How to Do All Over 20 Oz Skinny Tumbler Sublimation in Mug Press!

You can sublimate a 20 oz skinny tumbler in a mug press...and get amazing results IF you know a few  secrets. 

Contrary to popular belief you do not need a convection oven to do a full wrap sublimation on a 20 oz tumbler! 

How to Sublimate All Over a 20 Oz Skinny Tumbler In Mug Press

Even if I'm using a 20 oz tumbler sublimation template, I always start in Silhouette Studio. 

Open your sublimation wrap design - this one is from So Fontsy where is a huge selection of commercial free sublimation template designs.  

For a 20 oz skinny tumbler you basically need to print the entire 8.5" x 11" sublimation paper.  

From the Page Setup panel change the Media Size to Letter and make the orientation Portrait.  You also want to turn on the Show Print Border box.  (All highlighted in blue.)

If the template is sized correctly you shouldn't have to do much. The reason I like to open in Silhouette Studio is so I can make any slight adjustments to the template like stretch it a bit this way or that to make sure it fills the full printable area.  Remember the 11" side of the sublimation paper is what is needed to wrap all the way around the tumbler so you may need to rotate your image 90 degrees. (Highlighted in red above.)

You want to print your sublimation designs from Sawgrass Print Manager.  PC users can do this from Silhouette Studio, Mac users can't. If you need a refresher on how to do this  with Select the tumbler wrap template and go to File > Save As > Save to Hard Drive. Save the file as a JPEG at 300 DPI. 

Now launch Sawgrass Print Manager and go to Open Local File. Navigate to the 20oz wrap. 

Since you are using a stainless steel 20 oz skinny tumbler, when Sawgrass Print Manager launches, in the Material tab make sure the Substrate is set to Metal: White/Silver.  Depending on the image and how you set it up in Silhouette Studio decide if you still need the image mirrored (you do want it to print in reverse so it should either be imported into SPM mirrored or be mirrored by SPM...not both). 

In the Layout tab make sure the image is Centered and that it fills the entire printable area. 

Click "Print" to the print tumbler wrap to your Sawgrass sublimation printer. I use a Sawgrass SG400 which is the older model of the current Sawgrass SG500 sublimation printer. 

Don't worry that the sublimation print looks dull when you print it. That's totally normal.

How to Tape and Wrap a 20 oz Skinny Tumbler for All Over Sublimation with a Mug Press

The most important step in doing an all over sublimation on a skinny tumbler is how you wrap and tape your 20 oz skinny tumbler. 

Get 10-20 pieces (seriously you may need more) of high temperature tape ready. 

Use a paper trimmer to trim off the white border on one of the 8.5" sides of your sublimation wrap. This is the edge that should wrap around your tumbler first. 

Lay the printed sublimation sheet down on a flat surface. It should have a white border on three sides. Place the tumbler in the center making sure there's printed area overhanging the top and bottom of the tumbler. 

Take the edge that you trimmed the white margin off and wrap that around the tumbler first.  

DO NOT TAPE THIS PIECE or the tape will be touching the tumblers and will block a small area from being sublimated.  

Hold the sublimation paper there while you complete the wrap from the other side.  Make sure the wrap is tight.  Tighter.  Now use several pieces of tape and tape down the seam that's running down the middle of your tumbler. 

Now you need to tape over the top lip and down around the bottom to help prevent ghosting.  Slightly fold over the top and bottom and use a lot of tape (that's why you precut 10+ pieces) to secure the sublimation template on the tumbler. 

If you don't fold enough of the template over the top you will end up with a white ring where the sublimation print stops. 

How to Use a Mug Press to Fully Sublimate a Skinny Tumbler

Now you need to get the mug press ready. My mug press is a heat press attachment from my Swing Design 8 in 1 heat press. They also have 4-in-1 mug presses and stand alone mug presses available.

Before you heat up the mug press you want to set a few things up.  

Depending on which mug press or heat press mug attachment you have, you can use the thin or thick pad for the 20 oz tumbler just make sure you have about medium pressure.  

To test, put your tumbler into the attachment and close it. If the mug is snug and doesn't move when you try to pull it, you should be good to go. If the mug can be pulled out or budges at all, increase the pressure using the pressure knob. 

Mug Press Time and Temperature for Stainless Steel Skinny Tumblers

Heat up the mug press to 350 degrees and set the timer to 50 seconds. 

But how do you use a mug press to sublimate a 20oz tumbler when the tumbler is longer than the heat press attachment? Don't you worry! 

You're basically going to divide the tumbler into 4 sections. Top and bottom and middle seam down and middle seam up.  

Each section will get a 50 second press. 

Once the mug press is warmed up to temperature, hold the tumbler with the seam side of the sublimation paper down and slide the top half of the tumbler into the mug attachment. 

Make sure the top lip of the tumbler is fully INSIDE the mug attachment.  Close the mug press and set the timer for 50 seconds. 

When the 50 seconds are up, release the handle and push the tumbler further through the mug press so that the bottom half of the tumbler is now in the press. Close the handle and reset the time for another 50 seconds. (There may be a small section that's getting heated twice, right in the middle of the tumbler.)

When this 50 second timer is up - leave the tumbler in the same position with the bottom half in the press, but this time rotate it 180 degrees so the taped seam is now on top.  Close the handle and reset the timer for another 50 seconds. 

For the last press you are going to slide the tumbler back out, keeping the seam on the top, but making sure the top half of the tumbler is in the press for the final 50 seconds. 

When you have pressed all 4 sections carefully (wear a glove!!!) remove the tumbler from the mug press and as quickly as safely possible un-tape the sublimation paper wrap. 

Check out your fully sublimated 20 oz skinny tumbler! 

Sublimation gives you stunning colors, permanent results, and high gloss - which makes the glitter sublimation look extremely real.  

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