digital ceramic decal

In article , chan writes

I suggest you try to get hold of a copy of a book called 'Ceramics and Print' by Paul Scott, published by A.& C. Black of London UK. It *must* be the second edition: the first edition wasn't very helpful for your problem. The ISBN is 0 7136 5485 6 .

I assume that you're talking about using a monochrome laser? I've tried this, and the trouble is that the usual toners (Epson, HP, etc.) fire out at stoneware temperatures. There may be a slight sepia image left, but this tends to disappear when it's glazed.

My method was to cheat the printer by switching off just before the printed page reached the fuser. Then the image, of unfused toner, could be transferred to a damp clay surface by gentle rubbing.

The nearest I got to satisfactory results was to use a somewhat different method. I produced a properly fused image, and then used this as a sort of litho plate, relying on the fact that the image repels water but the background paper doesn't. I could then ink it with an oily medium containing the ceramic stain or oxide, and then *gently* wash off the surplus. If you're old enough to know about a photographic technique called underwater bromoil, it's like that.

But despite all my efforts, I never produced anything which really satisfied me!

I would very much like to know of an idiot-proof (and inexpensive) way of transferring text images, preferably underglaze, to a ceramic surface. Ordering custom-made decals is an expensive business when you need only one-offs.

Jake Loddington, POULTON-LE-FYLDE, Lancs. UK

Hi Jake

I was told that the toner is actually real glaze with color and resin to make it like toner, and transfer to decal with nomal laser printer like Canon clc900. I was in the trade of inkjet dye-sub transfer to ceramic, but only to the coating of polyetster, not a real glaze. Decal water transfer paper to ceramic is a mature technology. Buying ready made decal for ceramic will not be difficult. But thay are all ready made images or pictures printed by screen printing to decal paper in large volume. The price to make screens are expensive. What I am looking is laser print with special toner to decal paper in a very small quanlity or even a single print only. Did you try decal transfer to ceramic and fire in 800 deg C.

The toner is used by

K.T.Chan

Jake Loddington wrote in news:B4yJoBAGOPP$ snipped-for-privacy@jakelodd.demon.co.uk:

Laser toner always has a lot of magnetic iron oxide in it, since laser printers (and xerographic copiers) use a magnetic method to distribute the toner on the drum. Toner makers sell "special" versions for printing the magnetic text on checks, but as far as I can tell that's mostly a scam... almost any toner would work as well.

The problem as I see it is that if you want more iron that what the printer gives, there's no easy way to get it extra-thick. (I suppose you could try feeding the same sheet through again, but I have my doubts...!)

Might be fun to run a few experiments.

Bob Masta dqatechATdaqartaDOTcom D A Q A R T A Data AcQuisition And Real-Time Analysis Shareware from Interstellar Research

In article , chan writes

I had thought of ball-milling some e.g. cobalt carbonate and then injecting it into my laser toner cartridge (when nearly empty) and giving it a good shaking. It's a Star printer; a crib of the HP Laserjet

2. Anyone tried anything like this?

I had also thought of using soluble salts e.g. cobalt chloride or copper sulphate and putting these in an ink-jet printer. But as my ink-jet is an Epson, with non-replaceable nozzles, I'll wait until I can lay hands on a scrap printer before I try it.

I will look up urbanclay.com.

Regards

Jake Loddington POULTON-LE-FYLDE Lancs. U.K.

Lots of info in that web site(urbanclay). Firing temp would be handy to know. I notice it says dishwasher proof, does that mean it can be cooked on or not.?

Sam

The laser printer uses a magnet on a spiral screw to distribute toner over the drum. so it wouldn't pick up any non-magnetic oxides. But supposing it did (maybe dragged along with residual normal magnetic toner, or just leaking out), then you would have the issue of what your cobalt carbonate does to the drum. The drum is an exotic photo-sensitive material, and you might poison it.

If your printer is the kind where the drum is replaced with the toner cartridge, this might not be a big deal. On the other hand, since the added oxide has no plastic in it, it won't fuse to the paper except by association with normal toner. So the oxide might be falling off and getting into places it shouldn't. Seems rather risky, unless you are about to junk the printer anyway... but I'd love to find out the results of any experiments you conduct!

Bob Masta dqatechATdaqartaDOTcom D A Q A R T A Data AcQuisition And Real-Time Analysis Shareware from Interstellar Research

There is other kinds of powder transfer printers like laser photocopier. The Xante copier is using a magnetic drum that has magnetized and demagnetized spots on the drum surface seted by a magnetic head according to the picture scanned or from digital files.

The magnetized spot will pick up "starter or developer" that is iron powder making a brush to pick up toner, a power that attach to the brush.

Ceramic powder that is glaze powder and flux mixed with resin can be pickup and thansfer to the media paper or decal surface.

The fuser is a heat roller for normal toner resin to melt and stick to the paper.

That is to make a decal paper with the image. Thansfer the decal image in 4 colored glaze to the cermaic glaze surface, kind of onglaze color. Fire the glaze in 800 deg C that melt the glaze to make color pictures.

Laser copier is moreless the same but the image is set by static charge partially discharged by laser light.

The decal can be made by silk screen but more expansive. But most comercial decal transfers are made like that.Of cause you can not request pictures of your like without paying much money.

The problem is at the moment the powder was developed inside a Canon clc900 printer with a rip for color management. 5000 us to start with, and no support from the printer manufacturer. Warrenty gone. Will try with the support of laser copier or Xante friends to see if the powder can work with some other printer cheaper.

That is what I know from a non pottery people. I am from the inkjet transfer dye sub printing on ceramic field. Wanted to get deeper into real glaze and ceramic.

Regards

K.T.Chan no snipped-for-privacy@aol.com (Bob Masta) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news.itd.umich.edu:

photo-sensitive material, and you might poison it.