Rub-on Transfers - Laser Printed Transparencies

Now it's time to see if these rub-ons I've been experimenting with work with laser prints.

The Products:

• Apollo Color Laser Printer Transparency Film (CG7070)
• Samsung ML2010 Black & White Laser Printer

The Process:

Again, pretty simple. I just printed off my images onto the Transparency Film, using my laser printer this time, cut out my image, and then rubbed it onto my surface. I tried this in my art journal, which had a coat of gesso on it. I just wanted to see if it would work, so I wasn't worried about following the procedure I used in the 1st experiment, where I transferred an inkjet print onto a piece of plain copy paper.

This time, I went ahead and tried my transfer right away. I do believe that the sooner you make the transfer, from the time of printing, the easier it is to rub-off. I forgot to mention that the transfer I made in the 1st experiment, with inkjet prints, was done within one hour of printing, while the transfers I did for the 2nd experiment were done over 2-3 days after I'd printed them. It seems I had to rub much harder on those 2nd experiment transfers. Just a word to the wise, if you're going to try this.

The Results:

(click image to enlarge)

It worked!

Conclusions:

I think it worked even better than the inkjet prints I tried, in that it's clearer and darker (i.e. more ink came off of the transparency). However, the image itself printed more clearly with the laser printer (which makes sense, as the transparencies are made for laser printers). I also did this transfer within 5 minutes of printing it, so it's hard to tell if it's the laser toner that's making the difference, if it's the time factor that's making the difference, or if it's both.

I will be re-running the same experiment that I did with acrylic mediums, using these laser prints, over this next week. I want to see, again, how well they stand up to abuse and wet mediums. Because the prints will be older by the time I transfer them (I printed off a bunch of the same image on the same transparency), maybe we'll be able to tell if time makes a difference in how much ink comes off the transparency and onto the surface.

ETA: From some of the comments and emails I've been getting, I realized I wasn't being clear about something on these rub-on transfer experiments. I've been printing on the "right" side of the transparency, the side that's a little bit rough to the touch. This is the side that has the coating, that allows the ink to stay put on the film, without it beading right off. This is also the side that's recommended when doing Leslie Riley's technique for inkjet transfers. That's why I was so surprised that it worked - I didn't need a wet medium for me to be able to rub the print right off the transparency.

I do know that there is a technique where you can print on the "wrong" side of the transparency, the smooth side with no coating, and then immediately do a transfer onto your substrate. I've had problems with this in the past, where the ink would just bead up way too much for me. I have yet to try that technique with these printers, but I've added it to the list. But, it's another reason why I was so excited that these worked - the need to transfer immediately seemed to be taken away. Of course, I've noticed that it's easier, when it comes to the rubbing, to do it sooner than later, but it's not necessary. I was able to print off a whole slew of images onto one transparency that I can save for later.

Just wanted to make sure I'm being clear. :D

Rub-on Transfers - Results of some experimenting

In my last post, I was prompted by Zom (from Pinch Me to See if You're Dreaming...fabulous blog, go check her out) to ask the question "Ok, how well do these rub-on transfers hold up to abuse, or being painted over?" So here is the experiment to answer that question. Because I use mostly acrylic and craft paints, the experiment is focused on how well these transfers do with acrylic mediums.

The Products:

I transferred my rub-ons onto 4 different acrylic painted surfaces, and then one set of images I transferred onto uncoated paper. These were all done on the back of a piece of Canson Acrylic Paper (my pad of paper looks like what's in the link, but Canson has changed it to look like this now).

Here are the four acrylic mediums I used:

• Delta Ceramcoat Craft Paint- Fleshtone
• Golden Heavy Body Paint - Titan Buff
• Golden Gesso - White
• Liquitex Matte Medium

The Process:

(This is lengthy, so if you want to skip it, I recommend heading to the Results section, and looking at the pictures.)

I wanted to see if transferring these rub-ons to various acrylic mediums would alter how well they stood up to abuse. So, I tried a craft paint, a high-quality acrylic paint, gesso, and matte medium. I chose to try craft paint vs. a high-quality acrylic paint, because craft paints use fillers and non-pure pigments, and I wanted to see if that made any difference in how well the transfers held up. Again, like in my previous post, I also transferred the rub-ons onto plain paper, with no medium under-coating, to see if that made a difference as well.

First, I printed out the same, highly-detailed image onto one Apollo Color Laser Printer Transparency Film (Product Number CG7070), 20 times (so I would have extra), using my Epson Workforce 500 all-in-one printer. Then, I painted three swatches of each acrylic product onto the back of a piece of Canson Acrylic Paper. Canson Acrylic paper has a canvas-like texture embedded in the paper, and the front is coated with a gelatin-like substance. I used the back of this paper, so the gelatin coating wouldn't interfere with the results. I wanted a thick, canvas-like paper that would withstand the "wetness" of acrylic mediums, to prevent any wrinkling when I painted on the mediums. Plus, I wanted to see what these transfers would look like on a rougher surface, while I was at it. :D

I cut out each individual image, and rubbed one onto each of the three acrylic-coated surfaces, as well as rubbing three transfers onto the plain, uncoated paper. So, we have a total of 15 transfers to examine.

