The Cricut Mug Press Lets You Create Custom Mugs in Minutes (Once You Get the Hang of It)

• Value: 14/20
• Functionality: 17/20
• Ease of Use: 17/20
• Aesthetics: 18/20
• Quality of Final Product: 18/20

TOTAL: 84/100

There’s a strange thrill in peeling off transfer paper, revealing a mug you just designed. Even if you accidentally affixed the paper the wrong way and all of the letters are backwards. Or if you chose a design that’s a little too finely detailed, resulting in an hour spent tediously cutting out every line in your creation. Both happened to me while testing Cricut’s latest gadget, the Mug Press, and yet, I couldn’t wait to try making another custom mug.

The trial-and-error process wasn’t so much getting used to the devices; it was learning the best technique for the type of design I wanted to create. There are a few ways you can use the Mug Press to design your own mugs—and, as I learned, an ideal approach for each one. Here’s what I figured out the hard way, and what you should know before trying it yourself.

• Use Cricut’s Design Space program to create a mug design on your computer or phone. Mirror the image (so the words don’t show up backwards) with the click of a button and connect your computer/phone to your Cricut cutting machine.
• Load the cutting machine with an Infusible Ink pen or the cutting tool, depending on your design. This is what I learned the hard way: If your design has fine details, use the ink pen. If your design is relatively simple, use the cutting tool for a cutout design.
• Load a sheet of Infusible Ink on a standard grip mat, press “go” and watch it create your design.
  • If you’re using a cutout design, use a weeding tool to remove the cutouts, or negative space, in the design.
• Turn on the Mug Press and let it preheat, like you would an oven. (This takes about 3 minutes.)
• Wipe down the mug with the lint roller to ensure it’s totally clean, wrap the Infusible Ink sheet around the mug and lower it into the press.
• Push down the handle on the press, and in just a few minutes, it will beep, letting you know it’s done. Remove the mug, placing it on a trivet to cool.
• Once it’s cooled down, remove the Ink wrapper and voila! Your mug is born.

• If you’re using a cutout design, use a weeding tool to remove the cutouts, or negative space, in the design.

The end result is a dishwasher and microwave-safe mug with a smooth, glossy finish (and yes, it really is dishwasher-safe—after multiple washes, none of the mugs scratched, peeled or faded). The design isn’t raised and won’t peel off easily, like vinyl stickers can, though I wished the drawn logo didn’t bleed as much. That could be due to the quality of the copy paper I used to transfer the design; Cricut recommends using laser copy paper for the best results. (Confession: I used copy paper that claimed it worked with “most laser printers.” Other crafters seemed to create crisper designs.)

Oh, and a pro tip: If you’re using the Cricut Explore Air 2, like I was, it’s worth selecting “more” on the pressure gauge before printing your mug design, especially for cut creations. On the normal setting, the Infusible Ink paper seemed to tear, rather than pull apart cleanly, creating feathery, wispy edges to my design.

If you don’t have a Cricut cutting machine yet, it may be worth holding out until June 10, when the company launches two new machines: the Cricut Explore 3 ($299) and Maker 3 ($399). Both cut designs using Smart Materials faster than ever before (up to 8 inches per second), though the Maker 3 gives you a much larger range of DIY projects you can tackle, since it can create designs on 300-plus materials (from paper to leather), compared to the Explore 3’s 100ish materials. They’ll be available on Cricut.com starting June 10, and at major stores on June 27. (Both are compatible with the Mug Press, BTW.)