American Fork High School Ceramics Classes

How to make Ceramic Decals
BACKGROUND:
Some brands of black and white Laser printers contain 60% iron oxide as well as other pigments in their toner cartridge. When a decal is printed using one of these printers and then applied to a ceramic surface and fired, the iron oxide survives the firing. It becomes permanently fused to the glaze surface. The resulting surface is a sepia toned image ( sepia because of the iron oxide) The other pigments, etc, burn away . Not all cartridges contain iron oxide. All Apple black and white laser printers work for this process and HP 1200-1300s work as well. Hewlett Packard black and white laser printers also contain iron oxide and work very well. Dell laser printers work , but, less well. They give a less dark image. NEC and Brothers do not work. Other brands of Laser printers must be tested.
DETAILS:
You will need to purchase the Decal paper from any of these companies and there are more online. Look for Clear laser Waterslide Decal Paper.

http:// www.beldecal.com, http://www.decalpaper.com/category-s/3.htm. http://www.decalpaper.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=L850C, http://www.beldecals.com/laser_paper.html

Click on Laser decal paper and select 'clear' paper. I use a HP black and white laser printer model 1200 that prints 8x11 inch paper. It also will be helpful to purchase a graphics program along the lines of Photoshop, This will allow you to work with the image; rotate, scale, or invert. Inexpensive photographic programs are available, IE, Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0. You will need to experiment with the glaze you use. Not all glazes will work. Some will eat the toner while others will work just fine. Experiment.

THE PROCESS:
You will be adding the decal to a glazed ceramic surface. After you acquire an image and print it on the Decal Paper, cut the image from the sheet as close as you can to the toner. The idea here is to not have a lot of decal film left over which may hinder placement on curved surfaces. Place the cut decal into warm water and wait about one minute. When the decal slides off the backing paper, place it toner side down onto a smooth already glazed ceramic surface. After placement use a soft paper towel to pat the decal dry while also pushing out any air bubbles that may become trapped. If you allow air to remain under the image, that part of the image will NOT print. Therefore, the surface MUST be SMOOTH. You can place on a curved surface within limits. You should have no problem with the average bowls, coffee mugs, etc. Caution: Make sure you print on the decal paper and not the protective onion skin that seperates the decal paper sheets. It is easy to get confused. Glaze color selection is important. Lighter colors are good. White is the best. For scanned photographs use 300 DPI. More just makes the image too dark. Fire the ware cone 04 - cone 6. Again, you may need to experiment. You may be able to fire lower or need to fire higher.

EXTENDED STEPS:
After the image is fired onto your pot you can then add color by using china paint wash, enamal, overglazes or lusters. If you do not have access to a scanner you can input images from your digital cameras. Also, many Decals printed on decal laser paper.

