Notes on DyeWraps

Heat Press Method Instructions

Notes on DyeWraps
Be sure to wrap the entire area of the substrate with protective paper, There will be a discoloration of the substrate should the wrap come into contact with it.

Wraps should last for 300 or more impressions. To ensure the proper lifecycle, please closely follow these instructions.

Wraps will fail due to improper torque applied to the fastener. You can ensure appropriate torque, time-after-time, through the use of a mechanized nut driver with an adjustable torque clutch. These devices are relatively inexpensive, $20.00 and up, and easy to use. We recommend the Sears Craftsman 4.8V Pistol cordless screwdriver.

To calibrate the nut driver's torque, simply finger tighten the nut on the wrap, then tighten further, using a maximum of 2 turns, with an ordinary wrench. Adjust the clutch setting on the nut driver to 1 and begin tightening the nut while cycling upward through the torque settings until the nut actually turns. At this point, set the clutch to 1 number less than the current setting and you're finished.

Another necessary step is to employ a double-redundant mug wrap system, at a minimum, and a triple-redundant system, ideally. That is, if mugs are being imaged back-to-back in a production run, then you need a matching quantity of cool mug wraps to swap in for subsequent runs. So, if you're running 72 banks at a time, you will need at least 144 total wraps to do the job. It is easier to do this with a triple-redundant system, as the term "cool" is less subjective than with a double-redundant system. Having three-times the necessary wraps is absolutely the best way to preserve them over time.

When a hot wrap is fastened to a bank it causes the material to irreversibly stretch. As the material expands it puts undo force on the glue bindings, which will eventually come loose. Further, it is a bad idea to subject the image to transient heat before transfer.

Should your wrap come apart at a glue binding, you can re-secure it with automotive heat-resistant gasket glue. Beware of the rather lengthy setting time of 1 week for the repair to fully cure.

The fastener will permanently seize if it is not lubricated properly. Lubrication of the threaded shaft is required before you use it for the first time and periodically thereafter. We recommend heat-resistant bearing grease with a colored (usually white, red or green) tracer. The colored tracer provides a visual verification that the grease is still intact.
Clamp or clip on wraps must always have a layer of talcum powder on them to prevent any binding with the surface of the substrate. Properly talcing these wraps also will extend their life.

To re-talc a wrap, clean both sides with a soft clean rag and a general purpose cleaner. Be sure to remove any larger portions of debris by hand before cleaning the rubber. After the rubber has dried, apply talcum powder to both sides using a clean dry cloth. Shake off any excess amount of powder. Repeat the process at any time you notice the wrap is dirty, sticking to the substrate or not providing good transfer results.

If wraps are stored in an environment with other wraps, there always is the chance that the wrap hardware will damage the rubber on these other wraps. The best way to prevent this is to store the wraps rolled up neatly in a box or unrolled flat on a table or shelf.


Best tech tips to getting a good mug every time:

Get a good oven. If you can find a Cuisinart brick oven , Model Number BRK-300, then definitely purchase this oven. These ovens take longer to heat up but tend to lose less temperature when you open the door. This oven also tends to have a more consistent heat in all parts of the oven. Unfortunately this oven is discontinued. Currently we are using a Breville Convection Smart Oven Model B0V800XL/A.

If your oven has a convection feature it may or may not be a good thing. With the Cuisinart BRK-300 we get horrible results with convection on. When we use the Breville oven mentioned above we only get good results with the convection turned on. In a nutshell each oven is different and will require testing on your part to see whether or not convection is a good choice.

Make sure the oven is actually at 400°. Many ovens will show that they are at the set temperature when they are actually much, much colder. Use an internal oven thermometer that you can leave in the oven and gauge the true temperature of the oven. If you set your mugs into an oven that is the wrong temperature you will get an undercooked mug. Do not use a laser thermometer to test the temperature.

Keep your Mug wrap in the best possible shape. Before using the mug wrap again on another mug make sure it has completely cooled off to prevent stretching and wear and tear.

Make sure you have the perfect pressure on your bolt style mug wrap by going finger tight then using a socket wrench to turn it two more revolutions. This will provide the perfect pressure. If you have an electric drill with torque control you can set it so it quickly tightens to exactly this amount of tension. Start on the lowest setting and raise if needed. If you do not have enough pressure this can cause an undercooked, or blurry mug.

Measure the height of the mug between the two parts that taper and make your image ( template ) that tall or less. If you try to image in the tapered section you will get a spotty uneven image there.

Measure from handle to handle but be sure to leave about ¾”-1” gap at the handle, on both sides. The reason for this gap is most mug wraps are not going to get good contact and pressure in these areas.

Trim the top and bottom edge so none of the paper goes into the tapered section. If excess paper sticks over into the tapered section the paper could wrinkle and the wrinkles could go down in to the imaging area. Also use an extra sheet of paper, taped on, with these same measurements to help protect the wrap from sublimation ink.

Trim the left and right side with a little bit of paper so you can attach heat tape over a section that doesn’t have an image. Use enough tape so the image will not slip and is on tight. We prefer heat tape as it is less likely to slip and it is easier to place the image exactly where you want .

Not every mug is perfectly round and occasionally one will have peaks and valleys in it. You will feel the transfer touching some places and hovering in others. If you see this and are not getting perfect results you can lightly wet the entire transfer so the paper is easier to push down into these valleys. If you see a pinched transfer in any area after cooking you may need to wet the transfer or lessen your pressure slightly.

When you remove the mug be sure to use the right type of gloves so you won’t get burned.

If you are unsure if you have cooked the mug enough you can peel up the corners and check for a good image. As long as the paper does not move you can put it back and cook longer. If you have to do this then your oven may not be hot enough, you may need to increase your pressure ( if you use too much pressure you will may stretch out the wrap over time, or you may need to cook longer).

When you have finished the mug you want to get the transfer off as quickly as possible or you want to cool the mug off as quickly as possible. This is to stop the sublimation process. If you are doing a ceramic mug you can put it into room temperature water with the transfer on to quickly cool the mug.

If and when you mess up a mug be sure to keep it so you can use it later for testing. If you can manage a solid RGB black from top to bottom and handle to handle then you are doing good.

If you take time to experiment and learn your particular oven you will be making perfect mugs every time. If you take care of your mug wrap, oven and prepare the mug properly you will get a perfect mug every time. Spend a little extra time and get every mug right then risk having to reorder more mugs .

The ability to do multiple mugs at the same time in your oven will save you so much time. As a general rule one mug will be 15 minutes and each additional mug will require a little more time. Every oven will be different and to find out the best possible times will require some experimentation to nail down.