Custom Sublimation Decorated Ceramic Coffee Cups. The Coffee Mug Lovers Paradise. Freqiuently asked Questions
gift mugs make great coffee mug gifts

Custom Sublimation Decorated Ceramic Coffee Cups
The Coffee Mug Lovers Paradise

For Frequently Asked Questions and answers (FAQ)

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11.) What is sublimation?
Although the term SUBLIMATION sounds a little daunting, sublimation, as a process, is less intimidating:

It is the method of applying an image onto specially prepared items of ceramics, cloth, metals, and plastics using three primary ingredients: special sublimation inks/pigments, heat and pressure.

Sublimation inks are unique in their ability to convert from a solid to a gas without going through a liquid form (just like dry ice). The conversion is initiated by heat and controlled with pressure.

So what does that mean: It means beautiful colors and high definition images on your ceramic coffee mugs, wall tiles, murals  and steins.

And to preserve the beauty and vibrancy of the sublimation images on your white coffee mugs, it is best to hand wash them just as you would hand wash your best porcelain and China as well as your finest glassware. Never leave them in direct sunlight, as for example on a window sill.

For these reasons, companies like Hallmark, Kodak and Fargo have chosen sublimation-decorated ceramic coffee mugs and steins exclusively.

More on sublimation

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12.) What mug sizes are available and are all your mugs white-glazed?

All our mugs are white-glazed. We can, however, simulate colored mugs in that we can print colored bands (max. 3" high) around the mug in a wrap-around fashion and superimpose any digital art over it. This way very unique and interesting effects are achieved that cannot be obtained by other decorating processes.
Our white mugs and stein come in these sizes: 11-oz, 15-oz, 18-oz and 21-oz. Please click here to see  photos of our mugs and their dimensions. More details on dimensions can be found here . 
We also carry partially "colored" coffee mugs and color-changing Chameleon or Morph mugs. For details, please open this link.

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13.) Do you have heat-activated, thermal sensitive, color-changing coffee mugs?

Yes, we do carry black and dark-blue  heat activated or  thermally sensitive coffee gift mugs.

Heat-sensitive, heat-activated  or color-changing mugs reveal their regular decorations and become visible once a hot liquid is poured into  the mugs. 

Again, please note that all our Chameleon or Morph mugs are either all black or blue on the outside and only change their color to white, thereby revealing the full-color decoration, as soon as some hot liquid is poured into them.

See photos of our Chameleon or Morph mugs.

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14.) What sizes of mugs do you carry. Are they all white-glazed ceramics?

We carry four (4) sizes of white sublimation ceramic coffee mugs:
- 11-oz coffee mugs (this is the regular and most common mug size):
- 15-oz coffee mugs (this mug has the same diameter as our 11-oz mug but is slightly taller);
- 18-oz stein (this stein has the same diameter as our 11-oz mug but is almost twice as tall);
- 21-oz coffee mug (this big daddy has about twice the capacity as our regular 11-oz mug).
- We can also offer you our 14-oz, stainless-steel travel mug with lid. This travel mug does not have a liner and is all stain-less, except for the lid, handle and bottom.

At this time we do not have any mini coffee mugs nor special cups for Spanish or Cuban type coffee (café Cubano)

All our ceramic sublimation mugs are white glazed. We wish we could offer our customers "colored" coffee mugs but unless and until somebody invents white pigments that can be used with our computers and digital printers, we can offer only white-glazed ceramic coffee mugs.

More on this here.

We also carry "colored" coffee mugs. For details, please open this link.

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15.)  My digital images come from the Internet and have a resolution of only 72 dots per inch. Can you reproduce them well on your sublimation mugs?

Although we can use low resolution images (such as those downloaded from Internet web sites, for example) for decorating coffee mugs but the results might not be acceptable at all to you. (You might also want to read the answers to the question # 17)

As described elsewhere in our web site, raster or bitmap digital art should have a resolution of at least 300  ppi's (pixels per inch). Raster art files of 72 dpi's can easily be up-sampled to any desired resolution - however there is always a loss of image quality.

Maybe we can best illustrate this with the following example of an internet down-loaded image with a resolution of only 72 dpi's:

Original digital art:
- size of original image: 3" x 3" at 72 dpi's:  3x3x72 = 648 (this is just a number representing the "contents" of this image);

Up-sampled art:
- size of image: 3" x 3" at 300 dpi's:  3x3x300 = 2,700 (this is the new "contents" of the same, but up-sampled image).