Commercial ceramic decals are made from China paint silk‐screened onto decal paper, and fired to low temperatures of 022‐016. This allows for printing of multiple colors, but requires familiarity with silk‐screening and specific materials to do this. Laser decals use a special decal paper that is heat‐set in a laser printer, and takes advantage of the iron used as a toner component for most laser printers. These will be monochrome, iron‐colored images. Although industry is developing color digital printing processes, the equipment is expensive at this time. Easy Ceramic Decals, artist Andy Brayman’s business, has closed. Try an internet search for digital ceramic decals. Regular water‐slide decal paper requires the use of a cover‐coat, as mentioned below. Newer decal paper made for laser‐printing requires no cover‐coat and is very easy to use. Laser decal paper is available from various sources. At school we get ours from: Bel Inc 6080 NW 84 Avenue Miami Florida 33166
http://www.beldecal.com/ http://www.beldecal.com/laser_paper.html
Bel makes this paper for non‐fired use, and does not mention firing on their web page last I looked. Paper comes in clear or with a ground that fires translucent
white. It come with a cover sheet that had to be removed before printing. Reports are coming in that laser print cartridge manufacturers have changed formulation to be more environmentally friendly. This has lowered the amount of iron, and there are reports that the newer laser toner does not make a fireable decal. If that is the case w/the toner you try, then you'll need to get special high‐iron toner
cartridges for your printer made for printing checks. Because the check numbers are read magnetically, the toner does still contain the high iron needed for a decal you fire. One company that produces this toner is Ganson Engineering Inc gei@ganson.com 928 854 5000. If you’re making images in Photoshop, it’s suggested that you use 300 dpi, black and white or grayscale for your image.
Online Resources: Charlie Cummings has started a group on Ning, the social network site online, for
the discussion of print and clay. Much interesting work, process images on Charlie’s pages, and conversation: http://clayprints.ning.com/ Print and Clay web site, with images and tech info: http://www.printandclay.net/ http://www.printandclay.net/printandclay/museumentrance.htm
Book Resources: Scott, Paul, Ceramics and Print Wandless, Paul, Image Transfer on Clay: Screen, Relief, Decal & Monoprint Techniques Ceramic sculptor Denise Pelletier has done workshops on these processes, and generously offers the information below. Her discussion was from a time when
water‐slide decal paper required a cover coat. The newer laser paper does not. Denise Pelletier deepelletier@hotmail.com
How and why do laser printer decals work? Black laser printer toner is composed of tiny iron filings, other pigments, and tiny beads of plastic. Black Iron Oxide being a key element. When a laser printer
prints an image, it establishes a static field on the piece of paper, the toner sticks to the field, then the whole thing goes through a heat element which melts the plastic bits, fixing the toner to the paper (in this case, decal paper). When a decal Top: unfired decal applied to cone 10 celadon on stoneware
Middle: fired to cone 02 Bottom: fired to cone 2 Arbuckle Laser Decals for Ceramics Laser decals.docx Page 2 of 3 from a printer containing enough iron oxide is applied to a ceramic surface and fired, the iron oxide survives the firing. The resulting image on the ceramic surface is permanent and sepia colored‐ ranging from tones of brown, to reddish purple or ochre. The exact color depends on the composition of the glaze underneath the decal, and the firing temperature of the decal. Not all laser printer cartridges contain iron or enough iron to work as a ceramic decal. All Apple black laser
printers work, and so do Hewlett Packard black laser printers. Other brands of laser printers
may work, but there is no guarantee unless you test them first. Bubble jet, inkjet, and all color printers do NOT work because they don’t contain any or enough iron or other metallic oxides.
How to make the decal
1. Create an image or text directly on the computer, and format it like you normally would print it ‐ positive and right reading (so that the text reads correctly). OR Found images and text (from books, magazines, newspapers, or drawn) may be scanned into the computer. The image can be changed or altered in any way you like in Photoshop or another such program. Any image should work, text and line art reproduce beautifully (even old lithographic images). Arrange smaller images, text, whatever on the page with a small bit of space between images, 1/4” is good. Lots of images can go on the same page that way so you don’t waste decal paper, just like silkscreened decals. Fit them on the page in any orientation, but be sure to leave about 1/2” border at the edge of the page all around.
TIPS: Photographic work can sometimes be tricky. You may want to convert photographs to halftones so that there aren’t any vast expanses of dark black. For any images with large expanses of black, especially from photographic images, it is a good idea to adjust the brightness/contrast about 25%‐30% brighter/lighter.
