Over recent months I have been thinking more and more about starting my own crafty business. For years now I have loved working in education and coming up with fun crafty ideas for the children but with natural changes happening at my place of work I’ve really been feeling like there’s no time like the present to take that step. My adhd means that i thrive on variety and i plan over time to learn many differents arts and styles to make and sell and I’ll be sharing everything I learn along the way with you guys!
Here are some of the mugs I currently have on my etsy and shopify
So let’s start with sublimation!
I’ve always been interested in learning how to make cute custom printed items for family and friends. I’ve purchased a lot of photo mugs before and I decided that would be the first item that i would start with- mugs!
What you need for sublimation – the basics.
- Firstly you’re going to need a designated sublimation printer or a printer that is going to be converted to a sublimation printer (please note that once your printer is converted for sublimation there’s no going back! It will always be a sublimation printer). I use a low budget 4 colour converted printer as my starter printer – the Epson ecotank 1810. This is an a4 size printer that’s great for hobbyists or new small businesses looking for a good low budget starting point.
- Sublimation paper – ill be using ink experts style paper
- Heat resistant tape
- Blank sublimation suitable mugs – I highly recommend these mugs from longforte. I have tried many different mug brands and these ones give me the clearest images and text by far.
- Butcher paper (optional but highly recommended – take it from someone who has neglected to use it!)
- Software to upload and print designs. You can use cricut but for this example I’m using affinity as they enable me to use custom printer profiles for more vibrant colours (don’t worry I’ll explain this more in a moment)
- A design or image that you wish to use
- A mug press or your desired method of sublimation – i use this hobby mug press for mugs and certain bottles but you may want to do some research and find the most suitable press for your product range.
- Optional but recommended are heatproof gloves and tweezers or a weeding tool to remove the paper from the hot mug.
Things I wish I knew before I started
What an icc is..
An icc is a small digital file that enables you to get the best colours possible from your printer/ink. I use the icc provided by ink experts for the ink/printer bundle that i bought from them. I’ve purchased different iccs for different materials as that’s my preference but even using just the general ‘one for everything profile’ yields better colour that not using one at all. It’s worth noting though that not all softwares directly support the use of icc profiles. For example cricut design space does not directly support icc profiles which is why I use affinity to keep my colours accurate and vibrant.
The value of cleaning and preheating your mug blank.
Wiping over your mug to remove any dust and debris will help prevent white spots where the dirt has been and preheating the mug will remove moisture to help prevent blurring. Preheating the mug also helps to distribute heat to the more dense part of the mug such as the base. This should help encourage a better transfer in these sometimes problematic areas.
Finding the right pressure when using a standard mug press.
This was something i really struggled with when I started out. For a while, I was applying too much pressure and I was struggling with images ghosting and even an occasional mug handle popping off! Then, I used too little pressure and ended up with dull faded designs. To find the right pressure, place your blank into your press whilst it’s cool and ensure that the press can close fully without placing heavy pressure on the blank. Once the press is closed, the mug handle should not be able to move in the press. To ensure you don’t have too much pressure, simply open the press; if the mug bounces around significantly when you open it there is too much pressure and you will likely need to loosen it.
Using Templates
You can create or buy templates for double sided mug designs or full wrap mugs to help keep them even and in line the whole way around the mug. I use a simple rectangle that stretches around to where I want the design to begin on each side of the mug. You just need to ensure that you remove any lines or marks of your template otherwise you’ll end up pressing them onto your mug too!
How to sublimate your mug
Firstly you’re need to prep your design. I started by creating the template for my 11oz mug. I personally use this simple rectangle template measuring 21.5cm by 9cm (you can always create fancier ones or find them online or for purchase in places such as etsy).
Next I added my desugn to my template. I wanted my design to be printed on both sides of the mug so I placed the design on either end of my rectangle as I know near the ends is where ive measured my ideal printing zone to start.
Next I loaded my sublimation paper into my printer, selected print and then selected my printing settings. You’ll need to refer to the information provided with your paper to see which paper style to select. For my paper I use Epson matte. I then ensure that my quality is set to high, I switch off bidirectional printing to ensure my quality is at it’s best, and then most importantly, I make sure to select mirror image. If you do not mirror your image it will look right when printed on paper, but when you press it onto your blank it will be back to front!
Once your design is printed check it over for any errors or flaws. Youll probably notice that your colours look somewhat dull or faded, dont worry, this is totally normal and the colours will develop more vibrantly once printed! Next cut out your image. You can see the rectangle box that i use as a template. I always ensure that I cut just inside the lines and remove them completely so that they don’t end up printing onto my mug.
Next I put my mug into my cold mug press and ensure that the pressure is correct. As we said before; To find the right pressure place your blank into your press and ensure that the press can close fully without placing heavy pressure on the blank. Once the press is closed the mug handle should not be able to move in the press. To ensure you don’t have too much pressure simply open the press; if the mug bounces around significantly when you open it there is too much pressure and you will likely need to loosen it.
Once I’m happy with the pressure I switch on my press and set my heat and time to that recommended by the mug provider. I’m using my favourite mugs; the longforte ones and their recommended settings are 180 degrees for 180 seconds.
Once my press is warm I preheat my mug by popping it in for around 5-10 seconds. The mug should be warm but not too hot to handle
I then take my design and wrap it around tight to my mug. It’s important to make sure the design is tight to ensure accurate printing and to prevent air getting under it and causing the image to ghost. I take my heatproof tape and place a strip under the handle and across the two ends pulling them tight and cinching them together. I then put a strip going downwards securing either side to make a H shape. I always do one final check to ensure the design is wrapped as tightly as possible. If you have butcher paper it’s wise to cut out a piece and wrap it and tape it over your design, this prevents ink getting onto your press and then printing onto later designs.
Once I’m happy I place my design into my mug press. I look it over to check that all parts of the design are covered by the heated foam pressure pads, and then I close the press and start the countdown.
Once the time is up I remove the mug from the mug press (I recommend using heat proof gloves) and then use tweezers to remove the tape and paper straight away. I take a moment to admire my handiwork (how gorgeous is this tiger?) and then i pop my mug down on a heatproof surface to cool before use.
And that’s it!
The important thing to remember is that it’s all a learning process. Only through trial and error and plenty of practise can you truly get better. Trust me, this is coming from someone with a whole shelf full of ‘oopsie’ error mugs. It does get easy peasy In time!
Over the next few weeks I intend to share more sublimation tutorials and how to create digital artwork or alternatively how to use AI. If there are any other subjects that you’d like me to cover then let me know!
