Sublimation on mug starts from selecting the desired image, print it on the transfer paper and then that image with the help of heat transfer machine is pasted on to the mug. The image pasted in this way is long lasting and it will not vanish after washing even the color does not fade, no matter how many times you wash the mugs. the sublimated colors show their bright aspect and bright and vivid color make the appearance of mug outstanding.
Sublimation printing on mugs is a new trend. People want to print the images of their loved ones on mugs or famous sayings to make the cup more memorable and beautiful. Now its emerging trend to gift these customized mugs to loved ones. If you want to start your business of sublimation on mugs, you have to search for a good sublimation printer . In today’s world there is intense development in the field of technology which has made tasks very easy and at the same time very difficult.
The search of a best sublimation printers for mugs is really hard but when you keep in mind the basic features which you want in your printer, the choice becomes easy. It is always recommended that before you finalized any printer or device , you have to check the market before making your purchase. This activity helps you to find the best printer for you which is budget friendly and with low maintenance price.
For sublimation two brands are going side by side in performance and giving best quality results: Epson and Sawgrass sublimation printers. Both companies are providing printers with awesome features, but you have to choose a printer which is closely related to your requirements, because it is nearly impossible to find a 100% perfect printer.
In this article you will discuss how to sublimate mugs and different sublimation printers, their pros, and cons to make your choice easier.
How to Sublimate Mugs
Sublimation is a worldwide process for printing desired art work on different substrates or blanks. You can sublimate different materials either these are soft like fabric or hard like ceramic tiles. Now stainless steel is also sublimated. All that you need for sublimation is the coating of polyester on to the substrate you are going to sublimate.
Sublimation on coffee mugs is now trending widely. Different companies sublimate mugs for branding. At the same time people also printing their favorite artwork on the mugs to gift it to their loved ones. You can sublimate different natural scenes, your pictures and text of your choice on mugs.
These images look beautiful with vibrant color and are water resistant and can not be scratched. The images look like new for longer till the life of the mug. Sublimation on mugs is really easy and budget friendly process, you don’t need to spend a lot of money for the purpose.
Followings are the requirement of sublimation on mugs,
- Sublimation printer
- Ceramic mug
- Heat press machine for mugs
- Sublimation ink
- Heat resistant tape
- Sublimation paper
- Heat resistant Mitt oven
- Scissors
Method
First of all chose the image or design you want to sublimate on your mug. Then print that image onto the transfer paper through sublimation printer. The colors of the prints in image may feel dull but they will be fine on the mugs.
Prepare the mug for sublimation. Remove any type of lint or fingerprints from the mug, try to touch the mug very little. Cut the sublimation paper according to the design and wrap it around the mug very carefully. Now secure the image with the help of tape.
Place the mug in heat transfer machine for mugs and continue to heat press the mug at 400F for about 150 to 200 seconds. Remove the mug from the press very carefully as the mug will be very hot and remove tape and sublimation paper with care. Here your sublimated mug with your favorite design is ready to use. You can use it freely because it does not get scratchy and is water resistant.
Epson EchoTank ET-2720
The all in one printer that is compact in size, echo-friendly and low in price is Epson EchoTank ET-2720. Its size is so adjustable thar it can be fir on any place and provide you ease of work. The innovative printer is cartridge free and use ink tanks for printing. The ink tanks can hold large amount of ink but it uses little ink and do not waste the ink.
Precision core Heat Free technology is provided which ensures the professional level prints. The high resolution of the printer is another significant feature which tells us that the results will be awesome.
It also offers scan through flatbed scan and can copy, both features ensure best results. The ink is enough to run for two years so that you can print without any fear of ink running out. Moreover the bottles are designed to minimize the ink wastage during ink refilling.
The color display helps a lot for navigation and also connecting with phones to customize your favorite image on mugs. All these feature helps you a lot to print your desired designs on mugs flawlessly.
- Unique Micro Piezo Technology for best results
- Ink tanks with more space for ink
- Ink in bottles is enough to run for two years
- Wireless connections to connect with phones, tabs and laptops
- High printing speed with premium quality prints
- Scan and copy features along printing
- Color display for controlling printer
- It works only with Epson inks
- Connection with Wi-Fi may cause problems
- Ink may clogged in nozzles if not use for sometime
Summary
Epson EchoTank ET-2850
The best compact size printer ideal for any family. Heat Free Micro Piezo Technology and pigmented black ink ensure best sublimation printing on mugs. The innovative printer is free of tiny cartridges and use ink tanks which can hold a handsome amount of ink to ensure more prints before you run out of ink.
Moreover, the printer comes with ink which is enough to run for two years. So, you can sublimate a number of mugs. The maximum media size it can print is 8.5” × 14” and can sublimate different types of paper.
The main features of the printer include color display, auto double-sided printing, ink tanks to store large amount of ink, flatbed scanner with high resolution, copy, wired and wireless connections for ease of printing.
Epson printers work well only with Epson inks and will damage print quality if any other ink is use in printer. The printer has two years warrant and replacement of full unit.
- Cartridge free printing
- Ink tanks with large capacity of ink
- High resolution prints
- Flatbed scanner and copier
- Auto double-sided printing
- It can print media up to 8.5” × 14”
- Wireless connection for easy navigation
- Voice activated system
- Easy setup
- It works only with Epson ink
- Wireless connection may cause problems
All in one printer provide ease of scanning and copy along the printing feature. It is ideal printer for a home business for being compact in size and cheap in price giving outstanding results.