Note: artist Jacquie Rice suggests that the very first step is working with images in Photoshop at 300dpi, grayscale or bitmap. She finds that grayscale is best. More TIPS: Large images on ceramic tile or other relatively flat surfaces like plates, can be produced from smaller images using a tiling program (such as Adobe Illustrator) to grid the image for each tile. ALSO: Remember that any image you print on decal paper is a decal! That means you must take into consideration the fact that a big decal won’t slide onto a complex or curvy surface without wrinkling. So, relatively flat ceramic surfaces work best with larger images, unless you slice, dice cut, and collage them. Experiment!
2. Once your image is completed in the computer, load the water slide decal paper into the laser printer so that the printing goes on the SHINY side of the paper. Make sure you cut the paper to a size that the printer is capable of‐ many printers prefer an 8 1/2” x 11” piece of decal paper to be trimmed slightly‐say, an 1/8” less on length and width. Test first and trim if needed. Same goes for 11” x
14” printers.
3. Print your image on the decal paper! Print extras if a particular image is important, because sometimes a decal might tear or run when you apply it, so it’s best to have extras. Almost any glazed object works, also fired burnished terra sigillata and most vitreous slips. (Porous surfaces do not work. Terra‐sigged pieces should be fired to at least c/04). Every glaze is different, so students
should come with an attitude of testing and experimentation. Computer decals work over varying firing ranges, so the first try is always an experiment to find what temperature will work best with my given glaze. It's a good idea to have some small glazed test pieces or tiles if you want to experiment. You might also try decals on found glazed objects. Transferring the decal to the ceramic surface
Arbuckle Laser Decals for Ceramics Laser decals.docx Apply the decals in the same way that you would apply a commercial decal. Keep in mind that computer decals sometimes give you problems if the cover coat isn't right. If the cover coat is too thin, the image will tear or break apart‐if
it's too thick you may have trouble adhering it to your piece or incomplete adhesion (resulting in burning off part of your image) ‐
1. Clean the surface of your piece (where the decal will go) with alcohol and a clean cloth.
2. Cut out your image as close to the edges as possible. Try to make curved rather than angled comers and edges. Sharp edges can cause the decal to lift up.
3. Fill a shallow bottomed pan or tray with warm water. Soak the decal for 30‐60 seconds, or until the cover coat and image begin to separate from the paper. (Sometimes the paper will curl and flatten out again)
4. Moisten the ceramic surface where the decal will go with a wet sponge. This helps you position your decal without wrinkling or tearing it.
5. GENTLY slide the decal into position on your piece, carefully smoothing it from the center outward, with a small sponge, soft rubber rib, or rubber brayer. This forces all the water and air bubbles out from beneath the decal. Check to make sure there are no air bubbles or edges that won't stick. If the decal is not in complete contact with the surface, it will disappear in the firing. If you need to reposition the decal, flood it with a little water first.
6. Let the decal dry overnight. Firing the decal The firing temperature for computer decals is quite variable, and depends on the glaze that the decal is on. Since every glaze is different, you must experiment to know what the optimum firing temperature will be for any given glaze. Success can be had from c/018 (maybe lower) all the way to c/9. Basically you should try to fire at the temperature where the glaze is just beginning to flux. This melts the iron into the glaze, preserving the image. If you fire too hot, the glaze will suck up all of the iron or distort your image. If you fire too low, the image will smudge or wipe off. These are some general firing ranges:
On china paint: c020 ‐ c/018, On low‐fire glaze: c/010‐c/06, On cone 6 glaze: c/04 ‐ c/1, On cone 10 glaze: c/04 ‐c/6
On terra sigillata: fire at least to c/04, preferably a bit higher on burnished sigillata only Make sure decals are stacked in the kiln with at least 2" of clearance between shelves. Fire slowly, especially in the beginning to allow cover coat to bum off without lifting the decal or causing incomplete bumoff of cover coat. The kiln lid should be cracked until the cover coat is completely burned off. I like to
leave the kiln cracked right through red heat
EXPERIMENT! You will need to find the temperature that is right for your glaze. If your image burns out at a low temperature, your toner may not have any or enough iron. Firing hotter or cooler or a long firing time than your determined temperature will give you different colors or shades of iron. Clear glazes w/high Gerstley borate or nepheline syenite tend to "eat" the image. Try firing the decal lower or omit that glaze! And remember, if what you need is a consistent, undistorted image, it is easier to succeed with glazes c/6 or above. [NOTE: at UF we found that lowfire works well if the glaze is stable – like majolica. Highly alkaline glazes, like Alkaline Turquoise (a.k.a. Water Blue) eats
the glaze at expected temperatures, but will work much lower.] BIBLIOGRAPHY for Computer Decals Johnson, Garth, MFA Thesis, Technical Statement, NYSCC, Alfred University, 2000 Ross, Katherine, "Ceramic Decals from the Computer" (handout) School of the Art Institute of Chicago