Mouse Mats Frayed edges,

I read a post in a thread about reducing sticking and rough edges on cloth mouse mats. Here's the thread link:

https://www.dyesubforum.co.uk/vbforu...ion-Mouse-Mats

I wanted to ask a question about the pre-pressing process but I thought it best not to revive a 9 year-old thread!

One of the posters said that they pre-pressed the mouse mats for 10-15 seconds to prep the mats before applying the transfer paper and then pressing as normal (currently I do mine for 50 secs @ 200c).

Sorry for the newbie question, but that's what I am; this pre-press process I assume is with the heat press at the normal pressing temperature, or does it need to be at a lower temperature and then raised to the pressing temperature? If I pre-press a blank mouse pad at 200c before applying the transfer paper, won't this spoil the mouse mat?

I'd appreciate any tips, as although my images are perfect, sometimes I get some pretty nasty looking frayed edges. I considered going with sewn edge mouse mats, but I can't seem to find any reviews about them.

FYI: the mats I'm using are these ones from Xpres: https://www.xpres.co.uk/fabric-mouse...cm-x-6mm-thick

Marty.

That'll be a no comment then!

I don’t have any experience with these but have
pressed many fabric coasters and I only press @190 for 60 seconds.
The frayed edges if they are that bad I just bin them or use them for other other free projects.

Pre pressing at the "sublimation" temperature will not damaged the mats.

Pre pressing is generally advised on fabrics as it removes moisture from the fabric and also flattens out the fabric so there are no creases. Personally I would only ever pre press for a maximum of 5-10 seconds, although I have never pre pressed when doing mouse mats