Yes I have heaps on Katrina Chaytor to tell you but I may not get that done this weekend, stacks going on family wise. As I compose my thoughts on the huge amount of information gleaned watching Katrina in action at POTober - I want to mention a hint or two about laser decals that I may not have shared before. It may influence how you go about your decal work. Please excuse if I blogged this already.
Here are a couple of slipcast bowls (Keane's JCast I think) onto which I applied laser decals post glaze firing, taking the decal firing to 1060 degrees C, way higher than normal onglaze decals which are usually around 750-800 degrees C (can't remember how to find the degree sign without getting distracted). Can you see the difference? One bowl has far clearer images than the other. The least clear image is from the decal that was applied in the normal waterslide manner. You trim your decal, soak it in water, apply it to the glazed ware face up and slide the cream card backing away from under the printed image leaving behind just the black laser printed image on fine transparent plastic, squeegeeing it into place and removing air or water from behind. Easy right? It really is exactly like those toy tattoos you used to play with as a kid.
Below the left hand bowl has a better, clearer image than that on the right - why? This happened when I applied the decal onto the ware 'back to front' - face down, i.e. TONER side down, without relying on the waterslide effect to put it in place, and without the gummy layer between the decal and the backing paper to help it adhere to the ware. I sometimes put a lick of gum arabic betwwen ware and decal on to get a bond going. It seems to have kept more of the print/toner that was printed on the decal than the other bowl. I think it is worth that teeny bit for effort for such a more defined result.
Below is a collage of laser decals applied to a store bought plate - before and after firing.
Here are a couple of slipcast bowls (Keane's JCast I think) onto which I applied laser decals post glaze firing, taking the decal firing to 1060 degrees C, way higher than normal onglaze decals which are usually around 750-800 degrees C (can't remember how to find the degree sign without getting distracted). Can you see the difference? One bowl has far clearer images than the other. The least clear image is from the decal that was applied in the normal waterslide manner. You trim your decal, soak it in water, apply it to the glazed ware face up and slide the cream card backing away from under the printed image leaving behind just the black laser printed image on fine transparent plastic, squeegeeing it into place and removing air or water from behind. Easy right? It really is exactly like those toy tattoos you used to play with as a kid.
.JPG) |
| bowls and decals by Elaine Bradley, drawn design of decals by Emma Vinkovic |
Below is a collage of laser decals applied to a store bought plate - before and after firing.
Right now I am experimenting optimistically with printing with cobalt in the toner cartridge. I'll post the fired results when they are ready. I doubt I'll get to finishing my post on Katrina's work. So tired ... a local party kept my whole street awake and I am a yawning wreck. See you soon, possibly over at
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PLEASE NOTE:
All text in this blog posting is copyright of Elaine Bradley, Ceramic Artist, Western Australia unless quoting from another source. All photographs in this blog posting are copyright of Elaine Bradley unless otherwise stated. No responsibility can be taken for external links. Please report any errors in crediting photographs, sources or facts to the author in order to allow her to rectify the matter. Your response or feedback is welcome.
All text in this blog posting is copyright of Elaine Bradley, Ceramic Artist, Western Australia unless quoting from another source. All photographs in this blog posting are copyright of Elaine Bradley unless otherwise stated. No responsibility can be taken for external links. Please report any errors in crediting photographs, sources or facts to the author in order to allow her to rectify the matter. Your response or feedback is welcome.
