Multicolored, individual hot air balloons with different designs in varying sizes. Colors included are red, yellow, blue, green, and purple. ... Read more
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SKU: DECALETBALLOONS
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Elan Transfers provides fun, unique, and high-quality decals for contemporary ceramic artists to use on their own pottery. After years of using custom decal designs on her own work, artist Leigh Anne Thompson, saw that there was a need for a fresh approach to a timeless art of underglaze transfers. In 2018 she began working with graphic designers and fellow artists to create new designs with the contemporary ceramicist in mind. Five years later Elan Transfers is now the largest modern decal company offering over 400 different designs in a range of colors! From our own handmade pottery to our specialty transfers we have a fine attention to detail and hold customer service and craftsmanship as our primary goal.
We hope you enjoy using our Elan Transfers and would love to see what you create with them!
All water slide overglaze decals are food safe and lead free. They should be applied after your ceramic piece has been glaze fired and work best over a white or light-colored glaze as they are semitransparent.
Materials Needed
• Overglaze Decal Sheet
• Glazed ceramic piece to apply decal to
• Bowl of warm water
• Plastic rib tool (I use the yellow Y3 mud tools rib) or a roller also works
• Sharp scissors
• Rubbing alcohol
• Lint free cloth
• Kiln ☺
1. Begin with using your lint free cloth and clean the area of the piece you are applying decals to with the rubbing alcohol to make sure all the oils from your skin and dust is off the surface.
2. Cut out the decal you want to use with scissors. We recommend cutting as close to the image as possible because the durable flux top coat will leave a slight line where you cut the decal out.
3. Place the decal in a bowl of warm water and wait about 30 seconds or until you are able to gently slide the decal from the paper backing.
4. Slide the decal off the paper backing onto your ceramic piece making sure you leave the decal face up.
5. Hold your decal in place and starting in the center use your rib or roller to press the decal onto the ceramic piece like you would a sticker on a car window. You want to be sure to start in the center and fan outwards to get all the bubbles out. Try to fan from the inside out over the edge so you don’t accidently pick up or rip the decal.
6. Carefully dry your decal with a new lint free cloth, again working from the center and working out. Allow the decal to dry overnight or at minimum until no moisture is left (about 6 hours).
Yes! There is no lead in any of our underglaze transfer or overglaze decal sheets and they are all food safe when fired according to the directions on ourinstruction page.
Underglaze Transfers are recommended for green and bisqueware ceramic pots only. Overglaze Decals are recommended for use on previous glazed fired ceramic pieces and work best on a white or light colored glaze.
Underglaze Transfers are sheet of rice paper that has been individually silk screened with ceramic underglaze and then made available for you to apply like a temporary tattoo to your ceramic pieces. These sheets are typically one or just a few colors and come in with a 19" x 13" usable area. They can be applied to wet, leather hard, or bisqued pottery and need to be fired with a clear or translucent zinc free glaze on top. If you are glaze firing to a temperature exceeding cone 6 a glaze on top glaze coat is not necessary. Since these are made from underglaze they act similar to other underglazes and can be layered with underglazes. For more detailed instructions on the application process click HERE.
Yes! The application process is a bit different for each process and we highly recommend experimenting but our transfers can be applied to wet, leather hard, and bisqued pottery. Please view our video tutorial page for some helpful videos and or our application instruction page for more detailed instructions.
Our overglaze decals can only be applied to previously glaze fired pottery.
Our transfers act as any other underglaze would so they will not stick to your kiln shelf or other pots unless you have added a overglaze to them. They can also be combined in any order with underglazes.
Wiping pots after bisquing is not recommended when you are using any underglaze decals as the ink is not set until it has a glaze on top or they are fired to a minimum of cone 6. If you get them wet or rub them after bisque it will smear the images. You can instead take them out side and blow them off if there is a lot of dust on them. Canned air or a compressor is good for this task although with my own pots I don't need to do this step when I glaze them with our rubbing technique that can be seenhere.
You can use any glaze you like on top but keep in mind the translucency of the glaze will affect how much of the design you see. Even some clear glazes can appear cloudy or milky when applied too thick so consistency is also a concern. I recommend experimenting with some test tiles to get the perfect glaze before glazing a bunch of work.
I use Cone 5 HF-9 clear zinc free glaze from Amaco (it fires well to cone 6 too). I buy it in premixed gallons so I can brush it on each piece and I fire it to Cone 6 with a 5 min hold at temperature and a slow cool of 150 degrees per hour until it reaches 1800 degrees and then I shut the kiln off and let it cool naturally until about 200 when I crack the lid to peek.
Any and all! I highly recommend experimenting with different firing temperature and atmospheres to see what feels right for your work. I personally fire to Cone 6 in an electric kiln but have also had lots of fun using our transfers on pots fired in gas reduction kilns and wood fired kilns reaching cone 12. Our designs can also be used in low fire work with an over glaze on top.
If your final glaze firing temperature will be under Cone 6 to it is important to note that you will need an over glaze on top to seal the designs in and prevent them from rubbing off. It's also worth noting to take care when glazing and handling bisqueware with transfer designs as they can smudge when rubbed or if they get wet prior to the glaze application.
We want our customers to feel safe and informed. We want to empower you to make appropriate decisions about your work. If you are making products intended for food use or you intend on selling your products in California you will need to be informed about FDA and California Prop 65 safety laws.
FUMES DURING THE FIRING PROCESS
The covercoat on the decals is made of organic materials that will burn off during the firing process between 400F and 800F and should be vented to the outside. The fume might be noxious and we strongly recommend using the combination of a Orton VentMaster (inside the kiln type ventilation) combined with a hood ventilation above the kiln to insure that all fumes are safely vented to the outside.
All of our silkscreen ceramic decals and glass decals are printed using lead and cadmium free colors. However decorating your pieces using lead free ceramic decals does not ensure that your glaze, glass or kiln doesn't harbor heavy metals.
Some of our digital decals are printed using colors containing trace amounts of lead. We have had products using these colors tested by an independent laboratory and those products were found to meet FDA standards. However, this does not mean that your product will meet FDA standards or Proposition 65 safety standards. To ensure that your product meets FDA and/ or Prop 65 standards we recommend having your product tested by a reputable lab such as Bureau Veritas.
To ensure that your ceramics and glassware are lead free and cadmium free, is it absolutely necessary to apply lead/ cadmium free decals on lead/ cadmium free glazes and glasses. Lead free ceramics and glass pieces should not be fired together with those containing lead as the resulting emissions could release heavy metals. Lead free colors could then become contaminated with lead.
Because there are various points in the production process where heavy metals can be introduced, it is necessary that the end user tests their product according to the relevant standard procedures for all products manufactured under his/her technical production conditions. If you intend on selling your products in California, you will need to be aware of safety regulations outlined in Proposition 65.
The California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, referred to as Proposition 65, requires that consumers be warned about products that may contain one of over 850 listed substances. Among these substances are lead and cadmium. If you test your product and it is found to exceed Prop 65 limits, Califorina law requires warnings be provided to inform consumers of the potential exposure to the toxic chemicals. Proposition 65 does not ban any product from being sold, it just requires a warning to the consumer.
The information we provide here is only intended to be used as advice and is not legally binding. We want you to be informed to make proper choices, but we are not liable for any damages caused by unsafe products.
$18.50 $14.80
