Fast Image Transfers: Part II 

Ohhh, I totally love the one with the black branches over the pastel background. What an awesome final image.

The most important distinction is between an ink-jet printer (like most of us have at home) and a laser printer or photocopier found in an office or retail print/office center. You can actually make transfers with either, but you get different results, and the black and white photocopy or laser print tends to produce cleaner results. Photocopies and laser printers use a powdered heat-set toner, versus an ink that needs to dry.

I watched your other video and was impressed. I had not thought of the technique, but it is exactly what I need. Thanks very much Melanie.

I think you are wonderful Melanie! Your voice is great and your directions clear. ALSO, you are ambidextrous! Yay! Brilliant.

IM MOTIVATED AND INSPIRED BY ALL THE POSSIBILITIES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. Donna

I really enjoyed seeing this, learning this process, and now to try it. thanks much.

Also, environmental conditions - temp and humidity - make a huge difference in setup time. In the winter especially, i had to wait a lot longer to work on the second stage of the removal - overnight is good.Have fun. It is great when it works.

Great video - thank you!

a lot of our discussion (internally) is around coated papers. The greatest challenge with making a specific brand recommendation is that we don't control the specifications or quality of the paper mills. Even if we found something that worked perfectly in our lab, it could change or vary greatly from what you find in the store.

...also the fluid measurements are very dependent on size, texture, absorbency and your working environment. The key concept is even coverage and complete contact (which Melanie does a nice job of emphasizing in this video)

very good!! Compliments!!

Melanie uses two different fluids, Fluid Matte Medium on the textured surface and Polymer Medium on the plexiglass. Most acrylic mediums will work, including our Regular and Soft Gels in Gloss, Semi-Gloss or Matte, and they can be found just about anywhere Golden Artist Colors products are sold. Use the locator on the Golden website to find a store near you.

Awesome, I learned so much thank you!

I have tried this several times, with minor adaptations, but always with ghastly results. I'd so love to learn to do this well. I have several projects I would use it on if I could only achieve acceptable results.

Check out the follow up video created by our tech team, if that doesn't help, give them a call to discuss what you're doing.

Great video! My question is would I use the polymer medium on glass the same way Melanie used it on plexi? Or is there another medium that works better?

Yeah awesome.

Lori, - it's really not strange that it works on plexi, which is probably acrylic. Glass is extremely hard and very different materail., Adhesion on glass will be a challenge for any waterborne paint. If you call our tech support group, they might have some ideas on how to work around it.

Maya - we have another video that may help some, see our "success with fast image transfers" video -- as for your two issues, #1 it can be hard to remove the paper, depending on how long it sits there and the type of paper used. #2, wetting the surface softens the acrylic and can make the image vulnerable so you have to be careful.

I have tried quite a few. Results depend on the paper structure - fibre type, directionality, sizing, plasticizing, and so on. It is not simple I agree. Some rice papers never come off; some cheap drawing paper is excellent.

Our tech team has worked with Melanie on this and may be providing additional instruction on how to do this. There are, however, a lot of variables that effect the timing. This video is a bit clearer than the first one with respect to the time needed to allow the image to cure. The best recommendation we can make is to practice on small test pieces until you have the right combination for you.

Thank you! I've posters, can this method be done on plexiglass?

-- Yes, this should work the same with Gloss, Semi-Gloss or Matte, though the times may vary slightly, matte may dry a tad faster than gloss. You just need to practice with whatever you use and learn to adjust for all the things that influence timing (like the absorbency of the surface, temperature and humidity, etc.)

Results depend also on the kind of paper you use- the cheaper the better. You want a paper that is going to disintegrate when it is wet - the opposite of what you usually think about art substrate quality! Don't use "premium" anything.

Good evening! Would Liquitex gloss flux medium work for a plexiglass transfer instead of the Polymer Medium gloss? Thanks in advance!

Hi, How do I clean my brushes that has hardened?

Not sure what a bubble jet is, but this technique is for dry toner (black and white) based images. Not wet ink (color/ink-jet) images.

Hi, that is so helpful! I need to make a very large transfer on canvas (3 meters wide). would it work by using a blueback poster (like those for billboards)? thank you in advance

I've been trying to transfer an image to a Bluecrab shell with mod podge. I've tried to make sure it comes in contact with all the crevices but its just not coming out right and I keep rubbing off parts of the picture. Any tips on what to use and how better to transfer to textured surfaces? any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. thx

Funny, I was just having a conversation about that with someone in Tech Support. It's not that cut-and-dried. A lot of things will work, and do different things. We're going to experiment with different papers and report on the results.