For each acrylic medium, and the ones on plain paper, I left one of the transfers alone, so we could see what it looks like if it's not touched. I smudged the 2nd transfer on each medium with my finger, to see how much ink would come off. You should know, I rubbed VERY hard with a clean finger, because I really wanted to put these transfers to the test. I painted the 3rd transfer with matte medium, to see how well these transfers behave with a very wet acrylic medium.

Ideally, it would have been better to use one transfer, and then smudged it (and then taken before and after pictures), and then used another transfer, and then painted it with the Matte Medium (and then taken before and after pictures), but I just didn't think of it at the time I did this experiment. Just wanted to mention that. :D

This is all easier to understand when you see the pictures, I promise.

The Results:

Here is the image that I used, as it looked printed out onto the transparency film:

And here is the first set of results, on the Delta Ceramcoat Fleshtone, the Golden Heavy Body Titan Buff, and the Plain, Uncoated Canson Acrylic Paper:

(click on image to enlarge, to really see how these turned out)

And here are the second set of results, on Golden White Gesso, and on Liquitex Matte Medium:

(click on image, please)

There are two transfer results for the "Plain paper, Matte Medium Undercoat, Matte Medium Overcoat", in the first results image, because my first transfer came out so light. I just wasn't rubbing hard enough to get it transferred. So, I did a second rub-on transfer, and did the experiment on both, just to see what would happen.

As far as rubbing on the transfers, it was easier to get the ink off the transparency on the Delta Ceramcoat paint, the Golden Heavy Body Titan Buff and the Golden Gesso, with the Gesso being the easiest. I had to rub hard on all of these transfers, but it seemed I didn't have to rub as hard, or for as long, to get the ink on to those three mediums.

Here are the results for which transfers looked the best when just left alone (not smudged and not painted over with Matte Medium), ranked from best to worst:

1. Golden Gesso - White
2. Delta Ceramcoat - Fleshtone
3. Golden Heavy Body - Titan Buff
4. Plain, uncoated side of Canson Acrylic Paper
5. Liquitex Matte Medium

These results are a bit skewed, because what really mattered was how well I held the transfer still, and how hard I rubbed. Therefore, the Plain, uncoated paper looks all smudgy, but that's because the transfer moved while I was rubbing. So, take those results with a grain of salt. While I think the Golden Gesso really did outperform the rest, how hard you rub and how still you hold the image while you're rubbing, THOSE are the things that matter the most.

Here is how the transfers performed when I rubbed them with my finger, ranked from best (no smudging) to worst (look at all that smearing!):

1. On plain, uncoated side of Canson Acrylic Paper (tiny smudges)
   
2. On Golden Heavy Body - Titan Buff (tiny smudges)
   
3. On Golden Gesso - White (obvious smudging)
   
4. On Delta Ceramcoat - Fleshtone (total grey halo, lots of smudging)
   
5. On Liquitex Matte Medium (total grey halo, lots of smudging)
   

And here is how they are ranked, from best to worst, when painted over with Liquitex Matte Medium:

1. Golden Heavy Body - Titan Buff (no smudging -those greyish lines in the picture are a shadow, created by the brushstrokes, since the paint wasn't totally smooth)
   
2. Delta Ceramcoat - Fleshtone (no smudging)
   
3. Golden Gesso - White (no smudging)
   
4. Liquitex Matte Medium (some streaking)
   
5. Plain, uncoated side of Canson Acrylic Paper (wow, now there's some serious smudging)
   

Conclusions:

Personally, I was surprised with how well these transfers held up. Yes, painting matte medium over the plain transfer resulted in a smudgy, grey mess, but otherwise, overall, they did pretty good. Of my results, I was also surprised to see how poorly these transfers did over Matte Medium, in just a plain transfer, in being smudged and in being re-painted with more Matte Medium. I can't even begin to fathom why that would happen, but, ok, lesson learned. Don't do these transfers over Liquitex Matte Medium.

It looks like your/my best bet is to try these transfers over an acrylic paint or gesso, and then paint over them with matte medium (or perhaps another acrylic sealer, like gel medium or gloss medium), to ensure no smudging. I honestly don't know how well other sealers will work, but if I try a different medium, I'll let you know (I'm a Matte Medium kinda girl).

