Join our Premium Membership now and save with Xpres, Listawood, Ink Experts, Ink Express and more! Just £10 per year.....Click the Membership link above.....

User Tag List

Similar Threads

  1. HP achieves what Sawgrass failed at? HP Stitch S300/S500/S1000
    By pisquee in forum General Dye-Sub Chit Chat
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 14-08-2020, 11:46 AM
  2. For Sale 3 x SubliDeck Jigs
    By bubbleimages in forum Buy It, Sell it, Give it away!
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 30-09-2018, 12:23 PM
  3. Phone jigs/molds question
    By Benberg in forum 3D Sublimation
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 19-01-2017, 03:23 PM
  4. mobile phone jigs
    By robbieswan in forum 3D Sublimation
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 26-07-2014, 09:43 PM
Page 1 of 4 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 31
  1. #1
    Premium Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2021
    Location
    Aylesbury
    Posts
    90
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Coaster Jigs - those who have tried and failed/succeeded

    Hi

    Come Christmas I'm going to need to print a lot of coasters, I can't tape these individually (time/cost will not permit) so I will need to print these in some sort of jig. I've tried a few dozen UniSub coasters in a MDF jig from MDP without issue but obviously the challenge is produce rather more than a few dozen so I'd like to understand what problems develop over time......

    I've read a few posts on here where people have tried with jigs (and mostly ultimately failed - unless someone can tell me different!). I'd be grateful if anyone can share their experiences of using jigs and the issues they encountered so I can try and build a solution with as few problems as possible.

    Thanks

    Gary

  2. #2
    Senior Member Mrteajunkie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
    Location
    Devon
    Posts
    1,088
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0
    Mentioned
    3 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Well I have a jig from mdp and at first it was great but I found it was easier to do them by hand especially after a few months of using the jig.
    I started to find coasters weren’t pressing properly and had patches in them as the mdf started to warp form the continued usage.

    I looked for alternatives but they all had downfalls and overall creating 50 coasters isn’t as bad As it sounds.

  3. The Following User Says Thank You to Mrteajunkie For This Useful Post:

    garysub (07-07-2021)

  4. #3
    Premium Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2021
    Location
    Aylesbury
    Posts
    90
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    It’s the volume, it will potentially be 0000’s per day.

    Yes, I can see that as a downfall of the MDF jigs, mine’s going that way already. Has anyone had a jig CNC machined from metal with any success?

  5. #4
    Premium Member UK Printed Mugs's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Poole, Dorset
    Posts
    2,110
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0
    Mentioned
    4 Post(s)
    Tagged
    1 Thread(s)
    There is no alternative. After years of experience and trying jigs nothing works well. If your printing hundreds a day then it is more labour you need. Employ people.

  6. #5
    Premium Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2021
    Location
    Aylesbury
    Posts
    90
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Thanks for this. What problems have you experienced? What “doesn’t work”?

    Quote Originally Posted by UK Printed Mugs View Post
    There is no alternative. After years of experience and trying jigs nothing works well. If your printing hundreds a day then it is more labour you need. Employ people.

  7. #6
    Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    Lancashire
    Posts
    214
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by garysub View Post
    It’s the volume, it will potentially be 0000’s per day.

    Yes, I can see that as a downfall of the MDF jigs, mine’s going that way already. Has anyone had a jig CNC machined from metal with any success?
    A different production method may be more appropriate IMO

  8. #7
    Premium Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2021
    Location
    Aylesbury
    Posts
    90
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by froggy View Post
    A different production method may be more appropriate IMO
    What have you got in mind? They are all unique/personalised.

  9. #8
    Premium Member UK Printed Mugs's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Poole, Dorset
    Posts
    2,110
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0
    Mentioned
    4 Post(s)
    Tagged
    1 Thread(s)
    Jigs available to buy warp easily. They are only for a small amount of coasters at a time. Paper position needs to be perfect. If you're going to print hundreds a day then you'll most certainly be printing on roll paper so difficult to cut perfectly for any jig. We print about 500 coasters a day and no issue for sticking down. Only takes an extra 5 seconds per coaster to put on heat tape on 3 sides. As you take the heat tape off when cool then you're spending the time quality checking the coaster as well so that takes no extra time. Believe me there is no jig option that is going to do mass coasters. If you're on your own then perhaps look into alternative methods of printing rather than sublimation e.g. UV.

  10. The Following User Says Thank You to UK Printed Mugs For This Useful Post:

    garysub (08-07-2021)

  11. #9
    Premium Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2021
    Location
    Aylesbury
    Posts
    90
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by UK Printed Mugs View Post
    Jigs available to buy warp easily. They are only for a small amount of coasters at a time. Paper position needs to be perfect. If you're going to print hundreds a day then you'll most certainly be printing on roll paper so difficult to cut perfectly for any jig. We print about 500 coasters a day and no issue for sticking down. Only takes an extra 5 seconds per coaster to put on heat tape on 3 sides. As you take the heat tape off when cool then you're spending the time quality checking the coaster as well so that takes no extra time. Believe me there is no jig option that is going to do mass coasters. If you're on your own then perhaps look into alternative methods of printing rather than sublimation e.g. UV.
    Thanks for this.

    So the real issues are warping of the jig causing uneven pressure when printing and the registration of the images to the coasters.

    I can imagine if you need pinpoint accuracy the jig approach is never going to work. I have the luxury of greater control over my artwork than most (we essentially create it ourselves) so we do not need to get too close to any edges or need everything to be mm perfect, we can adjust what we print for the limitations of how we print it.

    Thanks for your input, very useful.

  12. #10
    Senior Member Mrteajunkie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
    Location
    Devon
    Posts
    1,088
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0
    Mentioned
    3 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    I only tape two sides. when the press opens I flip them over and use a pick to release one side of the bottom of the coaster, then use the paper to flip it back over and remove the other side of the tape.

    I place them on a block of wood in singles to cool down.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •