Scott Neighbor on mon 28 aug 06
I am new to ceramic art. I have been experimenting with laser toner decals
which is working very well. The problem I'm having is with the ceramic
blankware I'm using. According to the manufacturer of my ware, the glaze
was fired at 2192 F. Here's what happens: I applied decals on 3 pieces and
slow fired in an electric kiln to cone 04. I kept the kiln lid propped
about 2 inches, with the top peep hole open, until 1400 F, then lowered
the lid to a crack. I kept the top peep hole open the entire firing. Once
finished and cooled I checked my work. Two of the pieces were fine (well
one had very slight blistering), but one of them had severe pinhole
blisters running in a "veiny" pattern all around the surface. I decided to
refire all three at cone 01, medium firing, to see if that might get rid
of the pinholes. It didn't. Tried another firing at cone 1, slow fire. The
pinholes smoothed out a bit, but were still there. The other two pieces
were fine. The decal transfers look great, but is there any solution for
the pinholing? Should I fire hotter? Or am I stuck with an occasional
lemon?
Scott
Fredrick Paget on mon 28 aug 06
Scott:
I don't think the pin holing is caused by the decals.
Try firing some virgin ware without the decals in the next load to
see if this is true. I think it is the ware or the glaze that is
doing it.
Fred
>I am new to ceramic art. I have been experimenting with laser toner decals
>which is working very well. The problem I'm having is with the ceramic
>blankware I'm using. According to the manufacturer of my ware, the glaze
>was fired at 2192 F. Here's what happens: I applied decals on 3 pieces and
>slow fired in an electric kiln to cone 04. I kept the kiln lid propped
>about 2 inches, with the top peep hole open, until 1400 F, then lowered
>the lid to a crack. I kept the top peep hole open the entire firing. Once
>finished and cooled I checked my work. Two of the pieces were fine (well
>one had very slight blistering), but one of them had severe pinhole
>blisters running in a "veiny" pattern all around the surface. I decided to
>refire all three at cone 01, medium firing, to see if that might get rid
>of the pinholes. It didn't. Tried another firing at cone 1, slow fire. The
>pinholes smoothed out a bit, but were still there. The other two pieces
>were fine. The decal transfers look great, but is there any solution for
>the pinholing? Should I fire hotter? Or am I stuck with an occasional
>lemon?
>
>Scott
>
--
From Fred Paget,
Marin County, CA, USA
fredrick@well.com
Charter Member Potters Council
Bunny Lemak on mon 28 aug 06
On Mon, 28 Aug 2006 11:01:33 -0400, Scott Neighbor
wrote:
I applied decals on 3 pieces and
>slow fired in an electric kiln to cone 04.
Hi Scott-
The blanks you purchased are most likely porcelain blanks. Firing decals
should be very easy. They usually do not get fired at ^04 that is too
hot. Most decals are fired at ^017 or 1353 degrees.
You also have to vent the decal firing in the beginning to burn all the
glue & toxins off. What I do is after applying the decal, wait 24 hours
(or make sure there is no water underneath and they are bone dry). Place
in kiln with the lid up and peep holes open. I fire on fast, and keep
everything opened until 500 degrees, I then lower the lid and place a
wedge to keep the lid proped slightly open. After an hour I then close
all the peepholes, and keep it that way until done. Make sure there is
plenty of ventilation in the area of the kiln - decal firings stink!
Good luck and let me know if this works better for you. Feel free to
contact me if you have any further questions.
Bunny
>
>__________________________________________________________________________
____
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
Scott and Yvonne on mon 28 aug 06
Fred,
Thanks for your response. I'm sure it is the ware. The pinholing occurs even
where there are no decals. I'm trying to figure out if there is a way to
work around the ware problem, or if I'm stuck. Someone suggested firing the
pinholed ware to cone 018 as this might heal over the glaze. I'm trying this
right now.
Scott
----- Original Message -----
From: "Fredrick Paget"
To:
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2006 10:26 AM
Subject: Re: Firing laser decals glaze problems
> Scott:
> I don't think the pin holing is caused by the decals.
> Try firing some virgin ware without the decals in the next load to
> see if this is true. I think it is the ware or the glaze that is
> doing it.
