Lazertran images onto wood

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Has anyone had any success with using inkjet Lazertran for copying images onto timber? My attempts haven't been very successful and yet looking at what it is supposed to do, it seems brilliant.

I have a bowl to turn on which I would like to put a coloured image of the Burma Star on hence my request.

Any advice would be welcome
Regards
Paul
 
Hi Paul

I'd never even heard of it before! However, it does look very useful and decorative - I'll be having a bash in due course.

How do you prepare your timber before applying the decals? I'd have thought some form of sealer would be a good idea, especially on coarse grained or oily woods.

Gill
 
Welcome to the forum, Paul. :D Like your turnings.

Like Gill, this is a new one on me (I lead a sheltered life - dunno what Gill's excuse is). It does look full of potential... What exactly's giving you the trouble?

Cheers, Alf
 
Paul,

Just a comment about the image sizes on your website. They are enormous!!!! :shock: :shock:

Far too big and they could be a hundredth of the size or less and look as good. People will lose patience downloading them - impossible on a dial-up. Mind you, I only looked at one (so my comment may not reflect all your pix) and that was too much.

I suggest you resize them. If you need help to do this please ask and I will try to help if you wish.
 
Many thanks for the responses. Apparently you are supposed to print out your image(s) onto this Lazertran paper and then soak it in water for a few moments to loosen the backing paper. You are then supposed to be able to transfer the image onto the sanded surface, get rid of the bubbles and then you can coat with spirit based polyurathane or real turps. If you are using the turpentine method, you can put this on the wood first. Once the decal is onto the wood you gently coat it with more turps or another coat of polyurathane. To be honest, I have been told so many ways, I am getting confused. I have had one suggestion that my problem of blistering and creasing may be due to using the inkjet version and not the laser version - I don't know hence my seeking help from others who may have been successful with it. It reads a fantastic product and I read a fantastic woodturner - the truth is far from what things seem.
Regards
Paul
 
Hello Paul

I used lazertran inkjet paper on my veneered clockface with fair results although you can see if you look closely.

I experimented beforehand on scraps of the veneer I was using and found that I got better results than when I did it for real. I used the real turpentine method and found if I absolutely deluged the underlying parts of the veneer and the decal (once applied) then the paper started to break down and sink into the wood. The printed parts then looked like they had been painted onto the wood. Of course when doing it for real I was concerned about the inky parts breaking down under fine adjustment, smearing and staining the wood so I probably used too little turpentine and hence got slightly opaque areas in parts.

Regards

Roy
 
I found that the decal stays clear if once you have printed it out, you spray it with Plastikote from B&Q (it was Lazertran's suggestion) and obviously let it dry afterwards.

No matter what I have done though, it still puckers up in places and if you try to smooth it out, you get bits coming off.

I am told by Lazertran that it is better with the Laser printer version as the film dissolves and the picture melts into the wood. It is apparently difficult to get this done at art shops but they can get them printed for customers.

I suppose it is a case of practising and using different methods but at over £1 a throw, it gets expensive.

Regards

Paul
 
Hi Paul

Just wondering if you've had any success with transferring images onto wood. I'm so keen to do it, but at £12 for 3 papers and, after reading about your problems with it, I'm hesitant to give it a go. Have you learned any tricks you can share?

Thanks
Lee
 
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