Create slip-on decals from your ink-jet printer
Several cottage industries have grown up from products that allowed one to take a computer print out and turn it into something else, such as a T-shirt, a bake-on laminate, or an overhead transparency.Though all of these products are now relatively common, they all require the use of some additional equipment, such as an iron or an over, they take some time to prepare, and they have the potential in the cases of iron on transfers to burn up if you're not careful. So when we received a press release from SuperCal Decals - USA, of Wheeling Il., about a water slip decal you made from literally any inkjet printer output, we were intrigued. Most of us are familiar with water slip decals from either model building or from giveaways at fast food restaurants to attach to lunch boxes. Water slip decals are the kind that when immersed in Water slip off their holder and can be attached to another object. The SuperCal Decal System is every bit as easy as they claim it is to use. The SuperCal product box includes an envelope of special white paper that is the base for the decal, a can of "Last Step" water slip decal spray, and a small instruction pamphlet. The instructions are: 1. Print an image on the provided sheet of paper 2. Spray it lightly with the "Last Step" spray 3. When it dries, cut out the image area you want with scissors or knife 4. Put it under water for 10-15 seconds 5. Slide off the decal image and then place it on your project 6. Let it dry. This sounded so simple we figured even we couldn't screw it up. For our target image we pulled up the J.A.G. Insignia created by Geoffrey Mandel, featured in the January 1999 issue of Corel Magazine. We picked this image for the detail, the tone and (to be honest) because we like it. And, it has the right size and shape for a decal.
We realized immediately, there was no sense challenging SuperCal with an image, Because as the instructions say, whatever you print, that's what you get. If you you print a colorful, high detail image, you get a colorful high detail decal. Then we followed the directions, sprayed the print out and waited for the spray to dry. Using scissors we cut out the JAG patch, put it under water, and the decal literally slid right off the paper. We immediately put the decal on a glass vase we used for this project and let it dry. The result is the image you see at left. The decal is slightly translucent, which in this case is just fine.
This was so easy, we burned up the rest of the sample supply given to us
to make a decaled plastic fire hat (left over from a party that need never be documented
a small wooden box and a terra cotta bowl. The decal worked well with all of them except
the terra cotta and this wasn't the fault of the decal. The terra cotta surface has
a dusty finish that resists the Adhesive qualities of the decal.
If we had this last project to do again, we would have sprayed it was a plastic resin
to provide a working surface first.
Besides the objects we experimented with, SuperCal's literature notes it can be applied to
ceramics, mylar balloons, candles, and wall tiles.
This process is much simpler than the bake-on transfers we have previously used to make
decorative mugs and the final result is equivalent in quality. However, the nature of the
Decal is such that it is much more fragile than a bake-on and is not dish-washer safe,
nor is it scratch resistant.
The possibilities for these decals are numerous. Everything from custom Christmas wrappings,
to custom designs for toy models, to custom Labels falls under SuperCal's purview and that's
just a start.
Under the category or "Not intended for this purpose" we also found that the decal spray
works well on photographic print paper to laminate small areas. Where as the decal film
"slips" off of SuperCal's paper, it sticks to photo paper and provides a clear plastic film.
For more information or to order SuperCal media, contact them at
http://www.supercaldecals.com/home.html