> Fred
>
>>I am new to ceramic art. I have been experimenting with laser toner decals
>>which is working very well. The problem I'm having is with the ceramic
>>blankware I'm using. According to the manufacturer of my ware, the glaze
>>was fired at 2192 F. Here's what happens: I applied decals on 3 pieces and
>>slow fired in an electric kiln to cone 04. I kept the kiln lid propped
>>about 2 inches, with the top peep hole open, until 1400 F, then lowered
>>the lid to a crack. I kept the top peep hole open the entire firing. Once
>>finished and cooled I checked my work. Two of the pieces were fine (well
>>one had very slight blistering), but one of them had severe pinhole
>>blisters running in a "veiny" pattern all around the surface. I decided to
>>refire all three at cone 01, medium firing, to see if that might get rid
>>of the pinholes. It didn't. Tried another firing at cone 1, slow fire. The
>>pinholes smoothed out a bit, but were still there. The other two pieces
>>were fine. The decal transfers look great, but is there any solution for
>>the pinholing? Should I fire hotter? Or am I stuck with an occasional
>>lemon?
>>
>>Scott
>>
>
> --
> From Fred Paget,
> Marin County, CA, USA
> fredrick@well.com
>
> Charter Member Potters Council
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
Scott and Yvonne on tue 29 aug 06
Hi Bunny,
According the the distributer (Marck & Associates) the blanks are stoneware,
not porcelain. They don't look like porcelain to me either. They are made in
China and I suspect they took some shortcuts in manufacturing them. Some of
the blanks blister and some don't. Marck & Associates primarily sells
blanware for decorators using decals that fire in the cone 018 range.
The decals I am using are made with a black and white laser printer. The
toner has about 40-60% iron oxide that will fire into the glaze, but only at
higher temps. From my experiments, these decals need at least cone 04,
otherwise they will, at least partially, wipe off. At cone 017 they wipe off
completely. There's no way for me to tell which pieces are going to blister
and which won't. So, unless I can find a way to fix the ones that do
blister, I'll just have to live with it, or, give up the laser decals, at
least for this blankware.
Scott
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bunny Lemak"
To:
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2006 4:09 PM
Subject: Re: Firing laser decals glaze problems
> On Mon, 28 Aug 2006 11:01:33 -0400, Scott Neighbor
> wrote:
> I applied decals on 3 pieces and
>>slow fired in an electric kiln to cone 04.
>
>
> Hi Scott-
>
> The blanks you purchased are most likely porcelain blanks. Firing decals
> should be very easy. They usually do not get fired at ^04 that is too
> hot. Most decals are fired at ^017 or 1353 degrees.
>
> You also have to vent the decal firing in the beginning to burn all the
> glue & toxins off. What I do is after applying the decal, wait 24 hours
> (or make sure there is no water underneath and they are bone dry). Place
> in kiln with the lid up and peep holes open. I fire on fast, and keep
> everything opened until 500 degrees, I then lower the lid and place a
> wedge to keep the lid proped slightly open. After an hour I then close
> all the peepholes, and keep it that way until done. Make sure there is
> plenty of ventilation in the area of the kiln - decal firings stink!
>
> Good luck and let me know if this works better for you. Feel free to
> contact me if you have any further questions.
>
> Bunny
>>
>>__________________________________________________________________________
> ____
>>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>>
>>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>>
>>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
Fredrick Paget on tue 29 aug 06
>
This is totally correct. The problem with the iron oxide from laser
decals made with a black and white laser printer is that there is no
frit in the image and you have to get the ware hot enough that the
glaze will absorb the iron oxide. At higher temperatures in reduction
the iron oxide is self fluxing. You can use it on bisque if you fire
to cone 10R. See Kali's Mug on my homepage:
Color laser decals for ceramics made by the patented Zimmer process
use a laminated cover sheet that can be had with frit in it or not as
you choose.
If you make ceramic decals by the silk screen process you will
probably use the Bel Decal pigments or china paints that have a lead
frit in them and fire to about cone 017.
If you make ceramic decals by the ink jet- embossing process that I
describe on my home page you can add 20 percent frit 3134 to the
stains before brushing them on in the embossing process. Hence you
can avoid lead and use higher temperature stains or if your ware is
not for food or in California you can use the low temperature stains
containing lead frits.
Fred Paget
>Hi Bunny,
>
>According the the distributer (Marck & Associates) the blanks are stoneware,
>not porcelain. They don't look like porcelain to me either. They are made in
>China and I suspect they took some shortcuts in manufacturing them. Some of
>the blanks blister and some don't. Marck & Associates primarily sells
>blankware for decorators using decals that fire in the cone 018 range.
>
>The decals I am using are made with a black and white laser printer. The
>toner has about 40-60% iron oxide that will fire into the glaze, but only at
>higher temps. From my experiments, these decals need at least cone 04,
>otherwise they will, at least partially, wipe off. At cone 017 they wipe off
>completely. There's no way for me to tell which pieces are going to blister
>and which won't. So, unless I can find a way to fix the ones that do
>blister, I'll just have to live with it, or, give up the laser decals, at
>least for this blankware.
