Ceramic decals
Before you fire
You receive a covercoated waterslide sheet. You soak it, transfer it and fire it on your own ware. The notes below are what the production partner, INEQS, has told us about the sheets ordered here. They are a starting point. They are not a guarantee for every glaze.
What you do
The sheet arrives fully coated. You do not add another coating. Soak it, slide the film onto the ware, press out trapped water and air, let the piece dry, and then fire it.
The toner on these sheets
These sheets use the fluxed magenta set MM40. The flux is in the toner, and the covercoat is lacquer only. In a correct firing the lacquer burns away, so it does not leave a continuous glass outline. The printed image stays. Its gloss can differ from the glaze around it. An extra flux layer can help some hard glazes and can also leave a visible edge. That extra layer is not what you order here.
Ware
- Glazed porcelain
- Start MM40 tests at about 880°C. Do not use the temperature at which the porcelain was first fired. The glaze decides the useful temperature.
- Glazed stoneware
- The original stoneware firing temperature does not set the decal temperature. Test MM40 on your own glaze.
- Glazed earthenware
- Fire a decal only when the body and the glaze can take another firing.
- Glazed tiles
- The glaze, the surface and the use of the tile decide the result. Fire a test first.
- Glass
- Glass needs its own toner set and a lower firing temperature. The A4 sheets ordered here are not that set.
- Vitreous enamel
- MM40 can be fired at about 810–830°C. The time held at the top temperature matters.
What we do not claim
- We do not call these sheets lead-free or cadmium-free. That wording waits for a document that names this toner and this coating.
- The production partner states that the toners and coatings are food-safe when they are used and fired correctly.
- That statement does not make a finished plate or cup suitable for food. The body, the glaze and your firing decide that.
- We do not warrant dishwasher use, microwave use, or use on products for children.
The file
- 1
Use 300 dpi at the printed size. PDF is preferred. PNG, JPG and TIFF are also accepted.
- 2
A CMYK file is the best colour start. We store your file unchanged. The production partner converts it for the ceramic toner.
- 3
White is not printed. The ware shows through. A transparent background stays bare. On a dark or coloured surface the colours change.
- 4
Opaque white is not part of this sheet. Bright screen colours and exact brand colours can shift in the firing. When the colour matters, approve a fired test on the ware you will use.
- 5
Keep the artwork inside 200 × 287 mm, with 5 mm of clear paper around it.
Production time
After the file is approved and payment is complete, a straightforward order of up to 20 sheets is planned at about three working days of production. The dispatch date is confirmed for that order. Specialist coating and larger runs take longer.
This shop sells A4 only. The price on the order page is the price you pay. Quotations for other sheet sizes are not a second shop.