DECALS are water slide transfers. They must be run on laser printers, using toner with iron oxide.The fired color will range from sepia to dark chocolate.
Unlike lazertran, the paper is very compatible with laser printers, won't fuse or melt. The weight is similar to good photo paper.
We had some curious fails at first, where some designs simply burned off. This, we discovered, was because not all laser printer inks contain iron oxide these days. Who knew? HP seems to be reliable.
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Decal paper is available in bulk from BelDecal or in small packs from
http://www.northwoodstudios.us/decal_page1.html, where you will also find a basic tutorial.
This is uncoated waterslide paper and requires a cover coat. We've had good experience using clear coat spray from auto paint departments, using 3 serious coats. The first one should be light, or the print may bleed a bit. Once it's sealed with that first coat you can hit it with a couple heavier coats.
**LET IT DRY in between coats. It's a learning curve; if you think it's ready, snip a small piece to test in warm water. It should slide off intact. If it starts to break up, or is too fragile to handle without breakage, spray another coat.
After firing, you can use overglaze to add more color. Some underglazes work also, but we find they are more difficult to work with for details. Great for borders, though!
SCREENPRINTING! We tested underglazes on fired glazed ware, and found that some of our older underglazes fire matte on top of the glaze. Duncan CONCEPTS underglazes seem to contain enough frit to fire nicely glossy so they don't require a clear glaze overcoat. (YAY ! one less step) Of course, you might find a matt design interesting, so feel free to experiment!
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| Steampunk rider/ Wabi Sabi |
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The onglaze paints are usually mixed with a little oil, so screens are harder to clean up. Use a gentle cleaner and work from the back of the screen to minimize stress on the emulsion.
Goccogrrl screen cleaner is great for this too -
http://www.northwoodstudios.us/misc.html
Underglazes are waterbased and screens are easier to clean.Gentle stream of tepid water, sponge, a little detergent; dry flat on lint-free surface.
Photographing shiny ware is crazy-hard! and I would kinda rather spend more time painting..
but (ever-hopefully, she says) will post more soon.
FUN FUN FUN - go have some!
xoxo judy
