Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world, and also makes coffee cups one of the most common promotional items.
Although there are many materials used to make coffee cups, such as copper, glass, stainless steel, etc, there is no doubt that ceramic mugs excel others in many features.
Ceramic mugs are durable, microwave-safe, and easy to wash in the dishwasher. Besides, ceramic mugs are versatile in daily life, and you can continue to enjoy your cup of tasteful coffee shortly after a cup of iced cola.
So, let’s talk about some steps when you plan to import ceramic mugs from China for promotion. After reading this article, I believe you will get some clues on how to import mugs from China.
#1. Choose a mug cup type, straight type preferred
Although a mug means a cup with a handle, in fact, ceramic mugs have many shapes for their body, which are easy to set in the production process, compared with other drink wares. The following are the most common cup types used in the promotion field.
1-1. Straight Ceramic Mug
This is the most common and popular mug, simple but fashionable, and is widely used on various occasions. It is also one of the most popular items for promotion. Straight Mug is just a general term, and some may have different sizes in cup rims and bottoms. For example, a mug with wide upper rims & a narrow bottom is also called a straight type.
1-2. Belly Ceramic Mug
Does this shape of the cup look a bit like a wine barrel? And isn’t it lovely? Therefore, it is also the favorite mug of many restaurants and pubs. Generally, this cup holds about 8 to 10 ounces of wine, which is just perfect in a single gulp.
1-3. Flare Ceramic Mug
This cup shape is ideal for sipping, and it looks elegant in shape with the middle body narrowing down. You can hold it tight in your palms, and relax with your sips of coffee. Frankly, this is my favorite cup style and I have dozens of them in my collection.
1-4. Tankard Ceramic Mug
As its name speaks, this cup is super large to hold 20 ounces or more. And, its shape gives a scent of old fashion, which would be an excellent choice for those who like the traditional style. In addition, the bottom of this cup style looks very sturdy, and not easy to topple.
#2. Determine the ceramic materials
To be precise, ceramics is actually a general term for utensils that are sintered at high temperatures. Due to different firing methods and temperatures, ceramics can be roughly divided into the following four:
2-1. Bone porcelain
Porcelain originated in China, and its first piece of ceramic article can be traced back to 12,000 years ago. Literally, the history of China is almost a history of ceramics. However, bone porcelain is a kind of porcelain invented by westerners.
Porcelain with 25% bone powder in raw materials can be called bone porcelain, with 40% being called high-quality ones, with 45% being described as supreme ones. Due to its complicated technology, bone porcelains are only produced in Britain, South Korea, China, Japan, Germany, Russia, and Thailand.
Bone porcelain is usually fired at least twice repeatedly at a high temperature of 1200℃, and some top brands may need to be fired more than four times. Therefore, they are very light, delicate, and transparent, in a beautiful and elegant shape, with a low water absorption of 0.5%, the lowest among all ceramics. Water absorption is an important index to ceramics quality because low water absorption often represents sophisticated craftsmanship.
If there are any shortcomings, they are expensive!
2-2. Earthenware
Earthenware can be declared as the simplest type of porcelain. What we usually call ceramic is this kind of material, which is usually made of rough clay, at a general firing temperature of above 700℃. If you have no idea about this material, think about the world-famous Terracotta Warriors and Horses, which are made of this material.
Generally, it is widely used in porcelain for home decoration. This type of porcelain has a porous surface, so a coating of glaze is added to make it practical to hold liquid or drink. It is the most widely used material for making promotional mugs.
2-3. Porcelain
Unlike earthenware, porcelain is mainly composed of kaolin clay, a smooth, fine-grained clay whose name derives from a village in China.
Porcelain made of kaolin is firm, smooth, and brightly white. Like bone porcelain, porcelain’s water absorption is less than 0.5%, and its cost ranks second among all. Therefore, it is the first choice for high-grade tableware. And some famous brands will use it to manufacture customized mugs.
2-4. Stoneware
Stonewares are made from refined clay and fired at 1000-1200℃. Therefore, although there are tiny holes on the surface that need to be glazed, the number of holes is much less than that of earthenware.
They are very durable, and at a moderate price, making them the first choice for many restaurants, bars, and hotels. It is also often used to make promotional mugs.
Is it a bit confusing with these four categories? It’s as simple. I will sum it up for you.
There are four kinds of ceramic materials. And in order of price from high to low, they are Bone china, Porcelain, Stoneware, and Earthenware.
Among them, Earthenware is the most common material used for promotional mugs, followed by Stoneware. And both of them need to be glazed for their porosity.
#3. Customizing the logo on the mug surface
There are five different methods to customize the logo on the surface of mugs.
