Printing on tile
Jul 1, 2020 07:36:20 #
I have seen some very interesting photos printed on 12*12 tiles. Does anyone have any experience with how this is done? Thanks in advance for your input.
Jul 1, 2020 08:32:47 #
Check out this guy, he will print on most anything. https://www.facebook.com/ynotcolor/posts/2643944952513129?comment_id=2643999292507695&reply_comment_id=2644006399173651¬if_id=1593555450266801¬if_t=feed_comment_reply
Jack Olson
Jack Olson
Jul 2, 2020 06:48:52 #
[quote=Wilderness Images]Check out this guy, he will print on most anything. https://www.facebook.com/ynotcolor/posts/2643944952513129?comment_id=2643999292507695&reply_comment_id=2644006399173651¬if_id=1593555450266801¬if_t=feed_comment_reply
Jack Olson[/quote
There are two ways to put an image on tile. As far as I know.
1) you can transfer an image using a dyesub, heat transfer process. You need a dyesub printer and a heat press. If you want to get serious about it you can buy a whole system from
www.conde.com
2) there is equipment that can print directly onto just about any sub straight but it is expensive.
Jack Olson[/quote
There are two ways to put an image on tile. As far as I know.
1) you can transfer an image using a dyesub, heat transfer process. You need a dyesub printer and a heat press. If you want to get serious about it you can buy a whole system from
www.conde.com
2) there is equipment that can print directly onto just about any sub straight but it is expensive.
Jul 2, 2020 07:48:42 #
Jul 2, 2020 10:48:17 #
Jul 2, 2020 11:26:15 #
There are actually a lot of ways to do this. More so with monochrome than with color.
I suggest you get a book on “alternative photographic techniques” (search for that term on Amazon books).
It will be considerably cheaper to get these books from your library—and personally I’d like to skim through them before buying—so I get the ISBN numbers of the book from the Amazon listing, as well as author, full title and publisher, and tale that to the local library. They probably do not have it, but ask about ‘inter-library loan’. We’ve used this to get specialized books from co-operating libraries across the US. Having all the info on hand—particularly that ISBN number—makes it easier for the librarian to search for your request. And, they may find other titles.
College art departments which have photography programs will frequently have classes in alternative photo processes as part of their curricula. So, the college libraries will have a copy of the text book used in the class. When new classes switch to newer text books the old ones frequently stay in the academic libraries—so there is a lot of out-of-print information available. And academic libraries are big players in the inter-library loan process. Great resources!
More specifically: for printing on hard surfaces such as tiles you can print directly on them by covering the base with a sensitized coating which is exposed and developed. This can be silver based or protein based (such as gum/bichromate printing) Usually this is monochrome, but gum printing allows using powdered pigments and dyes.
Bisque baked tiled which are not glazed are porous and can be sensitized with iron-based materials for a blue-print or Van Dyke (brown tone) image. You make these by exposing the treated surface to strong sunlight for a few minutes. A strong UV light source works, too. Develop in water. with maybe an acid or alkaline wash to change the color or tonal range.
Silk screen emulsion ( home made or store bought) can be mixed with finely powdered ceramic glazing materials, exposed and developed, which washes away the unexposed material. The remaining image can be fired in a kiln, which burns away the stencil emulsion but fuses the glazing material to the ceramic base. Additional firings can add more colors or a clear, protective overcoat. These baked images are archival and have a lifetime measured in centuries—unless you drop them!
Ulano makes sensitized sheets of screen-print stencil material consisting of an emulsion on a clear plastic sheet. You can handle this in dim room light and expose it to UV. When it is developed the emulsion becomes sticky (think Jello) and pigments can be sprinkled onto it like a kid applies glitter to a line of glue. Shake off the excess and press the tinted image onto the ceramic base. Fire it in a kiln.
Mechanical processes are often used. Color separations are made from color images and printing plates or silk screens are made from those. Silk screen processes are cheaper and easier for hobbyists. Conventional inks can be used, or glazing pigments can be used and the image is fired.
Dye sublimation transfers an image at a lower temperature than firing in a kiln and can be done with some inkjet printers and some inks. It is similar to making a transfer for putting an image on a T shirt. Print on a sheet of transfer paper, which does not absorb as much of the ink as standard printer paper. Place the image on a glazed ceramic object and use heat and some light-pressure to vaporize the ink, which may be absorbed into the glazed surface.
Similarly, monochrome or color laser images can be transferred to hard, smooth surfaces using heat. The laser printer toner has a plastic base mixed with pigments. Again, you’ll get better results using a transfer paper that lets the image sit on the surface, rather than soak into the copy paper fibers.
Decals: A British company makes several products under the Lazertran brand. Pick the one for your inkjet or laser printer. Print on it as usual and let it dry, which takes a bit longer than usual. Cut around the image, soak it in warm water, and the image—barely supported on a thin base— separates from the paper base. Slide this decal image into place on your ceramic object. It is a little flexible and can be bent around gentle curves, which is very difficult with printing processes. Once the image dries you may notice a fine line from the flexible base around the image. Spraying a coat of lacquer over the image softens or dissolves that outline and protects the image. I’ve used this on glass with fair results on my few attempts. When transferring the image to wood you can use a solvent to completely dissolve the base and the pigment sinks into the wood without any trace of an outline. The products come with full instructions.
