2016 Topic 4: Image Transfers {Challenge}

 2016 Topic 4: Transfers

Susan Ukkola

Well hello everyone, Darcy here with an intro to our latest topic; Image Transfers.

 (Leandra is currently at the Stitches trade show here in the UK, follow her on Periscope to see live shows as she wanders around the show talking to designers and manufacturers. See the replays of the shows HERE. )

When researching techniques for this topic I was astounded to find around 25 in a very short time, I am sure there must be many,many more. These are mostly modern techniques but let's not forget that image transfers have been around over 100 years. Our Grandparents and great-grandparents were transferring images way back when in their own creative pursuits. Think of all the vintage embroideries you have seen, most of these will have started as a transfer. 

In 1870 William Deighton, was a surgeon and apothecary in Bethnal Green, London and helped both financially, and with his knowledge of chemistry, to develop a heat activated printing ink and modified the tailors method of “prick and pounce” to print transfers through perforated patterns onto tissue paper, ready for ironing down at home. These were used to decorate clothing, household soft furnishings and framed artworks.

 I can't even begin to imagine the effort involved, heating a flat iron over a fire, over and over to be able to transfer a large image to a table cloth, and then all the embroidery! Fast forward to the present, we have embroidery machines and transfer techniques have moved on to using glues and chemicals. Not content with adding images to fabric, we now add them to paper,canvas, glass, clay and wood surfaces. So enough of history, let's examine some modern techniques. 

Before we start, let's see who won the Topic 3: Wax Challenge...
Well this was an interesting topic, one that I am sure more than a few of you looked at and said 'ohh no way' It looks like a tricky technique, but lots of you took the plunge and had a go. ..with fantastic results! I hope this topic helped you to firstly dig out old stash and secondly to overcome the fear of all things melty. 

The winner of Wax Art  is: Lynn from Experiments in Paper 

Email Darcy to claim your prize. Darcydotneedles@hotmail.com

Ok, back to transfers. Well where to start. I shall try and break the many methods down into groups. The first being 'mediums' . Transfers can be achieved using matte medium, gels, mod podge, satin glaze, gesso and paint. .

Any image can be used for transferring, although some work  better than others. Magazines/newspapers/old book text works really well as long as there is no shiny coating on the original. Photo copies work really well too, it is often said that laser prints work best, however I have never had a problem using ink jet copies. (though there are a few methods that specifically require a laser print) Transfers can be taken from regular copy paper or from a transparency film. 

Let's begin with a fantastic post and video from Leandra, showing just how easy a transfer can be using Satin Glaze. See the post HERE. 

If you think this method only works for small images then take a look at this next photo. This is a school project by one of the PaperArtsy munchkins, Ella. The individual pieces look to be A4 size, and together they form a huge portrait of her friend. 

I am a little bit in love with all the images of transfers onto wood. Here is a cute little one onto giant popsicle sticks. 

Ashley Hackshaw

And another, this time creating wooden postcards. Both of these examples were transferred using gel medium. (click the links under each photo for tutorials)

Gabrielle Blair 

Another way to use gel medium is to create a transfer skin. Paint several layers of gel medium onto your image, letting each layer dry. You really do need 5-6 layers. once this is completely dry pop into water and rub away the back of your image. You will be left with a floppy gel skin with your image embedded within it. Check out Sarah's blog post with instructions for this and other transfer methods HERE. 

Look at these seriously stunning pieces of glass, the images were transferred using mod podge, see more of them HERE. 

The next most commonly used method uses packing tape or contact paper to transfer the image. This is a very cheap method, clear tape is easy to find, and contact paper whilst a little more expensive can be found in most stationers and enables the transfer of much bigger images. Here is a really great video of this technique by our own Sara Naumann. 

A twist on the packing tape method is to transfer paint from a Gelli Plate onto the packing tape, not only does this work brilliantly you can also add metallic into the mix. Check out that link for a detailed explanation. 

This is a gorgeous example by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer. 

Most surfaces will take an image transfer, even glass, plastic and ceramic. For this kind of transfer you will need to purchase Lazertran, it is available for both laser and inkjet printers. This printable film creates waterslide  decals that you literally just slide onto your substrate. 

Jenn Erickson

In the same style, don't forget good old rub-ons. surely there can be no easier transfer method. If like me you have old rub ons stashed away, go dig them out and use them. Just look at these cute stones, very simply decorated with rub ons. Follow the link under the photo to see how much fun this lady had with her children, some stones and a few rub ons. 

Gardenmama

So, there you have some methods using stuff we already know about. How about some more unusual transfer mediums? Let's start with freezer paper. Apparently you pop this into your inkjet printer , let it briefly dry and them apply to fabric or wood.. or I am guessing any porous substrate. Burnish the back with a spoon and your image appears like magic. 

See how Crystal made this wooden sign HERE. 

I wonder would this method work with PaperArtsy Waxed Kraft paper? Only one way to find out. I printed a vintage photo onto the Crunchy- waxy paper. No special way, I just popped a piece into my inkjet printer.. and printed. I left it to dry for about 5 minutes. 

I placed it ink side down onto white cotton fabric, a little of the damp ink came off but not much else. Hmm, maybe this paper isn't waxy enough. Maybe heat would help? 