For the computer to create a high-resolution image of 300 dpi's it had to "guess" the "missing" pixels between what was given to it, (the original image with only 648 contents units) and create out of these 648 a high-resolution image with a  "contents" of 2,700 units. This it did by extrapolating (guessing) the non-existing pixels and then "add" those computer-generated or guessed pixels to the high-resolution image to be generated, based on the computer's guess or  estimate of what the "old" and the "new" image is all about.

You can imagine that the result is not what you'd expect: namely a high-resolution copy of your low-resolution original. All you get is a high-resolution something that has very little to do with your original.

Basically, the more pixels you have, the sharper your picture is going to be. For comparison, a regular, old-fashioned 4" x 6" photo tends to resolve at about 12 million to 15 million pixels (mega) and a digital photo to about 2-3 million pixels (at the present time). Thus, it's not surprising that a digital artwork with only 72 pixels per inch will not print with the same sharpness as your regular, conventional photo... and this is the quality we aspire to and can print on our sublimation coffee mugs...almost like the old-fashioned photos, except on white coffee mugs.

The ONLY way to obtain a high-resolution image is to either re-scan it at the desired resolution or take another high-resolution picture with your digital camera or create a brand new design with your raster/bitmap program and save it at the desired resolution.

Please also note in this context that vector art is not subject to these limitations as vector art - as well as all fonts if used as created by the original program and not saved as raster or bitmap files-  can be up- or down-scaled without any loss of quality at all. We have an example of the difference between vector art and raster/bitmap art somewhere in this web site.

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16.)  Sample Mugs.

I want to order a sizeable quantity of mugs but before ordering I would like to see a sample mug. How do you handle this?

Many of our customers want to see an actual sample of their mugs before we begin with the decorating process of their mug order as sometimes color shift are unavoidable and, depending on the digital artwork submitted, apparent "misalignments" might be unavoidable.

We gladly prepare and ship sample mugs with the actual decoration on them. We will charge such sample mugs the same prices, incl. S&H, as listed in our price list based on the amount of sample mugs ordered and shipped. 

You can even use our handy cost estimator for single-sample mug 0rders.

You order a sample mug just as if you where ordering a regular mug order with our secure order/payment form. Just indicate somewhere in the form that this is to be:  a sample mug for a larger, future order.

Once the sample mug is approved by the customer we begin with the decorating process of the order and discount-down the price of the sample mug(s) to the per mug price of the total order. 
Shipping and handling charges, however, are not refundable and are charged to the customer as we have no influence over these costs. 

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17.) Can digital art that is produced with programs like MS Word or Power Point be used to decorate mugs?

Most digital art that is produced and/or embedded within programs such as MSWord (or similar other "writing" programs, even Power Point to some extent) and also use so-called clip arts from various sources and libraries do not have sufficient resolution to be used in a satisfactory manner for the decoration of coffee mugs - or any other means of graphical hard-copy reproductions.

Internet art only needs to have a resolution of 72 or 96 dpi's (dots per inch) as this is the standard resolution of the web. Digital files used for print reproductions should have a resolution of 300+ dpi's so that the result will be what you would expect - straight lines, minimal pixellation, no stair-steps.

Since almost all inexpensive and/or freely down-loaded clip-art from web sites, etc. etc. is raster/bitmap art, it cannot be up-sampled from the original 72 dpi's to, let's say, 300 dpi's, as the computer would not know where to take the "missing" pixels from to fill the void. Thus it just interpolates the "missing" pixels and the result is a high resolution image of a quality inferior to the original.

Maybe the creators of these clip-art libraries make the resolution of their raster art only 72 dpi's (for most Mac's, and/or 96 dpi's for PC's) not only to save disk space but also to prevent that acceptable print reproductions can be made from their raster/bitmap art files. It is interesting to note that high-resolution bitmap/raster files can be easily bought over the Internet but their cost is rather steep and to download them over the Internet with anything but a high-speed, broadband connection might be an exercise in futility.

Digital art created in a vector format  as is generated, for example,  by drawing programs such as CorelDraw, Adobe Illustrator and similar graphics programs are resolution-independent and hence can be enlarged at will without any loss of quality - unlike raster/bitmap files which are resolution-dependent. 

The only way to obtain high resolution digital raster/bitmap images is to re-scan the high-quality original art with a higher resolution or to re-take the digital photo at a higher resolution.

Images saved in the .gif format automatically have only a resolution of 72 dpi's and once saved there is no way this can be changed. The same happens to many images saved in the .jpg format where the image will not only be compressed (jpg is a lossy compression format) but might also be down-sampled automatically to 72 or 96 dpi's. 

This is why we recommend to only use the .tif format and then compress the file with a compressor such as WinZip , StuffIt, or similar.

