bone china

[buzzworx]

hi
ive been asked to do a bone china mug and am wondering if i need a differnt tpye of mug press i have the press from lovecut and has worked fine on nomal earthenware mugs. any imput greatly recived

[JSR]

Bone China mugs are a lot smaller diameter than regular 10/11oz ceramic mugs. The ones from Listawood, for example, are 68mm diameter as opposed to the more normal 80mm.

The best way I've found to do them is with wraps in a mug oven - you just pad out the wrap with 5mm and 1.5mm silicon rubber. As the heat gets to the print through the inside of the mug, the time/temp works out about the same as a regular mug.

I believe it may be possible to use a regular mug press using the same "pad it out with silicon rubber" method, but I've never had any success doing that. Because the heat has to go through the extra rubber to reach the mug, you have to increase the temperature and the time taken to press. Despite trial & error, I never got consistent results - so I went to the "wrap and oven" option.

[Andrew]

As JSR says, the China mug will more than likely be narrower. So much so that you would need a different element attachment or switch to the oven with relevant wrap. It's probably worth trying out ovens as it will expand your range.

[bms]

As JSR says, the China mug will more than likely be narrower. So much so that you would need a different element attachment or switch to the oven with relevant wrap. It's probably worth trying out ovens as it will expand your range.

As an alternative there are mug press that have thicker blankets for doing the thinner mugs as well as the conical shaped latte style mugs.

[JSR]

As an alternative there are mug press that have thicker blankets for doing the thinner mugs as well as the conical shaped latte style mugs.

I considered this when I had 150+ Bone China mugs to do earlier in the year but I couldn't justify a brand new press just for the few Bone China mugs that I do. So I used the oven. Sure, it took longer, but I pocketed more of the profit.

Someone needs to produce a "standardised" heat press with optional "universal" heat blankets of different sizes. And I don't mean a "here today, gone tomorrow" Chinese "jack of all trades" press that won't fit the different sized blankets. It needs to be something that'll still be here in five years time, not one that suffers from the same "revolving door" policy that printer manufacturers have adopted.

[buzzworx]

thanks for all the info guys i'll have to turn the job away for now then as i dont have an oven at my unit. i'll look into a new press with the thicker blanket and latte mug style as i wanted to do them eventualy.

[Andrew]

We have the different size elements and often do substantial runs with the thinner style. We use these for the can mug and china styles. The Latte versions (big and small) are a pain, especially the small, shorter one. When trying to get enough pressure the angle of the element squashes the mug out. You need to overcome this by wedging in the mug to keep constant pressure. Smaller prints are easy to do on the Latte styles but full top to bottom prints are hard work..... they do look good when you get it right though.

I would think it worth while people trying the smaller element though as it just works the same as the standard one. Through the presses we can print many styles going from the stein right down to the kids cup and can mug with all the sizes in between, plus the Lattes which we try to avoid.

[JSR]

We use these for the can mug and china styles.

Andrew, how do you get on with the Can china mugs? I have a recurring customer for these but I find them very frustrating to do because of the horrible "barrel" shape that they have. Trying to get anywhere even remotely close to the top or bottom is a nightmare experience of frustration and wasted mugs. I much prefer the Windsor ones because, despite the lip, they're actually a lot straighter and more parallel than the Can ones.

Unless I'm doing very flat prints on the Can mugs (no more than about 2.5" high), I find I have to align them separately on the mug just to be sure they stay parallel - and then I'm taping all the way around each photo to avoid blow-out where the mug curves into its barrel shape.

I also find Can mugs often have very rough bottom edges - often they look like chips, but they're glazed so they can't be. The price means that even scrapping some leaves enough profit, but I'd much rather be doing the better mugs.

Do you have the same issue with Can ones? Or do you get them from a better supplier?

[Andrew]

The Can mug is the procelein style so not sure if we are on about the same one. Porcelein is a bit thicked so more often than not straighter than china. Many china mugs do have a barrel issue especially the taller ones. It's just a case of horses for courses on printing these. We offer the print area which suits each style of mug. Both print great within these areas and look good. The Can mug we can get to about 2mm of top and bottom and we have had these from a couple of different suppliers all the same. Xpres is usually okay on these. Most china mugs we can get to atleast 10mm of the bottom. 5 mm is usually the tightest we will go to on China.

Things seem to be changing on the supply of China mugs with very few offering styles now. I've had to go to Germany to cover an order I currently have in. Don't know what these are going to be like yet though on straightness.

[JSR]

Ah, you probably get different ones to me. I've been limited to Listawood ones - who do what they call "Can Fine China" and "Windsor Bone China". The Can one is a thicker mug, but it makes for a different offering to regular ceramic mugs - it's just that it's woefully barrel shaped for any photo over about 2.5" high and it's not particularly good quality.

The Xpres Porcelain mug looks (from the photo) to be much straighter. I wish they'd take paypal payments over the internet, though, then I'd order some. Might be worth trying to work something out to get some in to try out.