What were your initial problems with Neil Bros? Was it just supply issues?
What were your initial problems with Neil Bros? Was it just supply issues?
No it was not supply, they've always been very good with me. I want to be quite careful here as I'm not 100% certain my assertion for moving was correct and I wouldn't want to throw stones on that basis. I was basically getting the same sort of issues that "gazfocus" is having with his prints (blurring at points on the mug where it would appear the surface is not sufficiently straight). After PM messages with gazfocus it turned out we both had the same issue with the same mugs/supplier. Most of our remaining setup was different. I felt like I had exhausted every other possibility and was left with the mugs (which had always been fine for the 3-4 years prior, so I was reluctant to think it was them). I tested a few alternatives and got better results although at this time I was also experimenting with new ovens, wraps etc - I did a bit of a wholesale review of everything I was using/doing. I ended up moving partly to "try someone else" and partly because I got in early and got a low price from Listawood before they revised their pricing for Christmas 2021.Quote:
Originally Posted by Justin
I have since switched ovens and wraps and I'm slowing starting to think it wasn't necessarily the mugs at all. In fact, I think it's too simplistic to say "it's the mugs or it's the wraps or it's the paper) as it's always a combination of everything. I think it comes down to how well/closely the paper wraps to the mug which really is a combination of all three. A "curvy" mug can be overcome with a very tight wrap but even a "straight mug" will give problems if your wraps are too loose/old/stretched/long. I've also moved from 10oz mugs to 11oz mugs because I think they have a slightly larger circumference, so all other things being equal, any wrap has increased pressure.
Gary
We've also found that external temperate can have a big influence in how well an uneven mug will print.Quote:
Originally Posted by garysub
Using the Xpres issue we've been having lately. We noticed that when the weather was particulaly cold, we would get blurring in the same spot on every mug. It was always where there was a more significant dip in the side of the mug, which always seemed to be the same place.
As a trial, we put a load of trays of mugs in our bathroom overnight (as it's the only room in our warehouse with a radiator). Came in today, used the mugs from the bathroom and not had a single issue.
Makes me wonder if those issues we both had over 2020/2021 were simply due to the cold weather.
My comment from another thread....
I ran a small oven that held six mugs for a while (9 would have been possible), so not quite the same scale. My studio was always cold in the winter so I used a second oven set at 40 degrees to preheat mugs, my random failures became very few. Bonus was I stopped making adjustments from winter to summer.
This would illiminate the cold spots issue.
Janners
Now I always found the xpres mugs to have no issues but mdp mugs are a nightmare if you don’t warm them up first.
so I always warm up the mdp mugs in either hot water or a bit before pressing or put them on our hot plate on low for a few minutes to warm them through. (Got this tip from olly)
since warming mugs I get little to no issues.
Just revisiting this thread...we are still having issues with mugs and I'm really at the end of my teather now. Using the Xpres 10oz mugs (the leftover stock from Christmas) we are getting a high level of failures in the ovens. We have tried everything to resolve the issues, leaving them in a room with heating over night, pre heating the mugs in the oven at 40 degrees, different paper, different times, different wraps, we've even relocated the ovens to see if the one end of the building was colder than the other, and nothing is helping.
Xpres have been really good at trying to make suggestions but still nothing has worked and I'm so ready to throw the towel in.
Can you post examples of the issues you're having?
Hey Justin. I’ve added a photo below. Thanks :)https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...53358a887d.jpgQuote:
Originally Posted by Justin
Hi gazfocus
In my experience that's lack of closeness of the paper to the mug (the "gap" helping the ink to spray out), I'd "guess" that the wrap is loose or rather the wrap on that mug was loose.
I remember back in the old days when I used a mug press some mugs would be tighter/looser in the press than others as circumference varies. Maybe that particular mug with that particular wrap was too loose (that wrap on a different mug might work and/or that mug with a tighter wrap might work). I know it's expensive (and so probably not a long term solution) but do you get any such problems if you were to shrink wrap?
Regards
Gary
gazfocus
Another thought.....how "tall is your paper" i.e. what dimensions?
Gary