searching for the impossible?? novelty item printers

[lindsayanng]

I have been searching all over the place for a printer who does things like mugs, mouse pads, calenders, ect that sell to businesses. I mean, there is always shutterfly and websites like that, but then i would be PURCHASING them retail price and then turning around and selling them for MORE than retail. That doesnt seem fair to my customers, let alone ME!!

So if you all sell cutesy novelty gift items, would you PLEASE PLEASE tell me how you get them printed? They dont even need to dropship, i will ship them myself if i have to. I just HATE paying for retail when i KNOW there HAS to be a better way!

thanks in advance for the help

[amfoto1]

CafePress.com is what a friend recommended to me.

If you buy in quantity, you can get discount pricing. Not much break on individual items.

It's also possible to convert an inkjet printer and do your own. The initial setup cost isn't cheap, nor are the consumables. But, the per item cost is quite reasonable, you just have to buy the "blanks" to print on.

Someone I know is now doing that herself: fabric transfers, mugs, tiles, coasters, mouse pads, etc. etc. etc.

[lindsayanng]

really?? You can do heat press on ceramic from your home printer? Wow, that sounds like an AWESOME idea. I am going to have to look into that.

About cafepress. I thought that you could only sell from their store, like you could not offer those items from your own store and then buy them to be drop shipped? I did look at cafepress, but was entirely confused.

I do not want a cafepress store, i already have a store that i am pretty happy with..

I did check out EZPrints.com which i was refered to by SmugMug,. They said that was the printer they used, which i thought was AWESOME of them to refer me away to a better place even though it meant loosing a customer.

[lindsayanng]

Well, i found some AWESOME options for the mousepad. The photo silk paper comes precut to the average size of a mouse pad, and you can print on it yourself. It is considered durable, so i think i might just do that for the mousepad... the MUGS, however, i could not figure out what i would need to do from home. I've never seen them dont like that before.

The more suggestions the better!!

[lindsayanng]

well, i found a company called PAPILIO that makes all sorts of papers for ink jet and laser jet printers including different type of waterproof decals (water slide decals, rub on decals, vinyl adhesive decals, and bake on decals) and it seems pretty promising.

I wonder if anyone has used them though and knows how durable they are.

THANKS

[lindsayanng]

well, another update (even though it seems i am talking to myself)

The decal papers i was told, were not dishwasher safe and would wear away eventaully.. so i am back to trying to find the perfect solutions.. maybe i will call my aunt. She is a cermic genius. She actually invented a new type of ceramic.

[amfoto1]

Hi,

No, you aren't talking to yourself. Some of us just have to go do other things every once in a while and only get to check back here from time to time. ;)

The process is called several things: photo transfer, dye sublimation, heat transfer.

It involves converting a printer with special inks, to create a "decal" that is then applied to whatever surface you want it on. There are different types of "decals" for different types of surfaces.

I think the surface receiving the decal might also need some special preparation. This is particularly true of hard-surfaced items like mugs or tiles. I know these need a particular type of surface preparation, so you can't just use any mug or tile you happen to find. You have to buy ones specially prepared for this purpose.

You'll need one of the specific printer models s for which a conversion kit has been created. I believe my friend converted an Epson 13 inch printer such as a 1400 or 1280. As far as I know, it's a non-reversible modification to the printer, too, so, you'd never be able to use the printer for anything else afterward.

It is a heat transfer process, so a heat press is one of the more expensive items needed. The cost of that press depends upon the size needed for the work you'll be doing.

In the case of something like a coffee mug, the heat press would likely need to have some sort of adapter that matches the shape of the mug.

Also, perhaps there is a protective coating that can be applied over the photo, once it's on the mug, in the case of anything that's used like that and run through a dishwasher, etc. Must be, in fact, because I've got some photo mugs that are 10 or more years old and have seen a lot of use and cleaning and show no sign of fading.

If you do an Internet search with keywords like "photo, heat, transfer, dye, sublimation, heat press" I think you'll find a ton of info on this.

[lindsayanng]

thanks for all that infomation.

I did some calling around and found a chinese company who can sell me a mug heat transfer kit for $60.00 which is AWESOME. I am then going to try to modify an HP Deskjet to print the decals with.. this way it will stand up to dishwashers and regular use.

I did learn that you CAN to all of this with just an oven and some water, but they are not as durable, and i want mine to be atleast a LITTLE durable!

You can get a specific mug heat press which area lot cheaper than the bigger ones. They run from $100-$550 and they all seem to do the same thing.. Some just have digital timers and thermometers and some dont.

I am going to call some printing companies and see if they sell some used equipment too.. Who knows, i COULD get lucky.

I do really appreciate ALL the help on this. I couldnt have figured this one out on my own. NEVER would i have thought to make my own items.. For $60.00, i would just have to sell a handful of mugs to make that back

[JulieNick]

This is called sublimation printing. I am in business doing this. If you want more info on suppliers, pm me :)

[amfoto1]

This is called sublimation printing. I am in business doing this. If you want more info on suppliers, pm me :)

Would it be possible for you to post info here, rather than PM. Other folks might like to know more, too.

[JulieNick]

Check out www.conde.com
this site will explain the process of sublimation printing :)