Ok, so will some of you go out, and try these rub-ons with the transparencies that you have, on your printers, to see if this works with other brands? I'm really curious if other combinations of inkjet transparency film and inkjet printers will let you do rub-ons. Heck, I'd love to see if this would work with laser transparencies and printers as well. Come Play with Me!

ETA: From some of the comments and emails I've been getting, I realized I wasn't being clear about something on these rub-on transfer experiments. I've been printing on the "right" side of the transparency, the side that's a little bit rough to the touch. This is the side that has the coating, that allows the ink to stay put on the film, without it beading right off. This is also the side that's recommended when doing Leslie Riley's technique for inkjet transfers. That's why I was so surprised that it worked - I didn't need a wet medium for me to be able to rub the print right off the transparency.

I do know that there is a technique where you can print on the "wrong" side of the transparency, the smooth side with no coating, and then immediately do a transfer onto your substrate. I've had problems with this in the past, where the ink would just bead up way too much for me. I have yet to try that technique with these printers, but I've added it to the list. But, it's another reason why I was so excited that these worked - the need to transfer immediately seemed to be taken away. Of course, I've noticed that it's easier, when it comes to the rubbing, to do it sooner than later, but it's not necessary. I was able to print off a whole slew of images onto one transparency that I can save for later.

Just wanted to make sure I'm being clear. :D

Rub-on Transfers - Happy Accident

So, I was messing around with my Epson printer the other day, trying to get it to print on a transparency, and made a new discovery (well, new to me, maybe not new to others) - the transparencies I have make great rub-on transfers. Read on for the story, as well as some pictures of the results.

See, the folks at the inkjet_transfers Yahoo Group, per artist Leslie Riley, recommend that you print your transfer onto Apollo Inkjet transparencies, instead of on paper. These transparencies have a special coating on them, that not only allows the inkjet ink to settle down on a surface (without smearing), but also will let you transfer the image cleanly. You lay down your transfer medium (I've seen Golden's Soft Gel medium, Golden's Matte Medium and Elmer's Squeeze n' Caulk- Clear all mentioned) on the surface you want to transfer to, lay down your image printed on the transparency over the medium, burnish, and then lift. Much easier than using paper, because you don't have to wait hours for the medium to dry all the way, and there's no rubbing and removing paper.

Only, it's not quite as easy as it sounds. It takes a lot of practice. You have to find the right amount of medium to use - enough so that the image will transfer, not so much that your image will slide right off when you're burnishing (although some recommend using a brayer, to prevent slipping). The amount of medium has been likened to the amount you use to butter toast, but, heh, I use a LOT of butter, lol.

Then you need the right transparency film, and these aren't cheap. I've seen people recommend whatever version they make for your printer (from Apollo - and NOT the quick-drying kind), as well as, specifically Apollo Inkjet Transparencies CG7039 (can't find this particular product on the ACCO website, so this is a link to a store. This may not be in production anymore). Some people also recommend 3M's Multipurpose Transparency Film #CG6000 for inkjet transfers (still in production, it looks like).

I think my problem is that I have the wrong kind of transparencies. I decided to try Apollo's Color Laser Printer Transparency Film (CG7070), because it was on major sale at Office Depot. I bought this about 2 years ago, and on ACCO's website, the product number is now CG7070E, so the formula may be different now.

Now, I used to be able to get transfers to work, via Leslie's method, with my old Canon printer, with these transparencies. But I couldn't get them to work with my HP printer - the inks would slide all over the place, and if my surface had any kind of bump, anything around the bump wouldn't transfer. Since I didn't have the "right" transparencies to begin with, I just figured that was my problem, and didn't do much more experimenting. I just stuck with the old tried-and-true paper methods.

But, the other day, I was having a discussion with someone on the inkjet_transfers Yahoo group, about how I couldn't get transparencies to print on my Epson anyway, and this prompted me to try again. See, my Epson (and possibly all Workforce Epson All-in-One's), won't read transparency film coming through your printer. It thinks you're out of paper. So, you need to tape a carrier page (just a piece of plain copy paper) to your transparency, and then your Epson will "see" your transparency, and print on it.

Well, the last time I tried to print on one of these transparencies I have (after having taped it to a carrier page), back in October, the ink smeared horribly. I had told it to print on "Glossy Photo Paper", figuring a transparency was a glossy surface, and it printed it on it's 2nd highest ink setting. I didn't think about it at the time, but that was using a LOT of ink. And the other day, I wondered if I tried it on the "Plain Paper Setting" (uses less ink), on high-speed (so it wouldn't smear), if it would print out correctly. I figured it would be good to test it, on transparencies that didn't work for transfers anyway, to see if I could even get a decent print.

