Laser Printer drawing transfers

Jesse Harrington · Apr 4, 2022

Hello everyone,
I am having poor results transferring my my drawings to Brass plates using acetone and my HP LaserJet M209dwe…I have good results transferring to steel plates but can barely get any image when transferring to brass. Any advice would be greatly appreciated….Cheers!
Jesse

oniemarc · Apr 4, 2022

I had the same problem when I used pure acetone. Transfers got a whole lot better with nailpolish remover. Not always perfect, but much better, especially on brass. Silver is still giving me problems though.

Marc

TallGary · Apr 4, 2022

Have you tried cleaning the brass plate? The ones I have used all seem to have a very light film of oil or something on them. Good luck!

Jesse Harrington · Apr 4, 2022

TallGary said:
Have you tried cleaning the brass plate? The ones I have used all seem to have a very light film of oil or something on them. Good luck!

I used denatured alcohol and then packing tape to clean it

Jesse Harrington · Apr 4, 2022

oniemarc said:
I had the same problem when I used pure acetone. Transfers got a whole lot better with nailpolish remover. Not always perfect, but much better, especially on brass. Silver is still giving me problems though.

Marc

Do you use acetone based nail polish remover or something else? I’m definitely not ready to messing with silver plate yet...

oniemarc · Apr 5, 2022

Acetone based. It dries a little slower, which I think helps to desolve the toner a bit better. I found that when I leave it to almost dry out completely, the toner adheres the best. Sometimes leaving a bit of paper behind, but those can be picked off quite easily. If there are small spots that didn't stay on, I just scribe those lines...

jamiefeinstein · Apr 5, 2022

LOL. I've perfected a whole regiment with my laser printer (brother) . I tape a piece of parchment paper to a regular sheet of paper to print on. Before I run the print I'll lightly scuff up the parchment paper with a green brilla pad to help the laser ink adhere to the parchment a bit better. Then i use damar varnish as the adhesive on the metal I wish to apply the design. I clean the engraving area first with alcohol and then use packing tape to remove any grease etc. I always use my finger to lightly dip into the varnish and put an even coat over the area that I want to transfer to. I'll let that air dry for about 5 minutes then use a clean finger to tap the varnish. It should be tacky enough to see a finger print in the varnish but not come off on your finger. Then I'll put the laser transfer parchment paper on and use my finger nail to burnish the pattern on. Sometimes i'll use a traditional burnishing tool. ... Hope that helps.
jamie.

Jesse Harrington · Apr 5, 2022

jamiefeinstein said:
LOL. I've perfected a whole regiment with my laser printer (brother) . I tape a piece of parchment paper to a regular sheet of paper to print on. Before I run the print I'll lightly scuff up the parchment paper with a green brilla pad to help the laser ink adhere to the parchment a bit better. Then i use damar varnish as the adhesive on the metal I wish to apply the design. I clean the engraving area first with alcohol and then use packing tape to remove any grease etc. I always use my finger to lightly dip into the varnish and put an even coat over the area that I want to transfer to. I'll let that air dry for about 5 minutes then use a clean finger to tap the varnish. It should be tacky enough to see a finger print in the varnish but not come off on your finger. Then I'll put the laser transfer parchment paper on and use my finger nail to burnish the pattern on. Sometimes i'll use a traditional burnishing tool. ... Hope that helps.
jamie.

Oh slick! I like it, I will give that a try as well! Thanks!

Travis_UT · Apr 7, 2022

I have noticed that sometimes when the design won't come off the parchment paper, I can carefully apply a small amount of fingernail polish remover to the parchment paper, let dry and burnish again.

ClaudioSilva · Apr 8, 2022

Hi all,
This is my first post here and Im new in engraving but not so new when it comes to transfer, the best method that works with all laser printers is just using backing paper, this paper does not allow the paint to stick, than just clean your brass plates with acetone and then put some hair spray (yes thats the trick) and let it dry, before putting you drawing in the plate just use your mouth because your hot air will make the hair spray sticky enough... then just apply your drawing and use your fingers to rub the design..fully works with all laser printers, and the results are great!!

Please if you find some english errors, its normal Im from Portugal.

Best regards,
Claudio

tdelewis · Apr 8, 2022

Sometimes the metal surface needs to have a little bite to pick up the transfer. I suggest cleaning the brass as mentioned and then polish with 320 3M sheets. I think they are the yellow ones they use in the GRS classes. Then clean the surface again. Make the transfer and use a heat gun to fix the transfer so it doesn't smear while you are working on it. Also, if this is a project for a customer, and not just practice, I suggest using 220 bronze instead of brass. Brass has a tendency to discolor more quickly than the bronze. You can get the bronze from Online Metals or McMaster Carr.

Jim gordon · Apr 9, 2022

I have had reasonable success on silver plate and copper ,bye etching the surface with 220 aluminum oxide, (sand blasting).
The toner transfer seems best with fingernail remover. Use soaked tissue paper, and hold pressure for one minute. Let dry, peel slowly. 320 3M would likely provide similar success.
I use a GRS point, and lightly 'punch dot' the fill in lines ,as to scribe lines on metal
Is very risky, with practice their is some improvement, messy at best.
I have noticed that print toner transfers work best, when freshly printed.
The older prints seem resistant to transfer.
The Hairspray sounds interesting, I'll give that a try!
On a gun, etching surface is not reasonable ,I would think, perhaps freshly
Printed toner would help.

Jim gordon · Apr 17, 2022

tdelewis said:
Sometimes the metal surface needs to have a little bite to pick up the transfer. I suggest cleaning the brass as mentioned and then polish with 320 3M sheets. I think they are the yellow ones they use in the GRS classes. Then clean the surface again. Make the transfer and use a heat gun to fix the transfer so it doesn't smear while you are working on it. Also, if this is a project for a customer, and not just practice, I suggest using 220 bronze instead of brass. Brass has a tendency to discolor more quickly than the bronze. You can get the bronze from Online Metals or McMaster Carr.

Jim gordon · Apr 17, 2022

Yep, on Bronze, got some 16ga Brnz/ Rio Grande, New at engraving ,however that Bronze really looks good, seems to have a very crisp cut, more frequent sharpening needed, looks appropriate for script.
I cut reasonable sized plates on little reciprocating saw table,on the back porch,
Wear gloves and earplugs, lot of vibration,noise,bronze granules, however it works! I cut a bunch of plates, wheeww!
I used a wet grinding wheel to square up, I'm lucky to have a wet grinder,
Dry grind is a pain, I realize most people don't have a wet grinder,
Wish RIO would clip to size for us. I've got a press, haven't seen any cutters for a press, my machine shop only clips big stuff, it's a giant!
Bronze looks very nice, yepper!

Mike Cirelli · Apr 18, 2022

Try warming the item with a hairdryer or heat gun then try to transfer. When I used laser transfers it seemed I had to warm the surface of the metal, especially sterling so the transfer would take.

Laser Printer drawing transfers

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