Question: Acetone Transfers

[pappy]

Hi everybody!
When you are doing an acetone transfer, does the design need to be made from a copy machine or will a laser printer? If it is a laser printer, can someone tell me what brand and model they are using? I am in the market for a new printer, and if a laser printer will work instead of a copier I'd really like to know.

Thanks,
Pappy

 

[maplesm]

I have used various HP lasers with good results. currently I have a P1006.

 

[fegarex]

I have an older HP 6L and it works fine and also one of the new color laser models and it works as well. Usually, you can go to a place like Staples and get a "sample" print from one of the display machines and find out if it will work.

 

[Marcus Hunt]

I used an acetone transfer with a Canon photocopier a couple of weeks ago. I was told that when doing this to stop the copier and remove the copy before it went through the heater/fixer and then to apply acetone/nail varnish remover to transfer the design to the metal. Unfortunately I couldn't do this as the design was for an A4 plaque so it had to pass all the way through the machine. For the heck of it I just tried it out anyway and to my surprise the transfer worked, even though the image was fixed!

 

[KCSteve]

Acetone transfers work by dissolving the binder in the toner which lets it re-adhere to the metal. Just about any toner based printer / copier / fax machine will work but there are some out there that use some sort of toner that does not work so take Rex's advice and run a test.

A while back I grabbed a sample print from a $200 color laser printer at OfficeMax and confirmed that it would work just fine, so when my current laser dies I know I'll be able to find a suitable replacement.

 

[KCSteve]

Marcus

If you can arrange for a laser print to not get fused then you'll get a better transfer - all of the toner will go over instead of just about half.

But that can be hard to do.

If you need a better transfer from a laser just use baking parchment (Reynold's brand works for me). The stuff is so slick the toner barely sticks. You don't even need acetone to get it off - just burnish the back and it comes free. You do kind of need something sticky on the metal to catch it though or it will come right back off of the metal.

I use the damar / lighter fluid mix when I do a parchment transfer.

Note: it can be tricky getting a good printout on parchment - you need to find one stiff enough to feed by itself or a way to tape a piece to a carrier sheet. I've also found that if I try to do too large a design that I get 'shadows' - toner that failed to transfer off of the imaging drum the first time getting deposited further down the sheet. I find it best to print a page after doing a parchment print to clean the printer.

But it does work really well when I bother to do it.

 

[qndrgnsdd]

When my $600 Okidata died i got a used HP for $30 and it works great...Craigs List!

 

[Marcus Hunt]

Steve, I was thinking of getting a laser printer, how do you stop the toner fusing to the paper?

 

[Arnaud Van Tilburgh]

Rex, I have the same printer HP L6, and almost brought him to the dustbin.
Instead of that I have cleaned him, stroked and cherished him as it is the finest tool for transfer I can imagine, surely in combination with the bakery parchement.

I can't almost live without him. :big grin:

arnaud

 

[fegarex]

Arnaud,
Yes the 6L is a workhorse. For those wanting a printer to do transfers, these can be had fairly cheap used. I found a 5L at a yard sale for $5.00. Pretty much the same machine.
The only issue with them is you need to buy an expensive conversion cord to convert it to USB unless you have a computer with a parallel printer port.

 

[pappy]

Thanks everyone for their input. I will try to get sample print and try it.

Marcus, to stop the fuser from operating you have to take the printer apart and find the heated rollers that do the fusing. Then you solder a switch in the wires so you can shut the heaters off. I found that some copiers will transfer regardless of the heated fusers. But I am not sure about the laser printers. I think they work the same way.

 

[ddushane]

Hey guys, I must have missed the initial thread concerning acetone transfers. What are yall talking about. How do you do them rather than the damar varnish transfers?

Dwayne

 

[John Cole]

I've been having the standard starting engravers issues with pattern transfers. So, after spending most of my lunch money for the next month on different things, I decided to bite the bullet and get a laser printer. I actually took a piece of nickel, acetate, and some cotton swabs with me in the car. I got a print out from two or three different printer and took them to the car to test them, then went back and baught the most reasonable printer. Got back to the shop and hooked it up, ready to lay down some serious patterns.....so I thought. The ink and toner in the printer didn't work *at all* like the shelf model. I got great, fine detailed transfers in the car, but could barely get a hint of anything at the shop. I spent ten hours playing with all the settings for the printer and got nowhere, so back in the box it went and back to the store I went. I now have a HP printer ready for tomorrow......moral of story, sometimes even testing goes wrong John C.

 

[Powderhorn]

Marcus:
You do not have to stop the fusing of the toner to the paper. I do Acetone transfers all the time, and let the the toner fuse. I also use the parchment method of transfer, and you definatley want it to fuse.
for a printer I use an old HP LaserJet 2200, that only takes black cartridges. For more info on the parchment method, see my tutorial in the Tips section.

 

[airamp]

transfer laser

Hi,

I did a thread on transfers from laser printer and secret solutions for transfers.

Lasers put plastic on paper then cooks it on. by disabling the fuser (heater) the paper has plastic on it and it just sits there so anything sticky will pull it but detail could be better.

If you print on parchment (cooking Parchment from a restaurant supply house) without changing the laser the printer trys to cook on the plastic to the parchment (nonstick) and you get like a very thin decal of what you want to transfer.

Now I still cannot figure out why people are using acetone (that eats plastic) for the transfer instead of the solutions in my thread on secret transfer solutions.??? They do not eat plastic and you get a perfect transfer !!!

Here is the secret solutions tread::thumbs up:
http://igraver.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4868&highlight=secret+transfer

No you do not have to disable the fuser (cooker) and you might even be able to use this method on a color laser printer (I just didn't try it yet.).

P.S. Most HP printers are 600dpi (dots per inch) there are some that have 1200DPI and some now (expensive) that are 2400x1200dpi. They are comming close to the ink jets but you only really need a good outline with good detail since you are cutting it away. the High res printer would be good for bolino work??

AirAmparty:

 

[Mike Cirelli]

I would suggest go to your favorite office supply store, they have all the printers set up. Ask the clerk to print a test page from all the laser printers you are interested in. Take them back to the shop. Using fingernail polish remover see which one transfers the best. Then buy that one.

 

[pappy]

Hi Dwayne,
To do an acetone transfer you need an image from a copier (it looks like a laser printer will work too), take the image and place it face down on your work piece and secure it with tape along the edges. Put some acetone on a rag and carefully dampen the back of the design. If you get it just right, the image will come off the paper and stick to the workpiece. You might need to spray a clear overcoat on it but if it has strong solvents in it the image will run. I used to use this method with the xerox copier my wife had at work, but the copier broke and the replacement was another brand and it didn't work as well. I am in the market for a new printer and I wondered if the laser printers worked as well as the copiers. Apparently they will work and as I am in the market for a new printer I will have to check them out. Hope you are doing well, Dwayne. I'll have to email you later.
Steve
God Bless!!!!

 

[John B.]

Steve,
I used a Canon photocopy machine for acetone transfers for years until it broke.
Checked the price to have it fixed and could buy a new B&W Canon Laser MF 4350d for half the price to repair the old one.
Faster printing and warm up....just seconds and great acetone transfers on plain paper.
Also works great with cooking parchment for a semi see through transfer using one of the secret sauces.
And without disconnecting the heat set elementinthe machine.
Best.