How to use a 3D Vacuum Heat Press to sublimate hardboard coasters. 

Hi Katnipp, if you have purchased your heat press from us, please feel free to send us an email with photographs of your issue so we can assist.

We have found Tshirts to be quite fiddly and difficult to print in a 3D Heat Press. We would always suggest a 'rigid' flat press for textiles

@@Ceramicraft Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately I don't have the space for a flat press as I use a plotter and a mug press. I was hoping I would be able to do the t-shirts as well as mugs in the one unit.

Yes, we have printed ceramic tiles and coasters in this machine, you'll find recommended pressing times via the pressing instructions on our website. Just check the 'resource' tab on the product page of any of our blanks.

The coasters featured in this video are made of MDF hardboard and are unlikely to warp. Acrylic and other polymers by nature soften when heated allowing them to bend if unsupported while they are still hot. That is why you often see pressing inserts for polymer blanks such as cups and phone cases. They help support the blank during pressing, and/or as it cools so it can harden in the correct shape. Flat acrylic blanks are easy enough to transfer to a flat surface to cool after pressing.

It is possible to print t-shirt in this machine however we find a standard flat press to be more convenient for production purposes. The following video shows how it can be done. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-J4i0ffE40wU.html

This will ultimately come down to personal preference, however if you are located in Australia you can buy the papers we use here - www.ceramicraft.com.au/sublimation-transfer-paper

The small white dots is the low grade plate. Lower grade plates have hard to see pits, and if the coating was not applied properly they will show up white. If applied properly to the material even with pits, you would still notice it in the prints

Hi Jules, this really depends on a number of variables. The cost of your electricity, the types of blanks you’re pressing and in what quantity and frequency you are pressing. As a supplier of kilns we provide a kiln running cost calculator which helps answer this question for kiln users. The same form could potentially assist with the calculation for heat press operating costs. You may just have to do some conversions, e.g. from hours to minutes for the running time. The 3D press operates on standard 240V power using a 15A plug.

@@Ceramicraft thanks for reply and info. I'm just starting up with this sublimation so it's all new to me.. Probably be a while before I buy one anyway . Thanks again and have a good day

The transfer designs for these coasters would have been printed on A4 sublimation paper. However, this press has a large internal chamber size of 30cm x 43cm x 11cm, so you can press larger blanks in it as well.

That is good advice. In this video however we're just demonstrating what can be done in the 3D press. As some people find the overall variety of blanks that can be pressed using this machine to be useful to them.

Hi. Is it also possible to sublimate these blanks using a sublimation oven?