I purchased a Sican Digital Mug Heat Press back in 2015 and have been nothing but happy with my purchase. It is available on Amazon for a mere, $89.99, check the current price here. I paid $167 for mine.
Advantages
– Compared to other big name heat presses on the market, you pay about 1/5 of the cost.
– Works with both 11oz and 15oz sublimation mugs.
– Portable and has a small footprint, so not a lot workspace needed.
Disadvantages
– Will only print standard mugs, anything tapered or other than round can’t be printed. So it only comes with a standard round heating element.
– Initial setup can be a bit confusing.
– No tech support.
This mug heat press is great for anyone just starting out in the business or who will just be doing sublimation mugs as a hobby. It is not quite a versatile as some of the more expensive presses on the market but most people don’t need much more than the standard heating element.
If you have ever printed on anything that has tapered sides, for example, shot glasses. There is a huge learning curve for setting up your artwork. Even with standard round mugs, your artwork will be slightly skewed. When you add another dimension to the mix now, it will be a real challenge to get your artwork to look good.
A closer look at the advantages
I consider the Johnson Plastics JP450 to be the industry standard for a mug heat press, priced at $445; it includes four different heating elements. Included are two heating elements for latte mugs and two for standard mugs.
For that price, I can buy four Sican mug presses and start cranking out mugs. My heat press has been going strong for more than three years, and I have printed thousands of mugs in that time. The biggest thing with a mug press is that it can hold its temperature for the three minutes required to sublimate a coffee mug. Other than that there aren’t any other bells and whistles needed.
Another aspect that I like about my mug press is the size. It takes up very little room on the counter, and it is very portable. I once did an event where I printed 120 mugs in one day all while still selling t-shirts from a 4x6ft table.
A closer look at the disadvantages
The first disadvantage I find is a minor one, and that is that it can only press standard round mugs. In the five years, I have been sublimating coffee mugs I have never been asked to print latte mugs, in other words, cups with tapered sides. You would be better off purchasing mug wraps for latte mugs rather than buying an expensive press.
When I initially bought the heat press, and it arrived in the mail I was excited about putting it to use. So I ripped open the box and got the directions out to get started. Since this was a few years ago and it came from China, I assume, the directions were in broken English and hard to follow. It took me a few minutes, but I got it set up and running without issue. I have come to find out that all mug presses are pretty much the same and the setup is common amongst most others. So you can always check out other manufacturers directions to get started.
Along with the vague directions, another disadvantage is that there is no tech support for the press. I haven’t needed tech support, so it hasn’t been a serious issue for me. My wife had difficulty using it one time when I was away, and it would have been nice for her to be able to call someone for help. After some cussing and a phone call to me, I diagnosed the issue, and it was more bad button pushing rather than an issue with the press.
I should mention that I have had one issue with the press in three years. The power cord that came with the press had a very brittle rubber coating, and it cracked a couple of months after I bought it. It is a pretty universal three-pronged computer power cord, so I went to Goodwill and got a new power cord and it has never been a problem since.
Conclusion
The Sican mug heat press is a great little workhorse that you will be delighted with. Unless you are printing hundreds of mugs a day, I don’t think you will ever need another press. The best thing is that if this press lasts only a couple of years, you will have got your money’s worth at the low price of $89.99. Now if you are not good with vaguely written directions and the technical stuff, you may feel better buying something with a support team, but for a $350 premium, I don’t know that it is worth it.
Read more about sublimation by clicking here.