Do not buy an ST-210 mug press. Just don't.

[jmowreader]

My project for 2022 is to monetize my substantial photo library. After doing some market analysis, I decided my best chance of success would be to buy the equipment needed for dye sublimation printing and print mugs, mousepads etc. for sale on Etsy. (When I explained what I was doing to my boss, he thought it would be a line of products we could sell to our own customers...so this is going to be a pretty sweet deal. We'll take customer graphic files, put them on mugs, I sell the mugs to the company who then marks them up and sells them to our customers.)

So, here's what I got.

First, the printer. I decided on an Epson SureColor F170, which prints 8.5 x 11 - plenty of room for two mugs, a mousepad, two phone cases or a t-shirt transfer. I'm really happy with it. In concept you can buy an Epson eco-tank printer from Staples and use Epson dye-sub ink in it, but by the time you add the price of the printer and the $80 worth of ink you need to buy the F170 is cheaper.

I bought a Dahle 552 paper cutter. I've always liked rotary trimmers because they're safer than guillotine trimmers, and this one is especially nice.

Then I bought the ST-210 mug press, which you need to transfer the print to the mug. The process is pretty simple: stick the mug with the print wrapped around it into a press heated to 400 degrees and apply some pressure. The heat turns the solid ink on the page to a gas, the pressure forces the gas into the coating on the mug...leave it in there three to four minutes, and you have a finished mug.

The problem is the ST-210 mug press won't go past 332 degrees no matter what you do, and that's not nearly enough heat for sublimation. If you run heat-transfer vinyl you cut on your Cricut it will work fine, but for what I'm doing...not so much.

To solve the problem, I replaced it with a genuine Geo Knight DK3D made-in-Massachusetts mug press. That thing will go way beyond 400 degrees if you need to and it's got a larger heater so the temperature will be more stable. It will do the job.

How to recognize this press: it's got two handles and it says "Mug Machine" on the control panel. There are about eight Amazon sellers pushing the same machine.

[PJMcK]

1. Not something I'll ever need

Still, it was an interesting read. Have a good week!

[abqtommy]

2. Thanks. You just went to the top of my "things I learned on DU today" list! nt

[femmedem]

3. Good luck with your new venture!

It sounds like you've done your homework.

Like the poster above me, I can't say that a ST-10 mug press was ever likely to be on one of my shopping lists. But I, too, enjoyed reading about the process.

I used to make soap and sell it on Etsy and at farmers' markets so I appreciate the research and work that goes into starting a new business. I hope you do well and have a good time, too.