tutetransfertoner

Toner Transfer

Transfers can be very confusing - toner, inkjet, lazer, Lazertran - it’s enough to drive a sane person nuts. These are instructions for making a toner or lazer transfer. In order for this to work, you’ve got to either print your originals at a copy store unless you have a lazer printer of your own. In order for the image to transfer correctly on clay, you’ll have to reverse the image. Special thanks to Jacqueline Lee for teaching this technique to me.

Step One

Select and trim your image. Roll a sheet of white - it’s best to use light colored clay - and press it to a clean ceramic tile.

Step Two

With a bone folder or back of a spoon, burnish the image (face down) onto the clay. The image must make contact with the clay to transfer.

Step Three

Spray the back of the paper with water.

Step Four

With your fingers, roll the paper off. As you near the image, lighten up - you can damage the image.

Step Five

Continue rolling the paper off, spray with water if it gets too dry. When you think all the paper is off, let the piece dry. If any paper remains, you’ll see it then. I also wet the piece and look at it at a steep angle - you can see the texture of any paper that remains. Respray and continue rolling the select areas using small circular motion.

Here she is, all the paper is gone. At this point, you can cut to shape or remove from the ceramic tile and wrap the clay around something - which you could not do with an inkjet transfer.

Once the piece is cured, the transfer is secure on the clay. For increased durability, you can also apply a thin coat of liquid clay (I dab it on with my fingers). Bake again to cure the liquid clay.

Printer friendly pdf