>
>Scott
>-
--
From Fred Paget,
Marin County, CA, USA
fredrick@well.com
Charter Member Potters Council
Scott and Yvonne on wed 30 aug 06
Fred,
Here is a mug I made with a toner decal. The image was fired at ^06. A
little of the iron oxide wiped off after firing, but enough remained for
this image. I applied liquid bright gold detailing and refired at ^018.
Scott
----- Original Message -----
From: "Fredrick Paget"
To:
Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 12:10 PM
Subject: Re: Firing laser decals glaze problems
> >
> This is totally correct. The problem with the iron oxide from laser
> decals made with a black and white laser printer is that there is no
> frit in the image and you have to get the ware hot enough that the
> glaze will absorb the iron oxide. At higher temperatures in reduction
> the iron oxide is self fluxing. You can use it on bisque if you fire
> to cone 10R. See Kali's Mug on my homepage:
>
>
> Color laser decals for ceramics made by the patented Zimmer process
> use a laminated cover sheet that can be had with frit in it or not as
> you choose.
>
> If you make ceramic decals by the silk screen process you will
> probably use the Bel Decal pigments or china paints that have a lead
> frit in them and fire to about cone 017.
>
> If you make ceramic decals by the ink jet- embossing process that I
> describe on my home page you can add 20 percent frit 3134 to the
> stains before brushing them on in the embossing process. Hence you
> can avoid lead and use higher temperature stains or if your ware is
> not for food or in California you can use the low temperature stains
> containing lead frits.
> Fred Paget
>
>
>
>
>
>>Hi Bunny,
>>
>>According the the distributer (Marck & Associates) the blanks are
>>stoneware,
>>not porcelain. They don't look like porcelain to me either. They are made
>>in
>>China and I suspect they took some shortcuts in manufacturing them. Some
>>of
>>the blanks blister and some don't. Marck & Associates primarily sells
>>blankware for decorators using decals that fire in the cone 018 range.
>>
>>The decals I am using are made with a black and white laser printer. The
>>toner has about 40-60% iron oxide that will fire into the glaze, but only
>>at
>>higher temps. From my experiments, these decals need at least cone 04,
>>otherwise they will, at least partially, wipe off. At cone 017 they wipe
>>off
>>completely. There's no way for me to tell which pieces are going to
>>blister
>>and which won't. So, unless I can find a way to fix the ones that do
>>blister, I'll just have to live with it, or, give up the laser decals, at
>>least for this blankware.
>>
>>Scott
>>-
>
>
> --
> From Fred Paget,
> Marin County, CA, USA
> fredrick@well.com
>
> Charter Member Potters Council
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
Scott and Yvonne on wed 30 aug 06
Fred,
BTW, I checked with a company that distributes the equipment for the Zimmer
process and it is very expensive. Minimum $18,000.00 -$36,000.00 to set up.
Scott
----- Original Message -----
From: "Fredrick Paget"
To:
Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 12:10 PM
Subject: Re: Firing laser decals glaze problems
> >
> This is totally correct. The problem with the iron oxide from laser
> decals made with a black and white laser printer is that there is no
> frit in the image and you have to get the ware hot enough that the
> glaze will absorb the iron oxide. At higher temperatures in reduction
> the iron oxide is self fluxing. You can use it on bisque if you fire
> to cone 10R. See Kali's Mug on my homepage:
>
>
> Color laser decals for ceramics made by the patented Zimmer process
> use a laminated cover sheet that can be had with frit in it or not as
> you choose.
>
> If you make ceramic decals by the silk screen process you will
> probably use the Bel Decal pigments or china paints that have a lead
> frit in them and fire to about cone 017.
>
> If you make ceramic decals by the ink jet- embossing process that I
> describe on my home page you can add 20 percent frit 3134 to the
> stains before brushing them on in the embossing process. Hence you
> can avoid lead and use higher temperature stains or if your ware is
> not for food or in California you can use the low temperature stains
> containing lead frits.
> Fred Paget
>
>
>
>
>
>>Hi Bunny,
>>
>>According the the distributer (Marck & Associates) the blanks are
>>stoneware,
>>not porcelain. They don't look like porcelain to me either. They are made
>>in
>>China and I suspect they took some shortcuts in manufacturing them. Some
>>of
>>the blanks blister and some don't. Marck & Associates primarily sells
>>blankware for decorators using decals that fire in the cone 018 range.
