Prints on glass

[Meerkat]

http://printsonglass.com.au/

Just curious, is there anyway that the layperson glass worker can do something like this or does it require extremly high end, expensive printing technology.

[LarryC]

Gaffer Glass makes a photosensitive Gold Ruby glass. It is 96 COE and the technical spec is here..http://www.gafferglassusa.com/tech_ruby.asp

[Julian]

It's possible to screen print on glass. An easier option is ink jet printing. Printing flat items isn't so difficult, though of you'll need a special printer. For 3d items? A vague search turned up this: http://inkcups.com/equipment/inkjet-printers/promojet-solvent-ink-printer/Default.aspx as well as a nice article: http://www.inkcups.com/blog/inkjet-printing-promojet/printing-on-glass/

The next realm is decals. You print/have made water slide decals with any image you'd like on them. Then you apply it to the glass and fire it on.

One option is to print on enamels, either way, and then fire that on.

[menty666]

I've got some stuff you can use to fuse images with, but it's so so results, and they all come out sepia.

If you could screen print with Peebo paints (I think that's what they're called) you could get some nifty effects without retrofitting a printer.

[Meerkat]

Thanks for all the info

[Julian]

Rock on G dawg

[FredLight]

That's"Pebeo", and they don't stick to glass for long.

My best result has come from spray painting a piece of glass and laser-etching of the negative spaces and then spraying on the contrasting color.

But still, glass resists paint and it will eventually peel,crack,chip.

I'll see if I can dig up some examples for you.

[tbachtbach]

Very interesting promo. The process is not explained very well, but my assumption is that they are using digital images printed with glass enamel powders as toners. There are several companies out there that sell similar services. Most of them produce a decal that the user can apply to glass and fire in a kiln. They are relatively expensive, but more than one image can be printed on a single page.

There is also a very simple process available to anyone with access to a black and white laser printer (as long as the toner has sufficient iron in it). Most people use an HP laserjet printer. The images are prepared on computer and then printed on special decal paper (available from many sources). After being printed, the images can be cut out and applied to glass like any decal. Very easy process. The problem with this process is that although images start out black, firing turns the black toner into sepia. The fired image is permanent and can be capped with clear glass and refired. Capping the image gives it more depth. The final sepia tone depends on many things - toner that was use, and successive firing temps and soak times. The process can be used very effectively and is quite simple.

Bullseye has a class at it's Portland location (and probably SantaFe too) which covers printmaking on glass - direct screen printing, making screen printed decals and even photo resist/sandblasting techniques. There are lots of resources for screen printing on glass, which I find to be the most effective method. The cost of materials is nominal, and with a little research and practice the results can be phenomenal.

I have a photo that I took as a 13 year old (I'm now 72) visiting Yellowstone for the first time. It is a great shot of a waterfall cascading into the river and canyon below. That photo was taken into Photoshop and made into a half-tone which was screenprinted directly onto a piece of Bullseye Tekta (clear) and fired to fully cure the glass enamels used as paint/ink. I then used the fired piece as a cap for a slightly smaller piece of Irid White Opal glass and refired to a full fuse. The result was great.

Learning this process takes research, practice and lots of test printings/firings. But it is worth the time and work. For some reason, I started screenprinting on glass almost from the beginning of my introduction to glass fusing . . . it seemed like a natural thing for me to do. Almost every piece I have made since then has included some type of printmaking as part of its design.

Examples of some of the things I have made can be seen on my peresonal web page. www.home.comcast.net/~tbachglass

There are many choices - give some of them a try.

[FredLight]

that's great work, tbach!

I love the panda and the cats, but I didn't have a chance to view them all.

[kage]

good post tbach. nice work too!

[Bglass]

nice work tbachtbach, and very informative post, thank you....

i work for one of the biggest screen printing manufactures and suppliers in the world, you being from here i bet you know who im talking about...
by the way we make aftermarket yudu screen/frames out of durable steel and they are powder coated blue... just a thought if you wanted numerous screens for doing production and what not.
i was and am a glass blower first so putting the two together could be very fun... right now ive been doing shirts and stuff, which is cool but not directly linked to my passion of glass so i have little interest other than printing my own clothing line in the future...

ive been interested in screen printing on glass for some time now, and you just re-energized my ideas again. i have complete acess to any and all screen printing equipment as well as i specialize in making the equipment.
seeing your work might help me to further venturing off on this subject...
is there different color enamels you can get to burn on, im thinking of doing 2 color process or more?
and to anybody else wondering or if you know, does acid etch ruin your screens?? i have big plans if it doesn't.
thank you again

[tbachtbach]

Thanks bglass - I'm almost ashamed to tell you what "equipment" I use for screening. My wife gave me a Yudu a couple of years ago - I have used it for shirts and for all of my glass screening. It restricts me as far as size is concerned, because I cannot make anything larger than appx 9x15 . . . but otherwise it suits me well. The exposure setup and printing setup are great. I do not use Yudu emulsion sheets . . . use liquid emulsion instead. And I do not use the Yudu for drying screens . . . it has a "drying feature" but takes days to actually dry things, so I made my own drying box out of a large storage container with lid . . . stuck a hairdryer through a hole in the side and vented it through the top . . . added wood cleats to hold screens like shelves. With a homemade timer, it works great! Now I'm using aftermarket screens - blue aluminum - heavier and much, much tighter! I use 110 mesh for most designs - sometimes 220 if there is a lot of detail.

The enamels I use are Fuse Master from Fusion Headquarters in Newberg, OR - I use both low fire (1125°to1275°) and high fire (1200° to 1450°) depending on whether my design will have to go through a full fuse or just a lower temp "cure" firing. Once fired, these enamels are permanent. All of the enamels I use are lead free, but you must wear a mask while working with them because of the glass dust. There are other enamels out there, and I have used some of them, but I really do like Fuse Master best - probably because it is so readily available. The water-friendly medium is also Fuse Master.

Printing multicolor is supposedly not a big problem, but I have never tried it because of the registration problems. Once an enamel is printed, it needs to be dried (in a kiln at 350° for 10 minutes will do it) and then the second color can be printed. The actual firing of the design with more than one color can be done at one time this way. I have seen some astounding results of multicolor enamel printing at Fusion Headquarters.

Good luck to you - hope you are able to pursue this process more.

Keep in touch.

Ted

[B-Rye-oNeR]

I tried to develop a photo on glass with "liquid light" in school. It worked okay. THe glass cant be glossy though I used etch bath, but sandblasting would be better... Don't know much about printing.