Knowing how to tape a skinny tumbler for sublimation with a mug press is important to get the best results! If you are getting white spots or ghosting when sublimating 20 oz tumblers it could be due to how you're wrapping the tumbler and taping.
Taping keeps the sublimation print tight around the skinny tumbler and it keeps air and wrinkles out which can cause ghosting and spotting specifically along the seam and at the top and bottom of the tumbler.
How to Trim a Sublimation Template for a Skinny Tumbler
Before you even get to taping you'll need to trim down the printed sublimation sheet. I get all of my commercial free sublimation templates for tumblers from So Fontsy. There are more than a thousand downloadable 20oz skinny sublimation templates available.
After you print the skinny tumbler wrap on your sublimation printer you need to trim off the white margins.
It's important to make sure the sublimation print is trimmed so it does not overhang the bottom of the tumbler at all.
The bottom of most skinny tumblers curves in and around slightly towards the bottom. You want the print to be completely flush above that curved area so the paper doesn't have to wrap around that little edge. You'll get white spots on those wrinkled areas otherwise.
You also want to make sure there is NO white at all on at least three sides of the tumbler. You can have a small margin of white on one of the short sides of the print. Use a paper trimmer or scissors to trim off the white.
Now it's time to tape.
How to Tape a Skinny Tumbler for Sublimation
To tape a skinny tumbler to prepare for sublimation in a mug press, stand the tumbler upside down on a flat surface. Make sure the printed sublimation sheet is also upside down if the orientation matters.
Wrap the print tightly around the tumbler making sure that if you left a small white margin on one side, that it is overlapping the other side at seam.
Use a piece of high temperature tape and place it on the overlap side in the middle and pull it tight as you wrap and press it horizontally across the seam.
Repeat this two more times towards the top of the tumbler and towards the bottom.
Now you want to take a long piece of tape and run it along the entire length of the seam.
Flip the tumbler over so the top is now facing up. There should be no overhang at all. Use small pieces of tape (1-2" max) and put them half on the sublimation paper and then fold over tightly into the inside of the tumbler. Do this all the way around the top of the tumbler.
Repeat on the bottom.
Press all the tape down well. You want to keep the air out and prevent any wrinkles where air could get in.
Now you can go ahead and move forward with sublimating the tumbler in the mug press. If you've never used a mug press to sublimate a 20oz skinny tumbler, this is the method I use with my mug press that's part of my 8-in-1 heat press.
When the time is up, remove the tumbler from the press. I recommend immediately dunking in cold water to cool the tumbler down and stop the sublimation process.
Remove the sublimation wrap paper and tape.
Wipe the tumbler down and you're all done! It's it beautiful and I love that there is no sublimation ghosting or white spots at the top or bottom of the tumbler!
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I made my first sublimation 20oz tumbler but the inside had some residue on it. Can you tell me how to get that off?
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