Tag Archives: texture

My Work, Process

Transfer Printing

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Transfer printing techniques:

  • Dry Transfer with fabric crayons
  • Wet Transfer with transprint ink
  • Digital Print

Materials used:

  • Crayola Fabric Crayons
  • Kraftcolor Transprint Inks
  • Shiny polyester satin, T-shirt
  • Baking paper
  • Iron
  • Leaf veins (for indirect printing)
  • Paper cutouts (for textural effects)

Documentation of processes:

1. Drawing using crayons

Dry Transfer

Dry Transfer

 

2. Painting using disperse dyes

Wet Transfer

3. Digital Print:

Materials required:

  • Printing paper (The Magic Touch TTC 3.1 for Light coloured fabric and CPM 6.2 for non fabric hard surfaces)
  • Laser printer
  • Light coloured fabric  , plywood

Technique:

  • Laser print images
  • Cut out the whites
  • Heat-press unto surface with baking paper on top for about 20 seconds
  • Quickly remove the paper from the fabric
Heat transfer of digital prints on to white polyester fabric (Observed that the more synthetic, the smoother the application)
Heat transfer of digital print unto wood (Note: used home iron instead of the heat-press machine, sorry!)

Applications include:

  • customisation of products (e.g. painting own designs on a plain T-shirt)
  • corporate gifts (e.g. mass-printing of mugs)
Images of applications sourced from the internet

Personal Reflections:

Transfer printing was an engaging process! The experimentation and exploration stopped abruptly when the polyester was fully occupied with prints. 

The initial apprehension in trying a new technique gave way to joy and increased curiosity about surface design. Through the act of doing, we discover new styles, patterns and a world in which supposed mistakes can result in beauty.