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Custom mugs – Brian Berryamn

SUMMARY: An addendum of the “Details, Details” article

When I wrote the recent “Details, Details” article, there was one item that didn’t get included, as it was a custom order, and therefore shipped later
than the other items.

Directron
also carries a few “overclocking” coffee mugs
in their vast array of “overclocking” paraphernalia, and even offer the option of submitting your own picture to be put on one, as well.

The picture you send them is limited in size to 330 x 200 pixels maximum, and you’ll want to send the highest resolution bitmap (.bmp) image you can. You can e-mail them the image desired,
or you can physically mail image in print, as they provide a scanning service, which will cost $10 more.

They have a number of “stock” mugs, with radiation and biohazard emblems/text, and one that states:

The mug was very well packed for shipping. Packed into one box with styrofoam, that box was then packed in a larger box surrounded by styrofoam.

One thing that caught my eye immediately (aside from the great image work) was the logo on the bottom of the mug:

Does this mean the beverages you consume from these are going to be “sublime”, or you’re going to get “subliminal messages” while drinking them?? =)

I opted for the custom design, and as the old logo of the O/C Forums was about to become no more, wanted to use that image for this item. The image translated quite well:

It’s a bit “grainy”, but I didn’t send a very high resolution picture either. Frankly, it looks better than I expected, given the image submitted. Obviously,
the higher the resolution, the sharper the image, but this still looks quite sharp. They recommend keeping the mug out of direct sunlight, to help keep the image from possibly fading
over time.

{mospagebreak}

• Composition: Porcelain
• Color: White (black available with “stock” image mugs)
• Design: Custom (“stock” designs also available)
• Handle: Yes
• Appearance: High gloss finish
• Durability: High

After washing the mug initially, I ran it through some tests, to see how well it performs.

• Leaktest2004: PASSED.
• DairyMark03: PASSED.
• BreakfastMark SE: PASSED.
• LANBench2004: Adequate.

I think this might have scored higher on the final test, had the capacity of the mug been larger. When you’re in the middle of a long firefight, you don’t want that coffee cup to run
dry quickly. It does, however, hold a sufficient quantity under normal situations. =)

The mug arrived well packed, chip and crack free, and is a good quality porcelain item. The image transfer on it was quite good, despite the low resolution image supplied. The coloring is a shade lighter
than the original image, but it’s still very sharp and legible. The “stock” designs available are great, and the ability to place your custom design on a mug is a treat.

I’d like to thank Directron for sending this out for review.

Email Brian