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How to Heatpress Your Mugs for Phenomenal Designs


One of the nicest ways to gift friends and family at Christmas and Birthdays is with personalised products. Of course, looking at websites which offer personalised gifts offers varying results. Things generally look … okay of course, but for many people, the quality of what is on offer can be somewhat lacking. For those that like a little bit of style with what they gift, there are options such as heat press machines which allow you to undertake the process yourself in order to get your gift just the way you want it.

But how exactly is it done? It’s rather simple, really. You’ll need the following to get started:

  • Heat Press (Ensure that your heat press is of excellent quality, and manufactured by a notable manufacturer. The heat presses at Novachrome for example are excellent quality, and supplied at very reasonable prices with excellent after-sales support.)
  • Sublimation Paper (Certain manufacturers say that their own paper is the very best for their own printers. For a heat press, you don’t have to worry about this)
  • Sublimation Ink (Again, certain manufacturers suggest their own inks. Use your own judgement!)
  • A damp, clean cloth
  • Blank Mugs (Or water bottles, or travel mugs, or water bottles, or… just about anything, really! The extent of your imagination is your limit.)
  • A computer with your graphics program of choice (For many people, Adobe Photoshop is the be all and end all. However, there are other options such as Adobe Illustrator, BlackInk, Corel Draw, as well as very many other options which are free, such as SAI or GIMP – as well as online options like Canva which does all of the design work for you, letting you modify as need be. Your choice is truly your own! Use what you feel most comfortable with!)

When you have the above, you’ll more than likely be raring to go. Use your graphics program of choice to start your design. Again, your imagination is your only boundary here, but we do recommend envisioning the final product, especially when it comes to actually printing your design onto your mug. Are the dimensions correct? Is it going to incorporate a boundary space for the handle in a good way?

When you have a design completed, it’s time to use your sublimation paper and ink. Sublimation has come a long way since the old days, and the act of using this specialised paper and ink is just as simple as printing anything out with an inkjet printer. Just load and print.

You may question why you don’t just use inkjet ink on this paper, but there is good reason for it. Sublimation ink is much more durable than inkjet ink – while of course inkjet ink was designed for paper, it wasn’t really designed for materials which may get very hot, such as coffee mugs. Using the wrong ink can lead to awkward results when you use your heat press, with even the nicest design reduced to nothing but a blurry mess.

Keep in mind that should you have text on your design, you’ll want to print it inverted. This will make sense later! When this has been completed, let it dry (no more than 10 minutes should do it.)

When you’re ready, it’s time for perhaps the only finicky part of the process. Line up the paper with the print facing the mug, and press the paper to it. At this stage, you’ll more than likely want to use your heat press in order to line things up perfectly, in a non-crooked manner. Apply moisture as needed.

The final stage is to apply the heat in order to seal the ink to the mug, and ensure that the ink will never come off. Place your mug into the heat press handle-side up, and run the machine appropriately. Allow your machine to complete its cycle (and always read the instructions! Each machine runs under different heats and therefore have different times, meaning the process will vary with each manufacturer.) and you’ll be done!

You’ll now have a completely custom (and completely gorgeous) gift, designed exactly the way you want it.

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