You can always send us your Word document as an attachment to an e-mail yet this does not mean that we can use the art as most of the time we cannot even "take it out" from the Word or PowerPoint file so that it will print satisfactorily on our mugs. (Well, we can use the art but you most likely will not be happy with the results.)

Based on this, it is always good to prepare ones raster or bitmap art in a graphical program such as PhotoShop or PhotoPaint, save the created digital art with a resolution of at least 300 dpi's (but do not up-sample it!) in the .tif format and then send this to us.

Of course, high-resolution raster/bitmap files are very, very large in size and can, in most instances, NOT be attached to an e-mail. These files will always have to be uploaded directly to our FTP servers - or better still mailed directly to us on a CD.

Note:  another benefit resulting from the use of vector files is that they are rather small and can be attached to an e-mail and can be converted to raster/bitmap files in not time at any desired resolution and size.

Please remember that the resolution-limitations/problems mentioned here DO NOT apply to digital art created in the vector format as  vector art  is resolution-independent and can be up-scaled or down-scaled without any problems.

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18.) Your  Gift Mugs are decorated in Full Color. Are there colors that are easier to reproduce on mugs than others?

Almost all colors can be reproduced on our mugs. However the same limitations as with any print medium exists in that more colors and more brilliant colors can be seen in a monitor than can be reproduced on paper and on mugs. Colors that can be seen in a monitor are based on the RGB color scheme while for printing purposes the color scheme is CMYK. Thus if you send us digital art that you see in the RGB mode, it will not necessarily print the same in the CMYK mode and it will be less brilliant than seen on the monitor. (Your monitor shows your digital art similar to a dia positive (slides) while our mugs are more similar to a photo print.) 
It is also a good idea when planning the creation of digital art for mug decorations to hold the solid black areas (or any large areas with any solid color) to a minimum as a large area of a given color  is not the easiest to reproduce without producing some inevitable streaking effects. Many experienced designers overcome this handicap with the use of special effects that "blur" larger areas of black and spot colors.
As a general rule, all digital art work files should be prepared and send to us in the RGB mode.

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19.) Can I send you my digital art files on Zip discs and/or on CD-ROM's?

Yes, you can send us your digital files as follows:

  • As an attachment to an e-mail if your file is smaller than 1.4MB;
  • FTP it directly to our servers if your file is larger than 1.4MB;
  • On a CD-ROM of DVD disks formatted for PC's (will return it with your mug shipment);
  • You can always use snail-mail to send us your artwork, to:
    giftmugs by Bitmark, Inc.
    4155 Dow Road, Suite X
    Melbourne, FL 32934 - USA
  • Or FedEx it - details here
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20.) How do I best prepare my business cards for printing on coffee mugs?

The easiest way to prepare your business cards for printing on ceramic coffee mugs and cups is to scan them on your flatbed scanner with a resolution of at least 300 dpi's (dots per inch) and in the dimensions as they're to appear on the finished coffee mug. (Details on this can be obtained here.)

Make sure that your business cards do not have any blemishes nor other "impurities" and should, preferable be on a white background as otherwise the background will also be printed on the mug. 
Our mug prices include a decoration on one side of the mug and the max. area that can be decorated at this price is: 3" x 3". Should your card be larger - but never taller than 3" - then a small surcharge is applied. (See our price list.)

Please note that for every coffee mug with a different business card on it we have to charge our single-mug price. However, differently decorated coffee mugs sent to the same shipping address can be lumped together for the S&H price break indicated for the total quantity of mugs shipped to one and the same address. For individual mug shipments, our individual S&H rate applies.

Should you have several different business cards for different mugs you could scan then all onto one page. However this is not the ideal solution and it is much better to scan them individually into one file/directory on your hard drive (giving each scanned business card a new file name such as, for example: card01.tif, card02.tif, etc.) and then compress this directory into one file with a compressor such as WinZip. The resulting file can then easily be attached to an e-mail and be send to us. 

The preferred file format for business cards is .tif and it has to be in the PC format as we're totally PC based.
Please remember that we'll reproduce your business cards AS IS so it's to your advantage to have a clean and clear scan and the card is in the dimensions as you would like them to appear on your coffee mugs. 
We cannot reproduce business cards that are send to us with a resolution of less than 300 dpi's.

Since our sublimation decorating process permits us to decorate our coffee mugs in full color, all colors on your business cards will be reproduced on the mugs - as well as all blemishes and similar impurities and badly printed letters.

To obtain the best possible lettering for business cards on coffee mugs, it is advisable that all lettering be typeset in a computer program (and not be obtained from a scan as the logo, if any, can). 

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Should you have any questions you believe should be incorporated into this
Frequently Asked Questions  
page, please let us know and we'll add it to this list. 
Thank you for your cooperation.