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Waterslide Decals for Hard Surfaces

Original Lazertran and Lazertran Inkjet Waterslide Decals for Hard Surfaces

To understand some of the various ways the waterslide decals can be used, it helps to understand their composition.

Once printed, the decals have four layers: 1. the paper backing which will be removed; 2. the water-soluble mucilage gum layer which adheres the decal to the substrate (or is washed off if the image is used in reverse); 3. the film layer which receives the ink and carries it to your artifact; and 4. the ink.

Since the ink sits on the surface (or is protected only by the thin film layer when used in reverse), the images are not as durable as what you get with ceramic glazes or dye sublimation printing – where the color is actually fused into the substrate.

Items (like tile and ceramics) that can tolerate the heat can be cured in the oven to harden the bond. As well, one or two coats of varnish can be applied for added durability.

Original Lazertran and Lazertran Inkjet Decals can even be applied to curved surfaces. Simply mold the decal around the item. If there are noticeable creases, heat the decal with a hair dryer or heat gun (held further away than usual) and carefully stretch to fit.

A Few Things to Know About Lazertran Inkjet

The company has developed Lazertran Inkjet for artists who have inkjet rather than laser printers and don’t want to use a copy center.

Inkjet inks and dry toners have little in common except their ability to put color on paper; consequently the decal process is different in a few respects.

Unless treated with an oil-based varnish, the uncolored areas of the InkJet Decal will dry white. Sometimes you might like that look; but when you don’t, an oil-based varnish will make the un-inked areas clear as the oil in the varnish seeps into the absorbent film. Of course, the varnish also adds durability as mentioned above.

Another quirk of Lazertran Inkjet is that you need to lay down as little ink as possible. Too much ink and the image will blur. Before printing your artwork, you want to find the printer setting that lays down the least amount of ink while still creating a clear image.

A good way to determine the best setting is to do a test sheet with multiple images. Copy your image (perhaps a couple of different images) onto a blank page in your graphic design software. Size the image to about 2” x 2” and place it in the upper left corner.

Label it with a text box in which you type “Normal” and print in Normal mode onto the cream-colored side of a sheet of Lazertran Inkjet. (The back is a light blue color and you have to look closely to discern the difference.) Then move the image to top center; label it “Low” and print onto the same Lazertran sheet. Move the image to top right and try “Draft” mode, etc.

With just one sheet of Lazertran, you can create up to 15 test squares. If you plan to transfer onto different surfaces, you can go the next step and transfer images to small ceramic tiles, squares of glass, etc.

Believe me, this is time and money well spent and will become a permanent reference for much future work. Don’t forget to transfer the text boxes as well so you will know which is which!

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