Summary
We find this printer more reliable because of its compact design, budget friendly and saves a lot of ink during printing and re-filling is also spill free. The auto double sided printing also saves paper. So you can buy and use this printer to start your mug sublimating business.
Epson WorkForce WF-7720
All in one inkjet printer is nor made specially for sublimation but it can be use as a sublimation printer by using sublimation ink. Its simplified and compact design can easily fit on small desktop giving ease of printing.
Epson WorkForce WF-7720 offers dual tray with the capacity of 500 sheets, 250-sheets each tray, a rear feed, and an output tray with 125-sheets capacity and auto document feeder with 35 sheets capacity. The color display is 4.3” which allows you to control printer easily during the printing. Auto dual printing is another interesting feature of the printer.
The print quality of Work Force-7720 is comparable to that of laser printers saving a lot of energy which is consume during laser printing. Thus we can say that this printer is worth buying for achieving professional level prints at cheap price.
Epson WorkForce uses Genuine Epson ink cartridges for better results. It will not accept any third party cartridges and will damage print quality if used forcefully.
It offers wireless connection and networks to connect with Android, iPhones, PC and Tablets. This feature makes it very attractive as it helps a lot in enhancing mug sublimation business as clients can bring their relative design in their mobile phones. It also offers Ethernet and USB connections.
- Print quality is comparable to laser printer
- Saves 80% of energy as compared to laser printer
- Auto dual paper tray with 500 sheets capacity
- Auto document feeder with 35-sheets capacity
- Works with Genuine Epson ink cartridges
- Wireless connections help in customizing design on mugs
- Wide format scan up to 11×17”
- Borderless printing up to 13” ×19”
- Voice activated Alexa command is also available
- It will not work with non Epson ink.
- Scanning cause problems
- USB connection may not work properly
Summary
This all in one printer is widely used due to its quality prints that are comparable to that of laser prints consuming less energy. Maximum paper holding capacity with fast printing speed makes this printer desirable. As the quality if images is beyond expectations, sublimation on mugs is ultimately go flawlessly. This feature will help you enhance your sublimating business easily.
Epson Artisan 1430
If you are going to start a small business of sublimating mugs, then this printer is for you. The most important feature of the printer, which makes it more attractive and reliable is the quality of prints with vivid colors. It delivers smooth gradation in color, and it can deal with media up to 13” ×19”.
It offers high-definition images in short time. It enables you to print in legal size paper as well as CD/DVD prints easily. As it uses 6 colors Claria HD ink, so the prints are long lasting and do not fade being water resistant.
Epson Artisan 1430 is the printer which professional chose because of its extraordinary performance. It also offers you wireless connectivity to convert your favorite artwork on your mugs.
Summary
If you have small business, go for it. As it is choice of professionals for its best results in the field of sublimation, we also use this printer for our mugs sublimation.
Sawgrass Virtuoso SG-500
Sawgrass printers are widely use for sublimation as these printers are made only for sublimation. Sawgrass sublimation printers yield the prints of professional level. The printer comes with bundle of Sawgrass UHD Starter ink set, 100 premium sheets, blanks and designs.
It deals with media size 8.5 ×14” and can handle media up to 13×19”. The printer is new version of its predecessor SG-400 with more advance technology. The size and design of both printers is same so you can easily use the accessories of SG-400 like by-pas tray in SG-500.
This eco friendly printer prints with high resolution of 4880×1200 dpi allowing you to print your custom artwork on mugs flawlessly. The energy efficient printer prints at fast speed and also offers wireless connections along the wired one for the ease of connections and giving you a wide range for customized designs.
- Use of Sublijet HD Ultra High-Definition Inks for best results
- Prints vibrant colors of high resolution
- Compatible with predecessor SG-400
- It can print media up to 8.5 ×14”
- More energy efficient printer
The printers are costly as compared to other sublimation printers
Summary
We recommend Sawgrass printers because despite being costly printers these printers ensure quality images. While starting a new business of sublimating mugs, quality of prints should be the priority to your business to grow rapidly. There is no compromise on the quality of prints.
Final Verdict
Printing on mug is a new technology, people customize their mugs according to their choice. Now there are a lot of companies which offer their sublimation printers for printing on mugs. Here in this article, we have discussed the more reliable printers which perform the function better than any other printer.
The printers discussed here are cost effective and easy to use, inkjet printers can also use for the purpose just by changing the type of ink. You can read how to change regular printer into sublimation printer for more information. Selecting the right printer is not easy so always have complete research about the pros and cons of the printers you want to choose for best decisions.
In our opinion Epson printers are best for the purpose as they are budget friendly but give professional level performance.
FAQs
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Can we sublimate regular mugs?
Yes, we can sublimate regular mugs. The only thing which is required is the coating of polyester on the mugs.
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What is needed for sublimating mugs?
You need sublimation printer, sublimation printer, heat press machine for mugs and sublimation tape for the purpose.
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What is the ideal temperature for mug sublimation?
About 380-400Fo is required for sublimation on mugs.
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What is the time of heat press for sublimating mugs?
You have to heat press the mug for about 150-200 seconds for best results.
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Can we wash the sublimation mug?
Yes, the image makes strong bond with the mug so it will not get scratchy or fade by washing. The images are long lasting and water resistant.
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Can we use sublimation printers for mug?
Sublimation printers give vibrant, bright and long lasting image. So it is ideal to use sublimation printers for mugs.
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Which sublimation printer is best for mugs?
In our opinion all Epson printers are best for sublimation on mugs but Epson EchoTank ET-2720 is preferred because of its professional quality images at low cost.
