Chris Throws Pots Posted October 15, 2014 Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 Hi All, For the last few months I've been experimenting with decals. With my HP laser printer I've been printing my own iron-rich decals and getting results I'm really happy with (picture below). The process is pretty straightforward, and so long as the ^6 glaze I'm putting decals on top of doesn't change with the additional firing, the results are predictable and aesthetically where I want them to be. But I'm working in only one color. As mentioned in other decal-focused posts, a ceramic printer that can print full color decals costs a few grand. And while there are commercial services available for printing decals, I'm more of a DIY kind of guy. So I'd like to start screenprinting my own decals using gold overglaze, cobalt, etc, and I'm curious if anyone can help shed some light on this process. I have a background in screenprinting, so I'm very comfortable withe the physical steps of the process. What I'm wondering about are the following: - The decal paper needs to be submerged in water to get the backing paper to release. Is there a substance I should mix in with my overglaze/cobalt oxide wash to make it so the image wont wash off the paper? - Should I be spraying a fixer over the images instead of/in addition to mixing a fixing agent into my "ink"? - Should the decals be applied face-down? The iron decals can be applied right-side-up, but I have a suspicion that printing things backward and applying the paper with the "ink" in direct contact with the ware will be more effective. - Any ratios, recipes, tricks or tips will be appreciated. Thanks, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perkolator Posted October 15, 2014 Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 make your silk screen via traditional method or quick method with something like a Riso thermo-screen printer. china paint mixed with oil base to consistency of cold honey. after china paint dries, use oil base cover coat to seal it. store them between wax paper. soak paper in water, transfer decal right side up. fire to ^018 underglaze: same as above, mix UG with oil based medium and screen on to decal paper, then apply cover coat. FYI - with UG, if you want to get it underneath a glaze, you have to fire hot enough to burn off cover coat -- so either apply on greenware or on bisque that gets fired to red heat to burn off cover coating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chantay Posted October 15, 2014 Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 What type of oil based cover coat would you use? brushed on linseed oil? What about the spray varnish used in oil painting? Do you know what cone would these items need to be fired to, to burn off the cover coat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perkolator Posted October 15, 2014 Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 you can buy decal paper cover coating. alternatives are stuff like aerosol clear varnish/lacquer but they aren't as good. depending on the cover coat material, it may be necessary to get into a little more red heat instead of dull red/^022-018 like most decals/china paints/lusters are fired to. oil medium can vary depending on needs. some people use actual "china paint oil", baby oil, mineral oil, motor oil, linseed, lavender, on and on. lots of info on DIY decals on the internet. info coming from Alfred is a pretty good place to start your research. here is one: http://clay.alfred.edu/thesisstatements/johnson00.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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