Toner Transfer Update-2006!

Etching Instructions using Press’n Peel Blue
Toner Transfer Method !

Or, just watch it,here!

Welcome to etching in the twenty-first century! If you decide to go this route you will find out the material was actually designed for circuit board etching but the applications for artistic expression have yet to be fully explored. The instructions provided by Techniks left something to be desired, so we thought it best to share our research and provide the steps we took that gave us the most successful transfers. Practice makes Perfect here, so be prepared!

Toner Transfer Plate Etching Method
Materials:

• Press-n-Peel Blue Image Transfer Film (available from www.techniks.com)
• Copper or Zinc Plate
• Clothes Iron or a Dry Mount Press
• Newsprint or Lazer Printer Paper
• Packaging tape and Paint Pen / Sharpie for touch-ups
• Contact Paper

Preparation:

• Use a photocopy machine or laser printer to print your image onto the dull side (emulsion) of Press-n-Peel Image Transfer Film. After printing, trim Press-n-Peel so it is about 1⁄4” larger than the printed image.
  • Line Art and Halftone images work best with this process, large areas of black will make it hard to clean the plate before printing.
  • Your transfer should be a negative image. The areas on the plate where the toner is transferred will not be affected by the acid and will thus become the areas of the print that will not receive ink.
• Cut your plate so that it is about a half-inch larger on all sides than the image to be transferred. File the corners of the plate to round them. Be sure to remove all burrs left on the edge from cutting as they tend to prevent even contact between the heated surfaces and the transfer film.
• Clean the plate and dry it with a lint free cloth.
• Heat the iron to the “polyester” setting. Heat the hotplate to 325°, it is recommended that you put an extra piece of copper plate larger than the piece you will be transferring to on the hot plate so the plate will receive more even heat.

Transfer Method:

1. UPDATED FOR DRY MOUNT PRESS: Set temperature to 290 degrees and preheat.

   USING CLOTHES IRON: Place the copper plate you are transferring to on top of the heated plate on the hotplate. Allow the plate to heat for a minute or two.

2. UPDATED FOR DRY MOUNT PRESS: Once press is fully heated, place film on copper dull side down and sandwich between two pieces of lazer printer bond. Place in dry mount press.

   USING CLOTHES IRON: Spray a light misting of water onto the dull side of the transfer film and lay the film onto the copper plate with the dull side facing down.

3. UPDATED FOR DRY MOUNT PRESS: Average time is 19 minutes in press, maximum time for transfer is relative to number of variables (such as the thickness of your plate). You will notice differences if you inspect the plate. It is better to “cook” the transfer too long than not long enough. Look for air bubbles, discoloration in the transfer or toner areas of the film. If in doubt, throw it back in for 1-to-2 minute intervals, inspecting it often. IT WILL BE HOT!

   USING CLOTHES IRON: Place a piece of newsprint over the top and move the iron over the top to transfer the image.

   • Apply light pressure; too much pressure can damage the transfer.
   • It can take from 1 1/2 to 10 minutes for a complete transfer depending upon the thickness of copper you are using and the type of toner used by the laser printer or photocopy machine.

   Image transfer is most succesful when fused film has achieved greatest contrast between “blue” of film and the “black” of the toner areas. If you pulled it out of the press and your image is really distinct on that blue film, you probably got it.

4. Once the image has transferred remove the plate from the heat and immediately quench the backside (the side of the plate without the transfer film) with cold running water, this will help to prevent any remaining bubbles from affecting the image quality.
5. Gently peel the film from the copper plate while running cold water over the front of the plate, allowing water to run between the film and the copper speeds removal.

Touch-ups:

Etching: