Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
Could someone please give me directions for using my geo knight mug press. I am using epson 1400 printer,sublimation ink, coated mugs , 400 degrees. I can't get anything to transfer to my mugs.
If you are using the correct mugs, ink, paper and temperature (and it sounds like you are as long as you are printing on the correct side of the paper as mentioned) then the remaining variables are pressure and time. Make sure you are tightening your press so that there is a medium-firm pressure across the mug - you should feel some resistance when you close the press but it should not be so tight as to break the mug or anything. Typically for a mug you would be looking at around 4 minutes depending on which coating you are using. Softer coatings require a little less time or temp and harder coatings take more time.
You might tell us exactly what and how you are doing your mugs so we can see where you are going wrong. (Brand or mugs, type of paper, amount of time and pressure, etc.) You also might need to verify that your press is actually coming up to temperature correctly, if it is not reaching 400 degrees then it isn't working properly - but even at lower temps you should be getting a partial image on your mugs.
Hi. As a guidance, I bake my mugs for three and a half minutes at 200 degrees C (400F).
Pressure is very important with mugs and the mug needs to be clamped really firmly. Try clamping the mug when the press is cold. If you can move the mug at all, you don't have enough pressure applied.
Generally speaking, you need to print on the whiter side of the paper. With some papers this colour difference is marginal, but there is a right and wrong side to the paper. The sublimation coating is only on one side.
Sometimes I cannot work out which is the right side to print on looking at the colour ( Happens as you get older ) so I wet my fingers and with the paper I use the side that is tackier to a wet finger is the side to print on .
Yesterday I got out my mugs and decided through trial and error that I would conquer my cheapo Chinese mug press if it killed me. I also followed the directions of the many wonderful people here who offered their suggestions and support.
First I made sure that my mugs had no wiggle room in the press. Then I decided to start off low and work my way up. Doing it the opposite nearly started a small fire in my home last month (400 degrees for 6-8 minutes - per instructions from supplier). So my success story? 375 degrees for 3 minutes and they came out perfect every time. I pulled the transfer off right away and set the cup down gently in room temperature water to cool for a few seconds and to stop the sublimation process.
I made 6 of them just to make sure it wasn't a fluke or something. The pictures were vivid, the colors outstanding.. Wow what a difference from the washed out mugs, sticky surface, and the mushy out of focus pictures of my first mug. Not to mention the fact that it didn't smoke this time or scorch the paper!
I want to thank all of you for your help. I did not have enough pressure at first and my temp was too high, and I was pressing them too long. Guess what? I'm now in the mug business.
Using a mug press 
Thank you all very much. I wasn't using enough pressure. This forum is so great to have somewhere to go to get info.
