If you don’t have a sublimation printer you might be thinking can I use my oven to sublimate on a tumbler? Well, it may look a little bit tricky, but yes you can use an oven for sublimation. Let’s see what are the necessary steps to follow for tumbler sublimation.
How to sublimate a tumbler in the oven?
- First of all, collect the material required for the process (checklist below).
- Prepare, print, and cut out your design.
- Secure the design with transfer tape and fit it onto the tumbler surface.
- Cover the tumbler with the non-stick sheet and Teflon tape.
- Place the tumbler in the Oven for 4 minutes.
- Bring out the tumbler, let it cool, and remove the coverings.
Above mentioned quick steps may not be enough to give you the best results. So, I will discuss all the steps in detail.
Material required for Sublimation tumbler in a regular oven
First things first, you’ll need a few essential materials and tools before you can start sublimating. Here’s what you need:
- Sublimatable tumbler (stainless steel)
- Heat press or oven
- Sublimation paper
- Transfer tape or cling wrap
- Non-stick sheet
- Teflon sheet
- Sublimation ink or toner
- Scissors or craft knife
- Hair dryer (optional)
Step-by-Step Guide To Sublimate A Tumbler In The Oven
1. Prepare Your Design
An attractive design is a basic element to print on a tumbler. By keeping in mind the size of the tumbler, prepare your design using graphic design software like Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. Make sure that the image size corresponds with the size of your Tumbler.
2. Print Your Design
Next, print your design onto sublimation paper using either sublimation ink or toner. However, I recommend you use sublimation ink for this purpose. Because it gives many vibrant and shining colors. Further, it stays longer on the tumbler surface. Be sure to print on the correct side of the paper, the side without any coating.
3. Cut Out The Design
Once you have prepared your design now it’s time to cut it out accurately. Use scissors or a craft knife to cut out your printed design from the paper. It should fit perfectly over your tumbler if you have measured it correctly before printing.
4. Secure The Transfer Tape
Transfer tape is used to print the design from your paper onto the tumbler. So make sure to secure transfer tape over the front of your cutout design. Also, make sure there are no air bubbles between them.
If you don’t have transfer tape you can also use cling wrap for this purpose too. However, transfer tape is a good option for better results.
5. Place On Tumbler
Once you secured the design card with the transfer tap, it’s time to place it onto the tumbler surface. Make sure you do marking before placing the design. Because this step is most crucial. If you placed the design incorrectly then you may end with an irregular design. So make sure you adjust the design properly to align with the surface.
6. Cover With Non-Stick Sheet or Teflon Sheet
Teflon sheet is used to cover the surface of any sublimation product before heat press. This is an essential step because it keeps your tumbler and designs safe from melting.
Moreover, the Teflon sheet also does not stick with the heat press, iron, or melt in the oven. So, cover both sides (front & back) of the tumbler with a non-stick sheet or Teflon sheet.
7. Heat In the Oven
Place your prepped tumblers into a preheated oven at 400°F and bake for 4 minutes at 50% humidity level. Depending on how thick/ deep the material is and keep an eye on temperature throughout the entire process so nothing burns.
If you keep the temperature down you need to place the tumbler for a longer time in the oven.
8. Cool Down & Peel Off Transfer Tape/Cling Wrap
After a sufficient time, bring out the tumbler, and let it cool. Do not remove any layer of Teflon tape or transfer for at least 10 minutes.
9 . Enjoy Your Customized Tumblers
Once everything is done successfully. Your sublimation tumbler is ready to use. However, if you feel something confusing, let me know in the comment box.
Sublimation Tumbler in Oven Time and Temp
If you print your sublimation tumbler in the oven the ideal time is 4 minutes at 400 degrees temperature. However, if you feel that the temperature keeps fluctuating you can wait for max 6 minutes for better results.
In a nutshell, if you ever wondered how long to sublimate a tumbler in the oven, the right answer might be 5 minutes.
| Material | Time | Temperature |
|---|---|---|
| Stainless steel | 6-7 minutes | 375-400°F (190-204°C) |
| Aluminum | 12-15 minutes | 400°F (204°C) |
| Polymer | 8-10 minutes | 380°F (193°C) |
on the other hand, the time and temperature to sublimate a tumbler would be different for the specific type of tumbler you’re using. like if you are using stainless steel tumbler the time and temperature can vary from other types of tumblers. It is also necessary that the tumbler can withstand the temperatures and time required for sublimation, as well as the necessary precautions when using an oven.
How to Make a Tumbler With Cricut?
Here are the items required to make a tumbler with Cricut.
- One tumbler
- Transfer tape
- Cricut mug pres
- A Cricut machine
- Cricut permanent vinyl
- Design for printing
Here is the step-by-step method to print on a tumbler with a Cricut machine and permanent vinyl.
- The first step is to design your name or image. However, you can also style your name in Cricut Design Space.
- Now, get your Cricut Maker and cut out your design.
- Place your design on the transfer tape upside down.
- Once the vinyl is covered with the transfer tape, peel away the backing.
- Now paste the design on the Tumbler and keep it in a Cricut mug press machine press. Make sure you start from the bottom if you design any letters. This is a crucial step, so make sure you place the vinyl securely.
- The next step is to peel back the transfer tape gently.
You’ve done it. If you used metal tumblers then no need to worry about washing. The best part of using permanent vinyl is, they are dishware safe and stay longer.
Conclusion
I hope now you have got the idea of how to sublimate a tumbler in the oven. Indeed sublimation with the help of the oven is a cheap way, yet giving you the opportunity to get the maximum results.
Just make sure to cover the tumbler with a non-stick Teflon tap perfectly, and avoid any kind of bubbles in the packaging. Otherwise, the design inside can go wrong.
Still, if you see, you’re unable to perform the task, you can ask any query. Write your query in the comment box, I shall try my best to help you.
