---
title: Desk mats and mouse pads (sublimation print, laser cut to shape, overlocked edge) — AM training/support how-to videos
source_url:
  - /data/amcoza/sources/youtube/channel-main.md
  - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiTWhPANTNI
  - https://buythis.co.za/h-press-4060d#ai
  - https://buythis.co.za/h-roller-1600-e6#ai
  - https://buythis.co.za/lc-1390#ai
fetched_at: 2026-10-18T17:09:00Z
category: sublimation
pass: desk-mat-mouse-pad-youtube-howtos-index
refreshed_from: youtube.jsonl dump 2026-10-18 00:25 SAST and buythis.jsonl dump (no crawl)
---

# Desk mat and mouse pad how-to videos (AM training / support)

**Job:** a customer order for a mix of small mouse pads and large desk mats that cover the whole desk. The video uses four AM machine types together: a large-format **sublimation printer**, a **twin-station (double head) heat press** for the small pads, a **roll-to-roll (roller) heat press** for the big desk mats, and a **cabinet CO2 laser** driven from **RDWorks** to cut the pads to shape. The big mats are then overlocked on a sewing machine. This index collects the AM main-channel upload of this guide that was not yet listed in another AM how-to index. Deduplicated by watch ID across all AM how-to index pages (channel indexes alone do not count as how-to coverage). Other AM mouse pad videos are already listed in the sublimation, heat press and Heatware indexes linked below.

**Source:** local AM YouTube dump `youtube.jsonl` (main channel; refreshed 2026-10-18 00:25 SAST) and the Buythis product dump `buythis.jsonl`. First written 2026-10-18 19:09 SAST with 1 video. **YouTube and Buythis were not crawled.** The title and watch URL below are taken from the dump as written. The video was **not** watched. It has an English transcript in the dump, and the steps below are paraphrased from it only. Nothing was invented to fill gaps.

## English dump title (1 unique watch URL)

AM-channel uploads are framed as **AM training/support sources**. Each watch URL is a source.

### Design, print, cut to shape and lock the edge (about 15 minutes)

Paraphrased from the dump transcript:

**Two workflows, depending on size**

- **Small mouse pads:** laser cut each blank to shape first, then heat press them one at a time on the twin-station heat press. The presenter says this is much easier than pressing a big roll and cutting afterwards, and faster for bulk because two stations work in turn.
- **Large desk mats:** too big for the flat press, so the printed design is pressed onto the whole roll of mat material on the roll-to-roll heat press first, then the mats are laser cut out of the pressed roll, and finally the edges are overlocked.

**Design and cut line (Photoshop, Illustrator, RDWorks)**

1. Draw a rounded rectangle around each design with the rounded rectangle tool, almost edge to edge with the corner marks so it sits on the bleed line. Make the line thicker and give it a clear colour (red in the video), and check it is centred with an equal margin on all four sides so it does not cut into the artwork.
2. Hide the artwork layer so only the border is left. Either save it as a JPEG and convert it to DXF in another program, or drag it into Illustrator and use **Image Trace**, **Expand** and **Ungroup**, then delete the unwanted swatch so only the vector rectangle remains. The trace gives an inner and an outer line.
3. Export as **DXF** (File, Export As). The same rectangle can simply be scaled up for the larger desk mat designs. The video notes rounded corners are easier to overlock than square ones.
4. Import the DXF into **RDWorks**, ungroup it and delete the **outer** line, keeping the inner one, which the presenter says is more accurate and has fewer defects.
5. Laser settings read out in the video: **speed 20 at 75% power** for cutting the mouse pad material. Save to a file on a memory stick or download it straight to the cutter.

**Why laser cut the pads yourself**

6. The presenter prefers laser cutting their own blanks on an AM cabinet laser over buying pre-cut pads: any size or shape can be cut (even a contour such as a hand shape), and the laser seals the edge so it does not fray. Shop-bought pads often have edges that have already started to lift, which shortens how long the pad lasts under a moving hand.

**Printing**

7. Print all the designs, small and large, on sublimation paper. The presenter uses a **1.6 metre AM sublimation printer** because it gives good detail and can print in bulk or just one, which a desktop printer cannot do at this size.

**Heat pressing the small pads (twin-station press)**

8. Cut the printed paper up, line each print up on its pad as well as possible and hold it with **heat-resistant tape** (the presenter gets theirs from AM).
9. Settings used in the video: **200 °C for about 90 seconds per mouse pad**. The presenter knows others use a higher temperature for less time, but prefers 90 seconds so as much ink as possible transfers from the paper.
10. Pressure is adjusted on the left-hand side of the press. For a bulk order, do a small test first and get the pressure right before running everything. Less pressure is better: too much squashes the paper so it moves slightly and causes **ghosting** (a double print), or an "ink explosion" that leaves a line like a flash of light bursting off to the side.