And it did, it worked! Eureka! Now, if I could only get it to do a transfer? Well, that wasn't working so well, again. I think I need to use a lighter touch with my medium, because it was smearing again. And because there are bumps in my art journal (I glue in a lot of paper), it slid all the more easily. The transfer won't lay down completely flat, because it's a plastic film. Arg!

But then I noticed something. The ink on my transparency image looked like those rub-on tattoos and rub-on transfers you see. I wondered if the ink would just rub-off the transparency, if I burnished along the image with a popsicle stick.

And wouldn't you know it, it worked! Here's some pictures as proof:

Ornament on Apollo Color Laser Printer Transparency Film (CG7070), pre-transfer

Ornament on new sheet of paper after transfer


How the ornament looks now on the Transparency Film, post-transfer

You do have to rub pretty-hard, and as you can see, not every bit of ink is going to transfer. I also recommend cutting your image out from the rest of your transparency, if you have multiple images printed. As you can see, some of the ink from the other ornaments transferred to the new sheet of paper.

I've only tried this with black-ink images, so I don't know how well color inks will work for a rub-on transfer. Also, the product I have, CG7070, is now CG7070E on ACCO's website, so the formula may be different now. And this is from my Epson Workforce 500, with Durabrite inks. So, while I can't really say "Oh, go out and buy these transparencies, it will work for you and on your printer", I can encourage you to try this out, with the printer and transparencies you already have. It may work the same for you.

In case you're wondering, those images are free Photoshop brushes from various sites, that I have gathered over the years. Photoshop brushes are a great way to find free clip-art images, that you can resize and recolor to any size and color you want.

ETA: From some of the comments and emails I've been getting, I realized I wasn't being clear about something on these rub-on transfer experiments. I've been printing on the "right" side of the transparency, the side that's a little bit rough to the touch. This is the side that has the coating, that allows the ink to stay put on the film, without it beading right off. This is also the side that's recommended when doing Leslie Riley's technique for inkjet transfers. That's why I was so surprised that it worked - I didn't need a wet medium for me to be able to rub the print right off the transparency.

I do know that there is a technique where you can print on the "wrong" side of the transparency, the smooth side with no coating, and then immediately do a transfer onto your substrate. I've had problems with this in the past, where the ink would just bead up way too much for me. I have yet to try that technique with these printers, but I've added it to the list. But, it's another reason why I was so excited that these worked - the need to transfer immediately seemed to be taken away. Of course, I've noticed that it's easier, when it comes to the rubbing, to do it sooner than later, but it's not necessary. I was able to print off a whole slew of images onto one transparency that I can save for later.

Just wanted to make sure I'm being clear. :D

Inket Transfer Experiment #3b - Transfer Goop Revised

In my last post, I put up the results of the Transfer Goop experiments that I had performed last October. I had inadvertently used two different images, and realized that without a proper control (using the same image each time), an experiment is somewhat useless. In art land, there are no mistakes - only learning and happy accidents - and while this is true here (I did learn, and I can still use the transfer), it doesn't do much good as an experiment to not have a control. You just can't tell the difference between how well Transfer Goop does on different papers, or how Transfer Goop compares to different transfer mediums, if the images are different.

The Products:

So, I repeated my experiment today, the same image on three different papers:

• Staples Multipurpose Copy Paper (aka, Plain Copy Paper)
• HP's Everyday Matte Photo Paper
• JetPrint's Matte Imaging & Photo Paper

and ugh, Transfer Goop! Seriously, the smell! It's this odd combination of latex-rubber with lamp oil smell. I used a charcoal-lined mask while I was working with it, and my windows are all open, but it's still lingering in my apartment (and in my nose). If solvent-y smells get to you, then don't use this stuff.

The Process:

I used my heat gun to heat all 3 transfers from a beige-glue look to a glossy, clear finish, and it took about 3 minutes per transfer. I'm surprised I didn't burn out my heat gun - I don't think stamp embossing guns are meant to be run for 10 minutes at a time. You can bake your transfer in the oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit, per the website's instructions (you have to click through to the instructions), but I just didn't want that smell ending up in my food later. If you have a dedicated toaster oven for things like polymer clay baking, I recommend you use that to bake your Transfer Goop transfer, instead of using your heat gun. It only goes for about 3 minutes, and you have to check for when it changes from a powdery beige to a clear, glass finish. But that's better than risking a $20 heat gun. :D

The Results:

Here are the scans of each transfer. The images on the Left started out on the Plain Copy Paper, the images in the Middle on the HP Everyday Matte Photo Paper and the images on the Right started out on the JetPrint Imaging & Photo Paper.

(As always, you can click on the image to enlarge it, and really get all the details)

Again, the plain copy paper did not perform so well. It was hard to get all of the paper off, and when I was rubbing the paper off, some of the black ink smeared around on the transfer. A lot of the ink came right off with the paper.

