One of the biggest advantages of sublimation printing on ceramic mugs is the durability of the print. It will resist scratching, and the image will be of photographic quality. So figuring out how to remove sublimation ink from mugs will be a difficult thing to do.
How Does Sublimation Printing Work?
Sublimation printing involves a chemical process in which ink is superheated from a solid form to a gaseous state and then at a molecular level the particles are embedded into a polymer, generally a polyester coating or fabric. Sounds complicated, but in reality, it is a simple process.
This chemical process occurs at temperatures of 400F and higher and becomes durable after the substrate (a ceramic mug with a polyester coating) cools to room temperature.
The theory behind how to remove sublimation inks from mugs as well as other materials, such as shirts, would be to heat the finished mug to a temperature above 400F for a significant length of time. For a more in-depth look at sublimation check out this article, What is Sublimation Printing and How Does it Work?
There are two methods you can try to remove print from ceramic mugs.
The Dishwasher Method
The first is to put the coffee mug in the dishwasher at the high-temperature setting on the lower rack. This process is likely to take quite a few cycles, but eventually, it will fade and disappear. It won’t be perfect, but if the logo or picture on the mug needs removal, it will be unrecognizable after a few cycles.
Although this process works, it will take time to make it happen. You may have noticed fading, and something almost like the design was running down the mug from normal day to day washing of dishes (see the image for this post). If the removal of the logo is not time critical, place the mug on the lower rack everytime you wash it, and eventually the logo will be gone. If you are looking to speed up the removal process the next method will work better for you.
Check out the image in this post and you will see a sublimated mug that was washed on the lower rack of the dishwasher twice. It is significantly faded and has a washed out look.
The Oven Method
Using your oven to remove sublimation inks will be much faster and easier. All you have to do is place your mug in a toaster oven or your regular oven. Set the temperature to something above 400F and let it bake until you have the results you want. One thing though, do not have food in the oven at the same time. It may alter the taste of the food due to the smell of the fumes that are coming off of the coffee mug. I do recommend that you purchase a toaster oven that is only used for sublimation, that way there are no issues with food and fumes. You can purchase an oven Amazon, just click here. The toaster oven can also be used with cactus wraps when printing your mugs, click here to get yours.
After you have heated the mug and removed it from the oven, you can let the mug cool to room temperature. This will give it more time to release any remaining ink.
Neither of these methods will be perfect, but if you are trying to save money by reprinting mugs, it can be cost-effective but probably not worth the time. Sublimation mugs are pretty cheap compared to the effort required to remove the ink. You can purchase a case of 36 on Amazon for around $70, check the price and options here. I would recommend just reprinting a new blank. In reality, you can never have too many coffee cups.
How Should I Remove A Sublimation Coating From A Mug?
This is a much different process than removing sublimation ink from a mug. This would involve sanding away the polyester coating or use of a strong chemical to remove the coating. Neither is recommend and its likely to damage the mug. Don’t waste your time with this and go out and buy a new uncoated ceramic mug.
Removing Sublimation Inks From Fabric
Removing sublimation ink from shirts and fabrics is not recommended or even possible as far as I know. The typical home dryer reaches a temperature of 135F which is not nearly hot enough to re-activate sublimation inks. This is why sublimated t-shirts are so great they hardly fade, and they last a long time without the heavy and thick feeling of screen printing.