Engraving Transfer Technique

[AllenClapp]

There is literally a way to put up a red flag in crossover areas where you need to stop cutting a line and pick it up on the other side of something. If you have an inkjet printer that uses PIGMENT INK for both color and black, you can use color to highlight areas you want to avoid. Unfortunately for engravers, most inkjet printers that use pigment black ink also use dye inks for the colors to make them brighter for photographs. DYE INKS DO NOT WORK; you must use pigment inks. Yellow does not show up well, but red and green do show up pretty good under a microscope--and that is the key: you need to experiment with pigment colors to see which show up best under your microscope to warn you of the need to stop a cut. As an aside, if you have an inkjet that uses pigment black and dye colors, and you want to print black only, you need to set the printer to use only the black ink. Otherwise, it will try to make black from the colors and that doesn't transfer. That is why a lot of folks say that their inkjet doesn't make good transfers; they haven't told the printer to use only the pigment ink.

 

[papart1]

alot of gum/flake build-up while cutting?

 

[BBennett]

If you want a transfer with exact detail check out master engraver. Engraving Quick Tips #1 - Transfers - YouTube

Yes, this is an excellent method. Has good applications. Thanks for bringing it up. I had seen it and was impressed with the quality. I had to rule it out, though, as I don't have a laser printer. But, good results.

 

[BBennett]

There is literally a way to put up a red flag in crossover areas where you need to stop cutting a line and pick it up on the other side of something. If you have an inkjet printer that uses PIGMENT INK for both color and black, you can use color to highlight areas you want to avoid. Unfortunately for engravers, most inkjet printers that use pigment black ink also use dye inks for the colors to make them brighter for photographs. DYE INKS DO NOT WORK; you must use pigment inks. Yellow does not show up well, but red and green do show up pretty good under a microscope--and that is the key: you need to experiment with pigment colors to see which show up best under your microscope to warn you of the need to stop a cut. As an aside, if you have an inkjet that uses pigment black and dye colors, and you want to print black only, you need to set the printer to use only the black ink. Otherwise, it will try to make black from the colors and that doesn't transfer. That is why a lot of folks say that their inkjet doesn't make good transfers; they haven't told the printer to use only the pigment ink.

This is something I will surely checkout. For my printer EPSON did not have whether dye or pigment listed. And I couldn't ask a question. So, I will experiment. Thanks for opening up another way to transfer and use colors, Allen. I really appreciate all of it.

 

[BBennett]

alot of gum/flake build-up while cutting?

With the way I ended up doing the transfer I never had any of these problems until I got to very fine shading. Then, I got impairment, causing the graver to slide. I removed the DYKEM and spray and shaded the bare metal. All worked well after that, too. Thanks for the question.

 

[AllenClapp]

This is something I will surely checkout. For my printer EPSON did not have whether dye or pigment listed. And I couldn't ask a question. So, I will experiment. Thanks for opening up another way to transfer and use colors, Allen. I really appreciate all of it.

Look up your inks online and it will tell you if they are pigment inks or sublimation dye inks. Look up both black and colors: some printers have both as one type and many printers use pigment for black and dye for color.

 

[BBennett]

FWIW, Inkjet printers come in two different types of ink, pigment and dye. Many but not all have pigment black and dye color cartridges. Dyes do not transfer like pigment based inks. The Epson Work Force 7520 uses pigment on both cartridges. HTH

RT

Yahoo! Thanks for the info, RhoTu. That makes it much simpler for me.

 

[BBennett]

FWIW, Inkjet printers come in two different types of ink, pigment and dye. Many but not all have pigment black and dye color cartridges. Dyes do not transfer like pigment based inks. The Epson Work Force 7520 uses pigment on both cartridges. HTH

RT

That sure does help.
Thanks a bunch.