>>
>>The decals I am using are made with a black and white laser printer. The
>>toner has about 40-60% iron oxide that will fire into the glaze, but only
>>at
>>higher temps. From my experiments, these decals need at least cone 04,
>>otherwise they will, at least partially, wipe off. At cone 017 they wipe
>>off
>>completely. There's no way for me to tell which pieces are going to
>>blister
>>and which won't. So, unless I can find a way to fix the ones that do
>>blister, I'll just have to live with it, or, give up the laser decals, at
>>least for this blankware.
>>
>>Scott
>>-
>
>
> --
> From Fred Paget,
> Marin County, CA, USA
> fredrick@well.com
>
> Charter Member Potters Council
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
Scott and Yvonne on wed 30 aug 06
Fred,
I've noticed that the iron oxide from the toner decals will absorb into the
glaze at ^ 06, not completely, but seemingly enough to leave a permanent
image. It also seems to depend on how heavy the toner image is. Lighter
areas absorb more completely at lower temps. Unfortunately, as I've already
mentioned, my ware risks blistering at ^05 and above. I wonder if a short
soak at the end of a ^06 firing might let the iron oxide absorb into the
glaze more?
Also, I've been making the decals using Bel laser decal paper. If you
purchase in quantity (100 sheets), it comes to about .67 cents per sheet. No
cover coat is needed. Just soak in warm water and apply. The laser image is
unaffected. You do need to flip the decal over so that the toner is directly
against the glaze, then let dry 24 hrs and fire.
Scott
----- Original Message -----
From: "Fredrick Paget"
To:
Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 12:10 PM
Subject: Re: Firing laser decals glaze problems
> >
> This is totally correct. The problem with the iron oxide from laser
> decals made with a black and white laser printer is that there is no
> frit in the image and you have to get the ware hot enough that the
> glaze will absorb the iron oxide. At higher temperatures in reduction
> the iron oxide is self fluxing. You can use it on bisque if you fire
> to cone 10R. See Kali's Mug on my homepage:
>
>
> Color laser decals for ceramics made by the patented Zimmer process
> use a laminated cover sheet that can be had with frit in it or not as
> you choose.
>
> If you make ceramic decals by the silk screen process you will
> probably use the Bel Decal pigments or china paints that have a lead
> frit in them and fire to about cone 017.
>
> If you make ceramic decals by the ink jet- embossing process that I
> describe on my home page you can add 20 percent frit 3134 to the
> stains before brushing them on in the embossing process. Hence you
> can avoid lead and use higher temperature stains or if your ware is
> not for food or in California you can use the low temperature stains
> containing lead frits.
> Fred Paget
>
>
>
>
>
>>Hi Bunny,
>>
>>According the the distributer (Marck & Associates) the blanks are
>>stoneware,
>>not porcelain. They don't look like porcelain to me either. They are made
>>in
>>China and I suspect they took some shortcuts in manufacturing them. Some
>>of
>>the blanks blister and some don't. Marck & Associates primarily sells
>>blankware for decorators using decals that fire in the cone 018 range.
>>
>>The decals I am using are made with a black and white laser printer. The
>>toner has about 40-60% iron oxide that will fire into the glaze, but only
>>at
>>higher temps. From my experiments, these decals need at least cone 04,
>>otherwise they will, at least partially, wipe off. At cone 017 they wipe
>>off
>>completely. There's no way for me to tell which pieces are going to
>>blister
>>and which won't. So, unless I can find a way to fix the ones that do
>>blister, I'll just have to live with it, or, give up the laser decals, at
>>least for this blankware.
>>
>>Scott
>>-
>
>
> --
> From Fred Paget,
> Marin County, CA, USA
> fredrick@well.com
>
> Charter Member Potters Council
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
Fredrick Paget on wed 30 aug 06
>Fred,
>
>BTW, I checked with a company that distributes the equipment for the Zimmer
>process and it is very expensive. Minimum $18,000.00 -$36,000.00 to set up.
>
>Scott
That is right - it costs a lot . First the Zimmer toners are
designed for the Canon Ofice copier that runs over $20000. And a set
of 4 cartridges full of toner is $9000. You need a laminating machine
$2000 and the special covercoat sheets that it uses. You also need a
computer with Photoshop and some may have that already.
There are three others I know of that are making the color ceramic
toners and some claim that they work in cheap desktop color laser
printers. Balco-DC in Italy is one, Mr.Cao in Singapore is another
and there is a man in Chicago(Thacker) - that is another.
There are a couple of service bureaus that offer the decals to
artists in US using one of these sources. One is Easy Ceramic Decals
who I saw in the Bracker's booth at NCECA '05
:(http://www.easyceramicdecals.com/questions.php)
They will sell a single large sheet for as low as $25 so you don't
have to buy the expensive machines.
--
From Fred Paget,
Marin County, CA, USA
fredrick@well.com
Charter Member Potters Council
| |
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