Dry transfers AKA rub down transfers

[rusty]

Dow anyone on here do these? Looking for more info or suppliers. We have a lot of potential for these and I can't seem to find too much info. Thanks in advance.

[Frog]

Except for the old stock rub-off text like Letraset, and Chartpack, I've never heard of these. Do you have an example to show?

[rusty]

they are similar to the old letraset. same principal. Below are two videos. they are done with either screen printing and/or another method and I believe its using UV inks. I have found one company stateside and another in Italy. Hoping to hear back from either after the new years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25KuHm8aosk&t=3s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxQa_p5L-gg&t=102s

[DonR]

We have equipment to produce UV ink transfers on the way. These will transfer onto hard goods.  It is still very early in our research and development but hope to have something by the 2nd quarter of 2022.

[rusty]

We have equipment to produce UV ink transfers on the way. These will transfer onto hard goods.  It is still very early in our research and development but hope to have something by the 2nd quarter of 2022.

Exciting g news! Looking forward to hearing more about it when you are ready to share.

I know some companies doing something similar and I will be running some printing tests on some inks I am ordering.

[Frog]

What is the durability of this stuff? I was surprised to see the application on a tea cup in one of the videos. With old school rub-off letters, I assumed the porous substrates helped, but still never figured that the applications would hold up to rigorous handling. Do they now contain a really good adhesive?

[rusty]

Thats what I am wondering also. There is a company that claims the dry transfers they make are durable for glassware and dish washing. They also claim no need for firing. I assume there is a top coat sealant at the end similar to water slide transfers.

In the one video, with the cup I don't believe thats durable and is more for show. that process is with UV inks but I am not sure of the whole process.

 While using it for hard goods is definitely an end goal, for now I am more interested in using it for product samples (ad agencies/marketing ) and for wall lettering (museums/galleries)

Either way it is super interesting applications and thee are a lot of companies that offer it.

the process has definitely improved since the toy model kit days.

I think most companies are doing ink jet printing and adding adhesive coat afterwards.

[Frog]

the process has definitely improved since the toy model kit days.

Old school models used water slide decals. Modelers who took it to the next level, used a decal setting liquid which, after application, softened the material and allowed it to further conform to surfaces with their rivets or other textures. When I first discovered screen printing in the late '60's, one of my art projects was water slide decals which were pretty much just the ink itself on a paper that released after soaking. These were simple one color designs as I didn't mess with tiny multicolored logos like we got with our model kits.

[zanegun08]

I've never sourced these before but the Dry Transfers can be very expensive it seems.

Check these out, saw these on Instagram a while back https://unikportrait.com

Not sure how permanent they are, but it would be a small price to get a sample order of 100 pieces.

For the more high end https://www.colorvu.com/ or https://imagetransfers.com/ but these look expensive $$$

If you look at the reviews on https://unikportrait.com people post images and their images look pretty legit.