Green Blur at bottom of mug

[sika]

Hi guys I’m still pretty new to his and I’m getting mixed results.

So i bought my Mugs, Press, Ricoh GX7000 and paper from Xpres, I’m pressing at 180'c for 180 seconds and I’m getting crisp sharp images but at the very bottom its wavy and in the corners usually green,

I'm pressing with light pressure as instructed, I’ve increased pressure and its helped but I’m still getting a tiny bit of green in the corners I’m sure if i took pressure up it would fix it or start bubbling the picture lol any ideas ?

What pressure do you guys use etc? Manual said not to apply to much pressure as it could damage the heating element and the instructions say light pressure but i get these problems if i do so

Anybody else have a similar setup?

thanks for your time

[Andrew]

A photo of the probelm print would help. It does sound like not enough heat getting to the surface which could be pressure related. You will find most sublimation mugs have a taper on the last 5mm of the base and if you run a straight edge along the body of the mug this will be obvious. With it being green that is just probably related to the colour you are printing which I would assume is a dark one. Many don't print all the way to the bottom. Leaving just a 2mm gap will help and is not really noticeable. As for pressure, I would go for firm. As long as you manage to shut the press with one finger then that should show you are not over tightening. You are basically tightening more to try and take up the curve of the mug. Not really ideal for the heat element.

[sika]

I'm leaving a 2+mm gap at the bottom and top already, i wanted to print top to bottom but there is no way the heats going to allow the transfer , ive put the pressure up quite a bit now and will test it later today but i did one last night with medium pressure and i still had the slightest green hinge in the corner (should be black), its got me thinking its the mugs, they are from xpres, anybody else tried these?

[smitch6]

is it happening the same place every time?
have you tried turning the mug round to make sure there isn't a cold spot on the element?

i have a similar thing with mine and have to leave a good 5mm gap at the bottom

i press my mugs on firm pressure

[sika]

Yeah i've tried turning it around, also i had the heating element changed last week as it had some bubbles in the teflon sheet, i'll have a play around with pressure today and report back

[Andrew]

Also try heating the base of the mug before printing. The base takes more heat during the printing process as there is more ceramic there.

[sika]

you mean by putting it in the press? how hot would you let the bottom of the mug get before putting your design on it? warm to touch?

[Andrew]

Put it on a radiator or hob, pour boiling water in, anything really to warm the base. It just speeds up the sublimation process in that area as it is the last place to start otherwise.

[smitch6]

i have tried that i left the mug on an oil heater for about 15mins before i pressed it
it was really hot but didn't seem to make any difference to the missing bit at the bottom

[Andrew]

It basically comes down to direct contact with the heat source. If the bottom of the mug tapers away from the heat source then there is the problem. Either lifting the print higher above the taper , increasing pressure to take up the gap, getting a straighter mug etc. are a few of the options. This is part of the fun of sublimation printing.