Lazertran Silk Decals

A Unique Way of Adding Designs to Fabric

Lazertran Silk is not really a decal. There is no decal film; there is no mucilage glue.

It's simply a specially formulated paper that accepts dry toner. When laid face up under fabric and ironed, the dry toners melt, are released from the paper and are deposited on the fabric where they dry again.

This sounds so much like t-shirt transfer or dye sublimation printing that it is worthwhile to explain the differences.

When you apply a t-shirt transfer, the ink is transferred by way of a rubbery sheet which stays on the fabric and noticeably changes its feel.

With Lazertran Silk, the ink alone transfers and the fabric retains its original hand.

A tight weave allows maximum ink transfer to the fabric. If you choose a loose weave, you may be disappointed to find that some of the ink (and your design) falls through the fabric's weave. Your design would look like a shadow of its former self!

The manufacturer has come up with a solution for such fallout with loose weaves: spray the image before applying with 3M permanent Photo Mount Spray. This fills the holes so that ink can be laid down; but may slightly change the fabric's feel.

The difference between Lazertran Silk and dye sublimation printing on fabric is also important to understand.

In the dye sublimation process, the special inks go directly from a solid to a gaseous state when heated. Since they are deposited onto the fabric in a gaseous state, they completely impregnate the fabric - like a dye.

On the other hand, the dry toners on a Lazertran Silk sheet go from solid to liquid to solid. Consequently most of the color sits on the surface of the fabric. Still, Lazertran Silk "dyed" items can be gently washed as long as the fabric itself is washable.

How to Use Lazertran Silk on Fabric

Print your image in reverse. If you have a laser printer, print directly onto a Lazertran Silk sheet. If you have an inkjet printer, print onto high quality white inkjet paper.

Then take your reverse image and a sheet of Lazertran Silk to a copy center. Be sure to take the package instructions with you in case the copy center personnel have any questions.

Let the toners dry thoroughly before proceeding. Preheat your iron (as hot as the fabric will tolerate). Iron out any wrinkles. This also heats up the fabric to facilitate melting the toners.

Position the fabric right side down on top of the Lazertran image and iron the fabric until the Lazertran sheet is well stuck. Don't pull on it to test.

Lay the fabric and attached Lazertran sheet in warm water, paper side down. Push down to make sure the image is completely submerged.

Wait for the paper to release and fall off. Don't pull it off. Lift the fabric from the water. Lay it image side down on your ironing board and smooth flat. Iron lightly with a cool iron to dry the fabric. Frequent repositioning helps.

Iron; lift fabric; move to dry spot; iron again.

Turn the dried fabric image side up. Cover with parchment paper (available in rolls near waxed paper in your supermarket or in sheets from any artist supply store). Iron through the parchment paper with a hot iron. Allow to cool. Peel off the parchment paper.

If the image is shiny and appears to be on the surface rather than melted around the fabric threads, use a new sheet of parchment paper and re-iron.

Care Instructions

If the fabric is washable, gentle wash in warm water. Wash separately the first time.

If you see bits of toner releasing and floating in the water, your iron was not hot enough and did not melt the toner onto the fabric. If your design still looks OK, your project may be salvageable. Before removing it from the wash water, try to sweep the loose toner particles aside and lift the fabric up through the cleared water.

Rinse under running water. You want to prevent any loose toner particles from re-depositing on the fabric and marring the remaining design.

How to Use Lazertran Silk on Polymer Clay

Print your image in reverse. If you have a laser printer, print directly onto a Lazertran Silk sheet. If you have an inkjet printer, print onto high quality white inkjet paper.

Then take your reverse image and a sheet of Lazertran Silk to a copy center. Be sure to take the package instructions with you in case the copy center personnel have any questions.

Condition and roll out your clay. Cut out the image for transfer and press image side down onto the clay. Be sure the entire image is firmly pressed into the clay.

Let sit for a half hour. Immerse the clay and attached Lazertran sheet in cool water. Allow to soak one minute. Swish the water to see if the backing paper floats free. If not, soak another minute and repeat. Do not try to pull the paper off.

Once the paper floats free, remove the clay from the water and lay, image side up, on a towel or doubled paper towels. Dab away excess moisture.

Trim away excess clay. If you want to form the clay, for example into a bead or rounded shape, let sit for an hour. This allows the toners to bond well with the clay and prevent cracks in the color when bent.

Cure according to manufacturer's instructions.