How to care for your custom-printed mugs

A printed mug is a small, useful gift. People keep the ones they love for years and quietly retire the ones that fade. The difference between a mug that survives and a mug that does not usually comes down to how it is washed in the first month.

Sublimated prints are bonded inside the mug's polymer coating, so they are far more durable than a sticker or a transfer. But "more durable" is not the same as "indestructible." Here is the practical guide we hand to every customer who picks up a fresh batch from our Durbanville studio.

Wash by hand for the first week

For the first seven days after pressing, wash the mug by hand with warm water and a gentle dish soap. Use a soft sponge, not a scouring pad. The polymer coating is fully cured when it leaves us, but giving it a gentle settling-in period extends the print life noticeably.

Avoid soaking the mug in a sink full of dishes overnight. Long exposure to detergent does not damage the print, but it does dull the gloss faster than a quick wash and rinse.

After the first week, the print is at full strength and you can treat the mug as you would any other ceramic.

Dishwashers are fine, but the top rack is better

Most modern sublimated mugs are dishwasher safe, and ours are no exception. We test every batch through a 50-cycle dishwasher run before approving the substrate for production.

That said, the top rack is gentler. The bottom rack sits closer to the heating element and exposes the mug to higher peak temperatures. Top rack with a normal cycle and a standard tablet will give you years of crisp print. Heavy-duty cycles at 70°C plus eco-rinse cycles that bake the mug dry are the two settings that age a print fastest.

If you run a household with a habit of using "intense" or "pots and pans" cycles, just keep the printed mugs on the top shelf and you will not see fading.

Microwaves are okay, but watch the metallic detail

A standard sublimated mug can go in the microwave for normal reheating. The polymer coating and the ink are both microwave-safe.

The exception is any mug with a metallic rim, a gold handle accent, or a foil-effect design. Metals spark in microwaves. If your mug has any metallic finish, treat it as hand-wash and stovetop-warm only. We label these clearly when you collect, so you will know.

Standard full-colour photo mugs, name mugs, and logo mugs are all fine for 60 to 90 second reheats. Just do not leave the mug empty in a running microwave, which is good advice for any ceramic.

Storage and long-term care

Stack mugs with a paper towel or a soft cloth between them if you are short on shelf space. The colour-bonded print is hard to scratch from normal use, but two ceramics rubbing against each other inside a moving cupboard for a year will eventually leave a mark.

Keep mugs out of direct strong sunlight on a windowsill. UV is the slow killer of every printed surface, and a mug that lives in a north-facing kitchen window will fade in about 18 months. The same mug in a normal cupboard will look new for a decade.

If you spot a coffee or tea stain on the inside, a paste of bicarbonate of soda and water cleans it without harming the outside print. Avoid bleach unless you really need it, and rinse thoroughly if you do.

When to reorder

Even with perfect care, mugs get chipped, dropped, or lost. We keep a digital file of every custom design we print for at least 24 months, so reordering a matching set is quick. Just message us with your original order date and we will pull the artwork.

If you want to set up a small batch of replacement mugs, get a quote and mention the original order. For new corporate or gift orders you can see our pricing for current rates on 11oz, 15oz, and colour-changing mugs.