Replies

1. 
   Jamie_Buxton | Jun 11, 2003 01:08am | #1

   I know three ways to do this.   One is to find somebody with a laser engraver.   They cut the logo into the wood with a laser, and can do remarkable things.  There are services advertising online, or maybe you can find somebody local.  There's a forum about laser engravers at http://www.woodenthreads.org/.  A second (the one you asked about) is to use transfer paper.   This is special paper that you feed through an inkjet printer to capture the graphic, and then you use a clothes iron to transfer it to cloth or wood.   Look in places that sell supplies for computer printers.  A third is to use water-transfer decals.  Remember the decals that you applied to model airplanes?  Well, you can use a computer printer and another kind of specialized paper to make custom decals.  http://www.supercaldecals.com/ is one supplier. 

   The second and third method are inexpensive, and you needn't depend on anybody else.  The laser engraver will be more durable.

2. 
   TXJon | Jun 11, 2003 01:17am | #2

   You can also use a clear epoxy finish.  Print the logos on rice paper, soak them in epoxy and epoxy the whole thing.  The rice paper will practically disappear.  Use good quality ink on the logos, or they will fade over time.

   The finish looks a little plastic, because it is, but it is just about everything proof, and pretty easy to fix when scratched.

   Jon

1. 
   braingarage | Jun 11, 2003 03:28am | #4

   Where is a good source for rice paper that will run through a printer?

   As for the finish, these will be for beer samplers so a plastic finish would be best.

1. 
   TXJon | Jun 11, 2003 04:17am | #5

   A scrapbook type store is a good bet.  You may need to tape smaller pieces of rice paper to regular copier/printer paper to get it to feed.

   Vellum is heavier, and also disappears well, but I have had problems with it curling when the epoxy is applied.

   I have experimented with clear transparency plastic.  It doesn't work well; it tends to float on the epoxy.

   Epoxy is, essentially plastic.

   Jon

3. 
   Tao | Jun 11, 2003 01:59am | #3

   If you're going to do a lot of them, like anywhere from 25 to several thousand, I'd  silk screen them.  One pass takes about ten seconds, and you can do multiple passes with different colors.  It's a simple, versatile, inexpensive technique that's still used a lot more than you might think, including posters, printing and etching on flat and round glass, printing t-shirts, etc.  If you don't want to invest in setting up, you could probably job them out pretty cost effectively.

4. 
   forestgirl | Jun 11, 2003 06:59pm | #6

   Don, please let us know in the end what you use and how well it works.  I am following this thread with interest.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

5. 
   DennisS | Jun 11, 2003 07:06pm | #7

   The laser engraving process mentioned is indeed truely amazing but as you can imagine, it's limited to a monochrome image. For anyone interested in using this process, check out local sports/atheletic trophy and award shops. It's not excessively expensive.

   ...........

   Dennis in Bellevue WA

   [email protected]

1. 
   yotonyb | Jun 11, 2003 09:42pm | #8

   I've been using SuperCal decals to sign my work for a while. I've only used black ink on the transparent media, so I can't address the issue of color, but I will say that I'm happy with the result. The starter kit runs around $25 bucks and I got my from a local hobby store in suburban Chicago. One drawback might be the size of the required substrate. I think quarter sheets, 4.25"x5.5", might be the only available substrate.

   I've varnished over the decal with Bartley's and with oils dluted with mineral spirits and NAPTHA and the decal holds fast.

   tony b.