The HP Everyday Matte Photo paper and the JetPrint Matte Imaging & Photo Paper both did equally well, with the HP paper being slightly easier to get off the transfer. Very little ink came off with either paper.

I still had trouble with browning this time around, too, although not nearly as much as I had before. It seems to happen on the edges more, and could be because I was using a heat gun and not an oven. I would have to heat an area to change it from powdery-opaque to glass-clear, but the heat would inadvertently keep heating an area that had already changed to clear. Thus, some browning.

I also had a problem with air bubbles. Tons of tiny air bubbles:

(click to enlarge)

They tell you to stir it well prior to brushing the Goop onto your transfer, which you need to, as it separates out into this thick, latexy substance with a top coat of clear, oily stuff. You're then supposed to either bake or heat your image first, for about 3 minutes, to remove any humidity from your image. Humidity can cause air bubbles in your transfer, per the website. Immediately after heating your image, you need to brush your well-stirred Transfer Goop onto it.

I only heated my images for about 1 1/2 minutes each, because I live in Colorado, where it is notoriously dry (although we have been having a rainy season this year - finally!).

It's possible that's why I got so many air bubbles - I didn't heat them long enough. I'm inclined to think it was all the stirring I had to do, prior to brushing it onto my images. The contents separate out pretty quickly, so I didn't see a way to stir it all up, and then let it sit for 15 minutes, until all the air bubbles rose to the surface. So, there are many, tiny air bubbles baked right into the transfer.

Conclusions:

I'm pretty much never using Transfer Goop again - I don't care how strong, stretchy and clear the transfer skin is (which I must say, it is). It's too smelly, and since I'm not going to bake it, it's too much of a pain to use a heat gun on it. There's also the need to bake your image before you coat it, and any brush you use to slap on the stuff is now a Transfer Goop-only brush. I can get similar results with Gel Medium, with no baking, no smell, and no dedicated brushes. Better results, actually, since there's no browning or air bubbles.

But your results may vary. Transfer Goop was made to be ironed onto things, and with how strong it is, it might be a product of choice for you, in the art you do. It is a clear transfer (barring air bubbles and/or overheating) and very strong. Your photos will come out very clear, versus other ways of doing inkjet transfers. But for me, a paper-arts girl, the smell and time it takes makes other methods for image transferring much more fun.

ETA: I just checked, and our humidity is a whopping 39% right now. That's pretty high, if it's not raining here. So it really is possible that I didn't bake the water out of my images enough, and that's why I have the air bubbles. Now, don't all you folks in humid states want to come to Colorado? *grin*

Inkjet Transfer Experiment #3 - Transfer Goop

Now I'd like to show you the results of my experiment with Transfer Goop transfer medium by Artisan's Choice, as well as do a little review of the product.

The Product:

Transfer Goop is a transfer medium designed to be used with inkjet prints, laser prints, newspapers, and/or magazine clippings. It usually comes in a kit called "Transfers Unlimited", and costs about $15 for the whole kit at Michael's, the last time I checked. The Transfer Goop is sold separately as a refill for about $8. You can buy the release paper separately, as well.

Transfers Unlimited is packaged as a complete transfer system, taking you from making the transparent transfer off of your image, through to ironing it onto fabric, leather or wood. The transfer has a stretchy, rubbery quality to it, and is quite thick and durable. The Transfers Unlimited package is sold with the Transfer Goop, 6 sheets of Release Paper (for ironing your transfer onto your surface), a sheet of clear Transfer Film, 4 pieces of white backing cloth and a bristle brush for painting on the Transfer Goop.

The Process:

I'm not sure how Artisan's Choice is doing as a company, because their website only has a front page, and all of their instructions and project ideas aren't up on their site anymore. They have a note saying "Our Website is being revised to serve you better, for now please email artistanschoice@comcast.net", and has been saying that for at least 9 months. I bought the Transfer Goop separately, and as it didn't come with instructions, I had to look the directions up via the Internet Wayback Machine. The instructions are listed there.

Transfer Goop comes in a little jar 4 oz. jar that needs to be stirred extremely well prior to use. You spread the Transfer Goop on your image, but instead of waiting for it to dry, you either bake it, or heat it with your heat gun. It acts almost like an embossing powder, in that you heat it until the surface turns glassy and completely clear. Then, you just let it cool, and soak your paper off of the back. From there, you can then use more Transfer Goop to glue your image onto your surface, and iron the transfer down, using their special release papers to do so.

The Results:

Here's how my two transfers with Transfer Goop came out. The one on the Left was printed on HP's Everyday Matte Photo Paper, and the one on the Right was printed on JetPrint's Imaging & Photo Matte Paper. Both were printed from an Epson Workforce 500 with Durabrite Inks.