Thank you for the very informative video! Question if you think this can be done on a precious metal leafed surface such as silver or gold???

Can I transfer the images using polycrylic water based clear matte onto a acrylic painted piece of wood or glass?

WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

can this method be used to transfer on to t-shirts? thanks

I have tired several times with the soft gel matte medium and getting horrible results

but what is that white liquid and where can I buy it.

Hi. Great video. Do you know if you Can you transfer a pencil drawing to a canvis?

You should contact our technical support team. You'll have adhesion issues with glass, so you may need to add something to improve adhesion, or it may not even be possible on glass. Just call or e-mail them, they'll help you (and it's free).

What kind of paper was used for the picture to transfer on the plexiglass?

Can we transfer the image on canvas

Hi! I bought a Golden Gel Medium (Gloss) and aplly to a bamboo plate. I put the gel on bamboo plate then place the printed image down on the bamboo and use a roller to press the bubble out. The gel dries out so quickly before I place the paper (only in 30 secs) and the paper doesn't really stick on the bamboo. When I rub the paper off with water gently, there's so many parts were rubbed off. May I know the solution how to get a clearer transfer? Thanks! *I tried to apply the gel medium bit by bit and stick the paper bit by bit to shorten the drying time but it still doesn't really stick. Also tried to apply the medium on both paper and bamboo plate....

What would you use to preserve the plexiglass transfer? Would you use a spray sealant or other kind of product to seal the image?

She says "photocopy". To be really specific, does this mean the machines they have at a place like Staples? Or does it include home / consumer laser printed images? I have had varying results with the laser printer. It seems that the toner in mine is quickly dissolved by the polymer medium.!

i want to transfer a print on to paper instead of canvas or wood. the paper ideally would be around 300 to 400 gsm. which medium would u suggest i should use for that?

Can we use Gel Matte Medium? if so how long would be dry time? Thanks!

Great video ,my question is once you have transferred the image and it dries , can you then go in and paint over it with either acrylic or oil paint and will it stay on .?

The same happened with me. On glass, it didn't work at all. It does seem strange that it works on plexi. Problem is, all of our old farmhouse windows are glass

I’m still confused about how in the first video, the image was able to be peeled and separated from the canvas in one swipe without the need to rub off any excess paper (as there wasn’t any).

Can the polymer medium be used on the canvas for a glossy finish ? if not how can we get a glossy finish on canvas?

great video what paper was used?

I am uncertain in respect to the image. Other than photocopies, magazine images, inkjet or laser prints would this work e.g. for lithographic images or any other prints (e.g. in old books: chromolithography)? Many thanks!

would white ink of the pic would also transfer color on canvas?

can I use any type of glue?

Hi Melanie. You are using Fluid Matte Medium, others are using Mod Podge Waterbase Sealer. What is the difference if any?

Will this work for Inkjet images? I find it is not easy to find a Laser Printing service that makes over-sized prints.

Which stores carries Golden Matte Medium?

So this will work with a laser printer with black toner?

this may sound stupid but is matte medium the same as modge podge?

Would Modge Podge work instead of the Fluid Matte medium?

Can this be done with a colored image, or just black and white?

if i cant end up being able to do this myself, would you know any places that I could pay as a service to do it for me?

I'm so confused as to how this works. Were those images printed? And how does the whole thing not rub off when removing the last bit of paper? I guess I'm wondering how the ink transfers and stays behind while the paper gets rubbed off?

I want to know how 1880s artist or ilustrators used to work art noveau

Can this technique be done on plexiglass with a lazer copy?

NO. - which is to say, technically, you could make it work, but it would not be something you want to wear and it would not hold up to repeated washing. There are materials made for making t-shirts using printer or photocopy images - usually iron-on transfer paper that you put into an ink-jet (which I assume would need to use a waterpoof ink) This technique is for fine or decorative art applications, not apparel.

hi. How can I transfer my drawings unto canvas without using graphite or having to trace it over

I am a beginner painter .I am from Morocco .I am very interested in your products here in Morocco There are no means I would like to see you if you help me .de sent me your products to work and published here in Africa

It doesn't work. The paper sticks in some places and you end up ruining the whole project trying to get it perfect. If it did work she would have shown you the completed project.

Tavish - just about any standard paper used in a photocopier or laser printer will do. Nothing special is needed.

This a gimmick done a thousand times....