seller. thats what i say...

[Andrew]

Whether it is dishwasher proof or not shouldn't really have that problem as that just tends to be a fade problem over time. I am more inclined to think that the mugs weren't dipped in water after being removed from the heat source. Dark colours onto a plain white backing can have these marks on some designs as the gassing stage still is releasing at the high temp of the ceramic. Dip straight away and then inspect and if you like then also put it in the dishwasher to make sure.

[Paul]

yes you can dunk them in water but then expect some mugs folling apart in somone hand :( as they tend to crack.

[AdamB]

So - without trying to sound too obvious and a little dim .................. does the dipping into cold water as soon as they are done - have to be done straight away?

If so, this may be where I went wrong!

You see, I did the mug, this one in particular and although I knew about the 'dipping' thing I didn't have a bucket or anything. I thought I would walk to the bathroom and run it under the cold tap!

So it came out of the press, I looked at it congratulating myself for a few minutes, I then walked to the bathroom and gave it a quick rinse under the cold tap to cool down.

This is probably where I went wrong then dohhh (homer doh!).

It just seems, a little frightning to stick something so hot in a bucket of water - you (or I) think that it's going to crack or something!

[Andrew]

Yep, straight away. This stops the gassing process. As Paul mentioned and as they are cheaper ebay mugs, you might want to use tepid water or coolish atleast.

[AdamB]

ummmmm - it seems as though it may be all of my own making then?

Just to be sure, I think I will order some stock from a reputable seller (as reccomended).

Many thanks to all for your speedy replies and advice.

AB

[AdamB]

Just to give a little more info - I e-mailed the seller on e-bay and asked him if they were dishwasher proof - the answer NO.

That's probably why nothing is mentioned in the description then!

I just presumed (as others would) that they were.

[jaffacat]

Hi sorry to hijack your thread but wondered when the mug has been pressed do I whip it out straight away and dunk into cold or tepid water to stop the process? how long do you keep in in there for and do you dry it with a teatowel or something?

Thanks Lisa

[Andrew]

Hi Lisa. It is just a quick dunk in and out to drop the temp which stops the gassing process. Below 160c I think it is the ink stops turning to a gas. They will then dry by themselves but you can wipe them if needed. Rarely do we dunk mugs just some designs now and then seem to be more prone to a gas bleed. All over, full colour images seem to be the least affected.

[Kaz]

I always dunk mine in tepid water when they come out the press, in fact, I don't just dunk, I submerge them and leave them in the basin until the next mug comes out :)

[bms]

The cool water takes the immediate heat out of the mug. At 180 degrees the ink can still be gaseous and cause a blur. Putting the mug into a cooler environment reduces the temp of the mug immediately and stops the inks bleeding. The shock to some cheaper mugs can cause them to crack so have the water warm/tepid. Leaving them in the water won't cause any problems - we can have up to 10 in a bowl at one time (depends on size of your bowl) - take them out and dry them with a tea towel or something similar. The mug will be cooler than 180 degrees even if you dunk the mug quickly so the length of time in the water isn't important - it's just to reduce the heat quickly and prevent any possibility of blurring.

If you wanted to test this on a mug then print bright blue next to bright yellow and leave the mug to cool naturally. You might see a green blur where the blue and yellow have blended together as the inks were still gaseous when the mug came out of the mug press.

Most people use the water method to cool, but I know of others than never use this process. Depends on the image really and if you live in the Artic Circle ;)

[jaffacat]

Thanks very much, I hadnt realised you needed to do that so that is a learning before ive received my mug press and wasted some mugs.

Cheers

Lisa

[Glen]

Like Martin said Lisa it all depends as we have never used the dunk method in 7 years of printing and never had any problems yet.but it is dam cold here...lol. ;)

[jaffacat]

Thanks Glen, where are you the artic?

Think I will try some without and with & see how I go - just waiting for the mug press to arrive from Martin hopefully tomorrow/friday

Lisa