(click the image to enlarge)

Conclusion & Review:

Working with Transfer Goop is a bit of a trying process. First of all, the odor of the stuff isn't pleasant at all, and gave me a headache. I can smell some kind of petroleum distillates in there. The jar also has a tendency to leak on me, so I have it double-bagged in Ziplocs, to stop the leaking and the smell. Then, I had trouble heating the Goop with my heatgun, without then turning it slightly brown (burning it). Also, when I went to remove the paper from my transfers, I learned quickly not to use my finger-nails to scratch the paper, at all, because it removed the ink clean off of the surface of the transfer (those white dots in the transfer on the left).

I do like how thick and stretchy the transfers are, though. These are tough transfer skins, and would probably hold up quite well on a well-loved and well-used homemade handbag. I like how vibrant the colors came out on the HP Everyday Matte Photo paper transfer, and might have had a perfect transfer if I hadn't used my nails to get the paper off. With a bit of practice, I can probably get the heating part right, without turning the transfer brown.

But I won't be trying that anytime soon, as it's just not worth it to me, for the solvent smell (this is why I didn't bother with trying this on plain copy paper).

Next up - Pearl-Ex pigments and trying out different paint binders (like Gum Arabic and Matte Medium).

ETA: Zura made a good catch. I actually used two different images on the two different transfers. The one on the left, printed on the HP Everyday Matte Photo paper, has an extra orange, leafy border that wasn't in the one on the right. Because we always need a control to make a proper experiment, and my image was my control, I'll be redoing this experiment. This will give me a chance to try this on plain copy paper, too. :D

Inkjet Transfer Experiment #2 - Using an Epson Workforce 500 printer

And now I’m finally posting the results of the same inkjet transfers experiment I did before, only I used my Epson Workforce 500 inkjet printer instead of the HP PSC 1350 inkjet printer. :D The difference in the printers is that the Epson uses Durabrite inks, which are pigment-based inks, while the HP uses dye-based inks. If you compare the results of both experiments, you can see that using the Durabrite inks makes all the difference.

I’m not going to go into too much detail about the mediums, papers or printers I used, because I already did so in my 1^st inkjet experiment post (linked above). Please refer to it if you’d like to know more; there’s some good information there. If you’d like to know more about image transfers in general, I have posted several links to tutorials and information in this post.

On with the experiment!

The Papers:

• Staples Multipurpose Copy Paper (aka, plain ole printer paper)
• Jet Print’s Imaging and Photo Paper – Matte (no longer in production, but available at the link)
• HP’s Everyday Matte Photo Paper

The important thing to know is that both the Jet Print and HP Matte photo papers have a clay coating on them that is said to aid in transferring ink into various mediums.

The Transfer Products:

• Golden's Regular Gel - Matte
• Liquitex's Gloss Medium & Varnish
• Elmer's Squeeze 'N Caulk - Clear
• Omni Gel by Houston Art

The Technique:

I used the same technique for all four mediums. I just brushed on a layer of each medium, let it dry, and then did it again. I did this for a total of three layers. These have been drying for about 8 months now (:D), but of course, you don’t need to wait that long. Just let each layer dry thoroughly (an hour or so, depending on humidity) before adding a new coat, and then let the transfer sit overnight after the final coat. This is specifically for making these “skin” type transfers, and different drying times are recommended when you’re doing a direct inkjet transfer.

Once your medium is completely dry, you just soak the back of the paper with water, and peel and rub it off. I ran my transfers under running water in the kitchen sink, to help facilitate the paper coming off (just make sure a strainer is in the drain to catch the bits of paper. That's an expensive plumbing bill waiting to happen otherwise). When the paper is removed, just set your transfer aside to dry. Once it’s dry, it’s ready to be used in whatever way your imagination comes up with!

The great thing about these skin transfers is that they'll keep for years (see my June 14th post for an example). So if you have an image that you really want to use over and over again, you can make up a sheet of transfers, do all the work at once, and have some waiting for your next project. That's a great way to save on transfer papers, as well.

The Results:

Here are the scans of each transfer. The images on the Left started out on the Plain Copy Paper, the images in the Middle on the HP Everyday Matte Photo Paper and the images on the Right started out on the JetPrint Imaging & Photo Paper.

Click on each image, to see larger, clearer versions.

Wherever you see a white cast, that’s where I couldn’t get the paper all the way off of the transfer. It's the white fuzz left behind.

Here's the original image:


Golden's Regular Gel - Matte:


Liquitex Gloss Medium & Varnish:


Elmer's Squeeze 'N Caulk-Clear:


Omni Gel:


Conclusions:

Wow, Wow, WOW! The folks at the Inkjet Transfers Yahoo group weren’t kidding. The Epson Durabrite inks are superior in every way when it comes to inkjet transfers. I was able to run these transfers under the sink to get the paper off without losing the whole transfer, which has happened to me with my HP printer. The ink *did* run from the plain copy paper transfers, but not from the JetPrint or HP papers.