First I ironed the fabric, just enough so that it was warm, then I replaced the waxy paper and burnished the back with a spoon. The ink came off really well. 

Maybe more heat from the other side would encourage more ink to release?. I placed printer paper over the waxy, ( to protect my iron;also note this is a NON steam iron)

I ironed for just a a minute, the excess wax from the crunchy paper soaked into the printer paper. I lifted up the iron, and the two papers and this is the image that was left on my fabric. I can't tell you how chuffed I am with this!

Of course remember this is inkjet ink and will not be washable on fabric, unless it is treated before with a printing medium.

ok, so now that little bit of excitement is over, let's look at other unusual transfer mediums. 

Let's pop back in time again just for a minute. In the 1950's an American painter and graphic artist, Rober Rauschenberg, discovered by accident that applying solvents to the back of newspaper would cause the ink to transfer to another substrate. He used this method to apply images to his collages and paintings. This birthed a new generation of artists developing ways of transferring images. 

Rauschenberg solvent transfer collage from 1978

Time warp back to now, and solvents are still being used to transfer images. Nowadays the preferred image is printed on toner based paper and a variety of solvents can be used to complete the process. The image is laid ink side down and solvent is applied to the back in thin coats and then burnished. This can be done with Acetone, nail varnish remover, wintergreen oil, paint thinner, blender pen, citra-solv. 

( I tried this method with an inkjet copy and it just wouldn't work, you do need a laser/toner based copy)

This box is just beautiful, the image is a solvent transfer, created by Cameron Kaseberg

Try a transfer onto polymer clay and make some stunning jewellery. 

Gwen Gibson

Have you heard of Gum Arabic? this is a natural product, used in many catering situations. It can also be used for transfers, and this method is known as paper plate lithography. You will need a toner based copy for this method. A great explanation of how to do this can be found in the book Image Transfer Workshop by Darlene Olivia McElroy and Sandra Duran Wilson,

Gum Arabic transfer collage by Lucy Autrey Wilson

One last product to play with is transfer paint, this also comes in crayon form. These are also known as Disperse Dyes. The paint or crayons are applied to regular paper; draw, paint, colour, layer and leave to dry. These papers are then flipped and applied to synthetic fabric, (to achieve a really bright transfer you do need between 60% and 100% synthetic) finally iron the paper on the reverse and the paint will transfer to the fabric. 

Add a resist to the fabric first, such as a leaf or string or paper doily and then place the painted paper in place for added interest. 

Pin Tangle 

A twist on this method is paper bag printing. You know all those beautiful patterned paper bags that you get in gifts shops?, try laying those pattern side down onto synthetic fabric and iron on the reverse. Some really cool patterns and colours will transfer. I have done this many times and it makes a great background. Unsurprisingly I have a whole box of pretty paper bags, saved just for this purpose. 

On the left is a printed paper bag from a gift shop, and on the right is synthetic fabric with the patterned transferred. Usually this is a one time deal, you can transfer the patterned once.. and of course not all paper bags work, it is a case of try and see. 

There are so many other methods,hairspray! yes apparently this does work. However hairspray can go yellow over time, if you are going for a vintage look then this could work out well. If you don't want the yellow look then try using a fixative spray instead. Why not try the hand sanitiser method? I have done this one and it does work. (smells good too) Finally look out for TAP ( Transfer Artist Paper) this can be stamped and coloured and then ironed onto fabric. I am sure you can find even more methods, don't forget to link up and share them with us. 

Have fun!

Don't forget to follow Leandras pinterest if this topic pushes your buttons, you will see plenty more examples to whet your appetite there! 

I am really looking forward to seeing what you create over the next 2 weeks!

Darcy

Topic 4: Transfers; PaperArtsy Blog Challenge

We'd love you to share your ideas and link up your creative response to our current blog topic. Take a minute to read the challenge guidelines below.

All links go in the draw to win a voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. The Transfers link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, March 6th, winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.

1. The challenge is a for you to show how you are inspired by the current blog topic.

Your entry should contain:

- a mention of which post inspired you and why, and 

- a link in your blog post to that original post on the PA blog.

The whole concept of this challenge is 'play along with us'. You are encouraged to put your own twist on ideas you see on our blog, do your own thing - whatever grabs you!

2. The link you put on our linky page must lead directly to the specific post on your blog where you have explored the technique/ idea mentioned in point 1 above. Don't link to the home page of your blog.

3. We prefer your challenge blog post is created exclusive to our challenge, but if our topic fits perfectly with another challenge, then you may link to both if appropriate.

4. You are most welcome to use stamps/ products/ substrates you have to hand from a variety of companies, we do not expect you to exclusively use PA products - it's lovely when you do though!

6. You can enter as many times as you like. We don't want to restrict your creativity! 

NB. Link closes at 17:00 Sunday March 6th   (London Time)

7. The winner of the random draw will receive a £50 credit voucher to be redeemed on the PaperArtsy Website. The credit voucher includes VAT and postage. We request that one of your purchases is an A5 rubber stamp. You can add any other items to your basket, but the final total should not exceed £50.

8. Each fortnight on Sunday, the winner will be announced at 19:00 (London time). In the same post, the link for the next fortnight will be posted. 

9. It's your responsibility to claim your prize coupon from Darcy. 

email: darcydotneedles@hotmail.com

Good Luck! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!