Google “lazertran waterslide decal” or “lazertran inkjet waterslide decal” for retailers (Blick, Walmart, Staples,Amazon) as well as company and independent demos.
Should you be in an old cemetery you may find headstones with portraits on them. Typically these ceramic images are in brass cases with hinged lids. These were made using a decal process. The decals were sensitized and contained pigments which worked as a glaze. After being photo-printed
the emulsion was transferred by the decal process onto the ceramic base and kiln-fired for permanence. I believe this was called a ‘carbon process’, and was rather popular at one time. I don’t think the materials are still being made commercially.
Lots more processes. Get a book or two and enjoy.
I suggest you get a book on “alternative photographic techniques” (search for that term on Amazon books).
It will be considerably cheaper to get these books from your library—and personally I’d like to skim through them before buying—so I get the ISBN numbers of the book from the Amazon listing, as well as author, full title and publisher, and tale that to the local library. They probably do not have it, but ask about ‘inter-library loan’. We’ve used this to get specialized books from co-operating libraries across the US. Having all the info on hand—particularly that ISBN number—makes it easier for the librarian to search for your request. And, they may find other titles.
College art departments which have photography programs will frequently have classes in alternative photo processes as part of their curricula. So, the college libraries will have a copy of the text book used in the class. When new classes switch to newer text books the old ones frequently stay in the academic libraries—so there is a lot of out-of-print information available. And academic libraries are big players in the inter-library loan process. Great resources!
More specifically: for printing on hard surfaces such as tiles you can print directly on them by covering the base with a sensitized coating which is exposed and developed. This can be silver based or protein based (such as gum/bichromate printing) Usually this is monochrome, but gum printing allows using powdered pigments and dyes.
Bisque baked tiled which are not glazed are porous and can be sensitized with iron-based materials for a blue-print or Van Dyke (brown tone) image. You make these by exposing the treated surface to strong sunlight for a few minutes. A strong UV light source works, too. Develop in water. with maybe an acid or alkaline wash to change the color or tonal range.
Silk screen emulsion ( home made or store bought) can be mixed with finely powdered ceramic glazing materials, exposed and developed, which washes away the unexposed material. The remaining image can be fired in a kiln, which burns away the stencil emulsion but fuses the glazing material to the ceramic base. Additional firings can add more colors or a clear, protective overcoat. These baked images are archival and have a lifetime measured in centuries—unless you drop them!
Ulano makes sensitized sheets of screen-print stencil material consisting of an emulsion on a clear plastic sheet. You can handle this in dim room light and expose it to UV. When it is developed the emulsion becomes sticky (think Jello) and pigments can be sprinkled onto it like a kid applies glitter to a line of glue. Shake off the excess and press the tinted image onto the ceramic base. Fire it in a kiln.
Mechanical processes are often used. Color separations are made from color images and printing plates or silk screens are made from those. Silk screen processes are cheaper and easier for hobbyists. Conventional inks can be used, or glazing pigments can be used and the image is fired.
Dye sublimation transfers an image at a lower temperature than firing in a kiln and can be done with some inkjet printers and some inks. It is similar to making a transfer for putting an image on a T shirt. Print on a sheet of transfer paper, which does not absorb as much of the ink as standard printer paper. Place the image on a glazed ceramic object and use heat and some light-pressure to vaporize the ink, which may be absorbed into the glazed surface.
Similarly, monochrome or color laser images can be transferred to hard, smooth surfaces using heat. The laser printer toner has a plastic base mixed with pigments. Again, you’ll get better results using a transfer paper that lets the image sit on the surface, rather than soak into the copy paper fibers.
Decals: A British company makes several products under the Lazertran brand. Pick the one for your inkjet or laser printer. Print on it as usual and let it dry, which takes a bit longer than usual. Cut around the image, soak it in warm water, and the image—barely supported on a thin base— separates from the paper base. Slide this decal image into place on your ceramic object. It is a little flexible and can be bent around gentle curves, which is very difficult with printing processes. Once the image dries you may notice a fine line from the flexible base around the image. Spraying a coat of lacquer over the image softens or dissolves that outline and protects the image. I’ve used this on glass with fair results on my few attempts. When transferring the image to wood you can use a solvent to completely dissolve the base and the pigment sinks into the wood without any trace of an outline. The products come with full instructions.
Google “lazertran waterslide decal” or “lazertran inkjet waterslide decal” for retailers (Blick, Walmart, Staples,Amazon) as well as company and independent demos.
Should you be in an old cemetery you may find headstones with portraits on them. Typically these ceramic images are in brass cases with hinged lids. These were made using a decal process. The decals were sensitized and contained pigments which worked as a glaze. After being photo-printed
the emulsion was transferred by the decal process onto the ceramic base and kiln-fired for permanence. I believe this was called a ‘carbon process’, and was rather popular at one time. I don’t think the materials are still being made commercially.
Lots more processes. Get a book or two and enjoy.
Jul 2, 2020 11:42:09 #
Manny Jay
Loc: Colorado
AA "do it yourself" project is Mod Podge (Elmers glue diluted with water). Easy but time consuming.
Jul 2, 2020 14:22:55 #
Just a correction. When I working for a company that did transfers to tile, mugs, dog bowls etc., I think we baked it into the tile with dye sub paper. Not use a heat press. It was a toaster oven type appliance. Been too many years ago but again, Conde has everything you might need. They sell the tiles too. I used to do them for a friend.
Jul 2, 2020 14:58:27 #
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