**Large desk mats**

11. Press the big designs on the roll-to-roll heat press, then load the pressed roll into the laser cutter and cut the edges off, which the presenter says gives a much better finish for big mats.
12. **Overlock and hem the edges.** A desk mat carries lots of things and may get coffee spilt on it; with locked edges it can be rolled up and washed in a dishwasher or washing machine without the edges lifting or fraying, so it looks and lasts like a premium product.

The video closes by inviting viewers to visit AM to see the result in person, followed by AM's 2023 tenth-anniversary clip about the new Sunnyrock (East Rand) premises.

| Date | Channel | Title (from dump) | Watch URL (source) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2023-08-27 | main | Desk Mat and Mouse Pad Design, Print, Cut to Shape and Lock the Edge, Step by Step Design Guide | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiTWhPANTNI |

## Related SKUs (Buythis dump only; no prices, no stock)

Product names come from the Buythis product dump (`buythis.jsonl`; **not crawled**). Prices and stock are not stored on this index. The video does not name exact models. It shows an AM cabinet CO2 laser running RDWorks (AM's TruCUT range), a double head heat press, a roll-to-roll heat press and what the presenter calls a 1.6 metre AM sublimation printer. The rows below are current Buythis products of those types; the printer row is the nearest current roll-to-roll sublimation model in the dump, not necessarily the one in the video. No overlocker or sewing machine is listed in the Buythis dump. Check each product page before quoting.

| SKU | Product | Dump link | AM KB page | Why it is here |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LC-9060 | AM.CO.ZA® TruCUT™ Standard Range 900×600mm Cabinet Type Laser Cutting and Engraving Machine Barebone Unit | https://buythis.co.za/lc-9060#ai | [LC-9060](../products/lc-9060.md) | 900 × 600 mm TruCUT cabinet laser (RDWorks), cuts batches of small mouse pads per load |
| LC-1390 | AM.CO.ZA® TruCUT™ Standard Range 1300×900mm Cabinet Type Laser Cutting and Engraving Machine Barebone Unit | https://buythis.co.za/lc-1390#ai | [LC-1390](../products/lc-1390.md) | 1300 × 900 mm TruCUT cabinet laser (RDWorks) for cutting large desk mats out of a pressed roll |
| H-PRESS/4060D | AM.CO.ZA® Heatware™ Twin-Station Air-Lifting 400×600mm Flat Press Heat Press Machine with Cross Laser Alignment | https://buythis.co.za/h-press-4060d#ai | [H-PRESS/4060D](../products/h-press-4060d.md) | Twin-station 400 × 600 mm flat heat press, the double head press type used for bulk small pads |
| H-PRESS/6080D | Heatware Twin-Station Air-Lifting 600x800 Flat Press Heat Press Machine in Crate Box with Crosshair Alignment Lasers, 4800W | https://buythis.co.za/h-press-6080d#ai | [H-PRESS/6080D](../products/h-press-6080d.md) | Twin-station 600 × 800 mm flat heat press for larger pads in the same two-station workflow |
| H-ROLLER/1600/E6 | AM.CO.ZA® Heatware™ 220V 6kW 1620mm 2x Sublimation Roller Heat Press, Electric Roller Heating with Work Table | https://buythis.co.za/h-roller-1600-e6#ai | [H-ROLLER/1600/E6](../products/h-roller-1600-e6.md) | 1620 mm roller heat press with work table, the roll-to-roll press type used for full-desk mats |
| F2-1801I/SUB | AM.CO.ZA® FastCOLOUR™ ONE 1800mm Printing Area PrintExp Roll-to-Roll Sublimation Ink Large Format Printer with EPSON® I1600 A1 Sealed Printhead and In-house InkRIP Software, with 4L of CMYK Sublimation Ink and Cleaner | https://buythis.co.za/f2-1801i-sub#ai | [F2-1801I/SUB](../products/f2-1801i-sub.md) | Roll-to-roll sublimation printer (1800 mm print width) for printing pads and mats in bulk |

## Related AM how-to indexes

- [Sublimation how-to videos (includes other mouse pad videos)](sublimation-howtos.md)
- [Heat press how-to videos (includes the roller press mouse pad video)](heat-press-howtos.md)
- [Heatware heat press how-to videos](heatware-howtos.md)
- [RDWorks laser controller how-to videos](rdworks-howtos.md)
- [TruCUT how-to videos](trucut-howtos.md)
- [CO2 laser how-to videos](co2-laser-howtos.md)
- [Laser craft business idea videos](laser-craft-business-howtos.md)
- [Wedding guest message frame videos (another laser business idea)](wedding-guestbook-frame-howtos.md)
- [Main channel index](channel-main.md)

## Notes

- Matching: main-channel dump upload titled "Desk Mat and Mouse Pad Design, Print, Cut to Shape and Lock the Edge", minus any video already in another AM how-to index page. Channel indexes listing the same watch URL do not count as how-to coverage.
- The laser speed and power and the 200 °C / 90 second press setting are the ones read out in the video for its machines and materials. Test on an offcut first, because results depend on the laser tube, the pad material and the paper and ink.
- Quote current specifications and prices from the product page, never from the videos.
- Live stock is never stored here; check the live stock feed for availability.