3-1. Screen Print
It is almost a versatile printing method, suitable for surface printing of various materials, including ceramic mugs of course. Moreover, it is also popular because of its low cost. And yet, the disadvantage is also obvious in that the printed colors are monotonous, usually of one color shade, and gradient colors cannot be printed.
3-2. Transfer Printing
This printing method is inefficient as it is time-consuming and labor-intensive. However, if there are complicated colors of images or logos to be printed, such as more than two or even four color shades, then transfer printing is the best printing method.
3-3. Digital Printing
If you have high requirements for the color of the logo or image, then this is the most suitable method, which leaves the lifelike effect, and is not easy to fade.
3-4. Dye Sublimation Print
This printing method uses thermal transfer ink and organic color dye to print the logo or image on the cup. Very good gloss, and it still looks like new even after a long time.
3-5. Engraving Print
Strictly speaking, it is not actually a printing method, but a laser etching method, which uses high temperatures to heat a specific area of a ceramic mug to form a customized logo and pattern. This custom design method works best when it is applied to mugs with matt surfaces.
The above is just a brief introduction to the logo printing method of ceramic mugs. For more detailed printing methods, please refer to the following article.
#4. Select the position of the logo
There is no doubt that the printing position must be chosen on the outside surface of the mug. In this way, when someone drinks a cup of water or coffee, the logo can be seen by people around him, thus achieving the purpose of promoting the brand.
However, it should be noted that the size of the logo is not necessarily as big as possible. And, the logo should not be printed near the rim of a cup to avoid your logo being covered and invisible when drinking water. Generally speaking, the logo should be 2cm away from the cup rim.
In addition, there is a logo or pattern area that is often overlooked, i.e. the cup bottom. When we clean the mug, we put it upside down and let it dry. If you print a logo on the bottom, then your logo can be displayed, even when it is idle.
#5. Ceramic mug production areas in China
As kaolin, clay, and porcelain clay are the main raw materials, ceramics is actually a resource-intensive product. The main producing areas often enjoy an abundance of local raw material sources. Areas such as Tangshan Hebei, Zibo Shandong, Liling Hunan, Dehua Fujian, and Chaozhou Guangdong happen to have rich clay sources and are famous for their massive ceramics production.
Tangshan Hebei, Zibo Shandong are located in North China. The ceramic mugs produced in these two places are mainly made of earthenware materials which are suitable for large-scale purchase. The ceramic mugs in Liling Hunan are mainly made of stoneware. The ceramic mugs produced in Dehua Fujian and Chaozhou Guangdong have many novel shapes. If you want to purchase special-shaped styles of mugs, suppliers from these two areas are good choices.
You may ask why Jingdezhen Jiangxi, the capital of porcelain, is not on the list. Yes, it produces excellent handmade porcelains, yet it is not the main source of mugs for massive batches, due to the difficulties to realize industrialization for such fine art. To some extent, Jingdezhen porcelain has been out of the category of daily necessities and belongs to high-end works of art.
If you want to know more about the industrial chain distribution of other promotional items in China, the following article would be helpful for you.
#6. Some rare ceramic mugs for eye-catching
6-1. Diamond Ring Ceramic Mug
The highlight of this mug is the diamond-shaped ring, unlike any other ceramic mug handle. Quite a surprise, isn’t it? I once gave this mug to my customer Susi. When she opened the box, she saw the ring, and she felt dazzled and almost had a heart attack, lol…
6.2 Tire mug
The tire texture on the cup surface looks very unique, doesn’t it? For car lovers, this is a pretty good choice for gifts. Some of my customers, such as car dealers and tire wholesalers, love this design of mugs because it is very relevant to their business.
6.3 Golf mug
Want to play golf while drinking a cup of coffee? This cup will satisfy your wish. Actually, I admire the designer of this cup. Perhaps, he is a golf goer himself and he is so creative that even the golf club is practically a ballpoint pen.
6.4 Color changing mug
When you pour hot water exceeding 60 degrees Celsius into it, the logo or pattern will gradually manifest itself on the cup. Isn’t it amazing? The magic lies in the color-changing color pigment, which is also environment-friendly. Of course, in addition to hot water magic, there is also cool water magic, in which the mug color changes when filled with cold drinks. Isn’t it amazing to have your logo printed on this design of mugs?
#7. A video about the production process
Finally, we’d share a short production process video of a ceramic mug, hoping to help you learn more about this lovely piece in our daily life.
Do you have any further questions about ceramic mugs? Or, would you like to get some help with importing ceramic mugs from China?
All you need to do is to write to us at sales@plentmax.com.
