Decal: historical background and types of techniques

In childhood, many loved "translations" - sticky pictures that made it possible for a child to feel what a tattoo is. They were quickly washed off, but the very feeling of sticking and manifestation of the image on the skin was unforgettable. If such impressions remained vivid, then when the child grew up, he tried himself in creativity, where with the help of various techniques it was possible to create another, and on a neutral background, a picture. So children's experience can develop into a serious hobby, which is called decal.

The decal is called the technology of applying pictures on ceramic or glass products. The image is sent to the product from a paper base, after which its fixation on the surface is achieved by firing at high temperatures. And on the paper base itself, the image is applied by silk-screen printing or offset printing. True, offset printing is not actually used today. But she was replaced by laser color printers for printing decals.

The origin of the word is associated with the French term "décalcomanie" - decalcomania, which translates as "the manufacture of printed prints." Printed prints are also transferable images; they are needed for transferring to a certain surface by high-temperature exposure or pressure.

Decalcomania is a technology whose age has crossed a century. It was invented in Russia at the end of the 19th century, it assumed manual labor, and this feature has been preserved today.The leading consumers of decals are factories and factories engaged in the manufacture of tableware. Porcelain and earthenware factories, as well as companies producing enameled and glassware, still use decal. Using this technology, you can also decorate cars, scooters and bicycles, phones.

Today, the decoloring technique (and this word is often used) is considered one of the best for branding. Today you can decouple bags, cups, T-shirts, glasses, glasses, towels, bags, rugs, etc. Modern companies use silk-screen printing, sublimation printing, laser engraving, thermal transfer and machine embroidery to apply the pattern to the base.

The technology has many advantages, because it has not gone into oblivion, like some other ancient methods of decoration. Among these benefits are:

• the ability to decor surfaces with different shapes;
• the possibility of decorating piece goods, and not huge parties;
• a variety of methods and technologies that are subspecies of decal;
• colorful, wear-resistant image as a result of decoration;
• the ability to decorate with precious metals;
• long image life.

But about the minuses it is worth saying:

• pre-production training is expensive and time-consuming;
• manual labor is always difficult, and its price is only growing;
• manual labor, among other things, is a relatively large process of marriage;
• the inability to 100% maintain the desired colors during drawing;
• the complexity of the process.

Those who call decal decals are, in principle, right. Pictures today are printed using special stencils.

Decalcomania is considered a mass printing method. It suggests a division into 2 large species - ordinary and ceramic. Normal decalcomania is used only for translating images made on the basis of aniline dyes and mineral paints onto paper, metal, wooden surfaces, glass and other objects. A feature of the usual decal is the lack of additional fastening.

Ceramic decalcomania has a different characteristic. Apply special heat-resistant paints for ceramics for it. This technology is used for the artistic decoration of ceramics and glass. Enamelled metal objects also lend themselves to this technology. But the paint must be fixed by firing in a slightly oxidizing environment.

Here is a description of the types of decals.

• Sliding decalcomania. This is an upgraded technology that facilitates the process itself. The basis on which the drawing is printed goes well to the product - using this method, you can print drawings of varying complexity and any design. In this situation, special paper is used, it is obtained by gluing a film-forming mixture with gummed paper. Today, coating machines are used to apply the film-forming mixture. It is good to print a ceramic decal on lacquered paper both in the usual way and through the grid.
• Screen printing decalcomania. Silk mill sieves are used for it. The thinner the lines are drawn in the image, the thicker the sieve will be. As the advertising market and related areas are booming, the demand for images on glass, porcelain and any other dishes has increased. It is convenient to do branding on mugs and plates, glass bottles and glasses.

Hot and cold decals are considered classic. Hot decoloring is more suitable for applying logos on porcelain, ceramic, glass products, that is, on products made of those materials that are able to withstand high temperatures. Hot decal is applied using paints that are safe for human health, therefore it is completely safe to drink and eat from such dishes.

A hot decal will cost more than a cold one, but the prices are basically comparable. Typically, the hot method includes 3 stages: printing the image using silk screen printing, sticking the image on the surface, firing the product using high-temperature equipment.

Cold decoloring is used if, for various reasons, the product cannot be burned. The image is printed on paper that is coated with water-soluble glue. And after the image is printed, it will be coated with colloidal varnish and dried thoroughly.

Today, digital printing is also used, which shifts less perfect types of decals. Masters have the opportunity to print with "gold" and "silver", transfer images on the surface of matte and glossy products. Decal can be overglaze and underglaze, the latter is fraught with abrasion of the picture and even the ingestion of harmful substances in food.

And although the decal is still considered manual work, but thanks to the introduction of modern technologies, the process is not comparable, for example, with hand-painted. Unscrupulous sellers sometimes give a decal for hand-painted, and, therefore, overcharge the price of the product. In fact, distinguishing one from another is not easy. But since the decal is still a print, upon closer examination you will see the graininess. True, sometimes you can detect grit only under a magnifying glass.

Handmade is sometimes called a decal with painting, and this will also be crafty. The manufacturer prints the main picture, but some details are painted on it manually. Look at the repeating details of the picture: if they are the same, it means that you are exactly decal. If not, it is probably manual work.

Today, decal allows not only branding goods, but also making souvenir products. If a person orders a decal, he himself can come up with a drawing, which then appears on cups, plates or glasses, etc. And already specialists, using color printing and firing the item in a muffle furnace, will complete the order. We will illustrate the process of creating a firing decal.

• The paper sheet is taken as a basis - the necessary picture is printed on it. The paper is covered with a layer of dextrin, and paint is already applied to this layer.
• To create a decal, for example, on cups, a special ceramic paint is taken, which includes tinting, coloring and glass-forming elements. After drying, the paint is varnished, which burns out during firing. The illustration is carefully removed from the sheet, and then the decal is already applied to the desired item.
• Before decal transfer to plates, you need to pre-soak the picture in water (no more than a minute), the paper base will completely get wet. Then the image is shaken, it is applied to the object, the paper is carefully removed, the film with the image is smoothed out.
• During firing, the paint rises to the top layer and with it turns into a solid mass. The decal on the cups is bronze, gold, silver.
• When firing an item, a muffle furnace is used, it has enough oxygen, excellent ventilation and a device for smoothly raising the temperature. But after applying the decal to the product, it should dry strictly at room temperature.

It will be possible to apply a decal on a large number of objects, and therefore products can be launched in large quantities. This, of course, will be interesting to firms and companies, restaurants, fast food. Very often, masters receive large orders for products with a decal in order to organize a large-scale advertising campaign with its help.

Corporate fashion has been around for several years now, so creators of companies and enterprises may not “reinvent the wheel”: products with company logos will always be appropriate at a corporate event.

If, for example, the company management decides to wish its employees a Happy New Year, it can order a cup decal with the company logo and New Year's wishes. Some companies develop entire services with their own symbols and give them not only to employees, but also to customers (especially active ones, for example), as well as business partners. This is a proven way to promote a service or product.

If in your city such a service could be in demand, but there is no service that would offer it, this is not a bad idea for a business. The process is both technological and creative, and those who would like to engage in ceramic decorating in a modern way will definitely like it.

See below for more details.