I was surprised to see how poorly the plain copy paper did. I’ve been using it for inkjet transfers in my art journal, and just assumed the ink would always run, no matter what paper I used. Not true, as you can see. No ink ran off from the transfers I did on the JetPrint and HP papers, when I was rubbing and rinsing the paper off.

I also didn’t realize just how much paper was being left behind on plain copy paper, until I did this experiment. In my art journal, I usually end up slapping some kind of medium over the whole page anyway, so the paper fuzz “disappears” somewhat. Now I know that I can have much clearer, more vibrant transfers by using either the JetPrint or HP Matte photo papers.

I was also surprised to see that the HP Everyday Photo Matte paper did slightly better than the JetPrint Imaging & Photo paper. It’s not a huge difference, as you can see, but the colors are slightly darker and the paper seemed to come off more thoroughly.

And to my complete surprise, with the Epson Durabrite inks, it doesn’t seem to matter which medium I used. They all turned out pretty much the same across the board. With my old HP PSC 1350, I had to use Golden's Gel Medium with the JetPrint paper to get a good inkjet transfer. So that was a nice surprise, to see that they all work.

My only caveat would be that if you're going to use Elmer’s Squeeze n’ Caulk, you need to know that the transfer is super-super sticky, and remains that way, even 8 months later. You would need to glue it sticky-side down, and handle the transfer carefully, so it doesn’t stick to itself. It won't unstick from itself without ripping the transfer. I had purchased the caulk based on a recommendation by Claudine Hellmuth in her book Collage Discovery Workshop, so wanted to test it, but after these experiments, I can't really recommend it. While it's cheaper at $5/8 oz. bottle, the other mediums are just easier to work with.

So, my conclusions, based on this experiment and the one I ran with the HP PSC 1350, is that it’s worth it to use an Epson printer that uses Durabrite inks, if you’re into inkjet transfers (but only with Durabrite inks. Other Epson inks won’t work as well, from what I understand). Not only will you have a clearer transfer that won’t run when you use a water-based medium, the Durabrite inks are resistant to fading from UV light. While printers are a pretty expensive art supply to go a' gettin', the Epson Stylus 88+ runs about $80-$90, and gets rave reviews from the Inkjet Transfer Yahoo group. Epson's All-in-One printers are pretty reasonable as well. The ink is more expensive, but it does last a good while, I've found.

I can also now heartily recommend HP’s Everyday Matte Photo Paper when using the Epson Durabrite inks, which is great, because it’s still in production. You can find it on Amazon.com for $10/100 sheets.

And as far as mediums go, with the Epson Durabrite inks, use whichever medium you’re going to use the most in your other art projects. It’s always great when a product is multi-purpose. :D I'm usually not a big fan of glossy, but I really like how clear the Liquitex Gloss Medium & Varnish's transfer came out, and will probably be using that more frequently than the Golden's Regular Matte Gel in the future.

For my next post, I’m going to show you what happened when I tried out Transfer Goop on the JetPrint Imaging & Photo Paper and the HP Everyday Matte Photo paper.

It's been awhile...

...and that's a bit of an understatement. 8 months, phew. And now, after all these months, I finally have all of my art stuff in one place (it had been in storage for the past 4 months), and got a hankering to finish my Epson inkjet transfers experiment. They've been printed on their respective papers, had their mediums applied, for months now, and were just waiting for me to get the paper off. Last night, I worked on the plain copy paper transfers, and from my preliminary results thus far, the Epson Durabrite inks totally rock. Not a lot of ink running, like I had with the HP PSC 1350. Those pigment inks make all the difference.

One reason for the hiatus was a move that put most of my art supplies in storage, but the other reason was more personal, and in my opinion, important. I began doing art, and so experimenting, as its own process, has fallen by the way-side. Let me explain why that's so important for me.

When I got sick 4 years ago, I took a trip to Michael's, just wandering the aisles, trying to figure out what I'd like to do. I figured that some kind of art or craft would help keep my mind off of the pain. I had done crafts off and on for years, but it's not like I was intimate with all that was out there to do in the arts & crafts world.

Well, I found their tiny little section for collage art, and found the book "Altered Books 101". If I could of, at that moment, I would have done a hop and a skip. "This is it! I love books, I love the art I'm seeing here, I'm doing it!" I bought the book, and some of the collage papers in the aisle, and went home.

I proceeded to make a very cool collaged card for my sister's birthday, and felt like "I'm on my way!" I loved the whole process, and how it really did take me away from my pain, from everything, for those joyous hours. And I had this wonderful gift to show for my hours of escape, versus watching TV or just surfing around the Internet. I felt productive, for once.

Then the Great Internet Mixed-Media Technique Hunt began. I started with the alteredbooks Yahoo group, and branched out from there. I wanted to learn it all! But very soon, I became overwhelmed. My joy turned to trepidation, and suddenly, I found that I needed to learn so many new terms, and so much about art supplies. With each new technique I saw and wanted to copy, there was one more dang art supply I needed. Mediums and paints, gesso, Lumiere's, metals, ephemera, books, watercolor crayons, die-cutters, pencils, pens, rubber stamps, stamp pads, stencils, beeswax, brushes, punches, special scissors, fabrics, ribbons, pastels, polaroid camera and film...it's so overwhelming to someone new to mixed media, who wants to try it all. This is a problem I've seen in the mixed-media world, one that I would like to address in a post, but for now, I just remember how I felt like I couldn't do anything until I'd attained this or that supply. It's a problem because no one really tells new people that a magazine, a glue stick, some craft paints and a brush is totally enough to get started, and that the rest is just gravy.

And then there was the issue of seeing all that gorgeous artwork, and how these weren't crafters, these were artists. Artist - that can be such a loaded word for so many of us. "I'm no artist", I would think. "I have no right to even try collages or altered books or art journals. I'm not an artist." This wasn't a completely conscious thought, but looking back, I can see that's exactly what I thought - that I had no right to make anything.

The third issue I had was that of a talented but cruel woman who claimed to be an art teacher, taking a look at the few cards and techniques I had tried. She told me that nothing I did had any heart or soul, and that I must be a scrapbooker (saying that as if it was a derogatory term). She claimed to be helping me, because she wanted to see me loosen up and try art, but any critique that isn't specific, that's nebulous and cutting like this is not helping, and isn't a critique anyway. It's a way of cutting the toes off someone as they are just entering the water. I've been reading "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron, and she has a section that addresses people like this, which helps now, but at the time, I couldn't get past it. She just confirmed what my own inner critic had been saying - "You're no artist, so don't even bother trying".

So, I didn't, I didn't bother trying. I quit. For about two years, pretty much. Oh, I'd paint one color on a background page, and try to journal over it. I'd try an inkjet transfer, since I fell in love with those before I'd even known what mixed-media was. But there was no art. The cool and funny part is, though, is that I kept buying art supplies. I'd budget out my meager income, gather coupons, and slowly, I began amassing all the supplies I'd read about and wanted to try. It was hope. Hope that someday, I'd want to use them, want to try them. Hope that one day, I would be able to recapture that pure joy that came in making that card for my sister.

And one thing that I discovered that I could do, without the scathing judgments of my inner critic, were experiments. Experiments were just about me seeing how a technique worked, and what mediums worked the best. There's no pressure in that. I'm not making art, I'm just messing around, in a quite controlled way, lol. And because I was doing them anyway, I wanted to share my results.

Well, it's 4 years later, with a lot of work on quieting my inner critic, I'm doing art again. It started about 9 months ago, when I went to visit my friend Zura. She was my first introduction to art journaling, and has been my champion in working through my own issues with art. During my visit with her, I saw how easy and freeing an art journal could be. I saw her just sit down with a blank page, and just start painting, or gluing, or whatever, and she's let the page take her where it went. She didn't wait for inspiration, she didn't wait for some wonderful idea - she just sat down and went with it. So, I tried it that way, and there it was - that same joy and flow I'd had when doing my sister's card. It was all right there. So many of my preconceived notions about how you're "supposed" to do an art journal just fell away on that trip.

And four months ago, on moving in with my sister, I took up my art journal again in a big way, and finally, FINALLY, feel like I'm finding my style, my way. I'm finding that I like linearness, blocky neatness in the background, mixed in with some messy, swirly, flourishy-ness on top. I'm still in love with sepia's, and use it even over bright colors. I love to gather up potential images for a spread, and keep them in a Ziploc, knowing I won't use 99% of them. I love making everything matte. I love making pockets to stuff relevant receipts and pictures. I love documenting my week, which is, in turn, me documenting my life.

So, that's the big reason why the experiments have been on hold...I've been plunging ahead with art. That's not to say that I won't be posting experiments I do. I still have several huge posts ahead about how the Epson Durabrite inks inkjet transfers came out. But my posts will probably be sporadic, like they've already been, and only as I do experiments. I'm not too keen to make this an art journal or personal blog.

Just wanted the 5 people or so who might read this to know. :D

PS. Here's one of the first inkjet transfers that I did, about 6 years ago. This was a digital image I put together using Gimp, as a way to learn the program and layers. It was printed with my old, OLD HP PSC 750 on HP Matte Photo Paper (which is now their Everyday Photo Paper, although I think they changed the formula), and I used Omni-Gel as the transfer medium.