Image transfer from inkjet print to leather

[rvc]

I have previously used a laser printer to print reversed images to transfer trace lines to leather for carving. This works nicely with acetone but I recently changed my printer to a new A3 inkjet and acetone doesn't dissolve its ink. Does anyone what I could use instead?

[fredk]

Two ways I've done a transfer

1. print out normal. case the veg tan. lay the printout on top of the leather and using a ball-point modelling tool go over the design, press hard and the leather will take the impression

2.  put design on top of dry leather but with a piece of carbon copy paper in between. use the ball point modelling tool and the design will transfer

[rvc]

3 hours ago, fredk said:

Two ways I've done a transfer

1. print out normal. case the veg tan. lay the printout on top of the leather and using a ball-point modelling tool go over the design, press hard and the leather will take the impression

2.  put design on top of dry leather but with a piece of carbon copy paper in between. use the ball point modelling tool and the design will transfer

I haven't tried the carbon copy paper but I often do small details and the ball point modelling tool is too big for them  Also thinner leathers seem prone to stretching when wet and tracing with ball point. Maybe my technique is off but with the laser image transfer I've always gotten much better results.

[Tequila]

3 hours ago, rvc said:

I haven't tried the carbon copy paper but I often do small details and the ball point modelling tool is too big for them  Also thinner leathers seem prone to stretching when wet and tracing with ball point. Maybe my technique is off but with the laser image transfer I've always gotten much better results.

As far as stretching goes you can use painter's tape on the backside, when done just peel off. 

As for transfer I’ll offer this, you can also get tracing film, kind of like tracing paper, but, a stylus won’t go through it and you can place it on cased leather and it won’t fall apart. 

[DwightT]

I'll ditto what Tequila says.  I print it out, then trace over the image with a pencil onto transfer film.  One of the advantages of this is when I'm transferring the image to the leather is that I can see through the film to verify that I've hit all the lines, and to line everything back up if I missed some.

But tell me more about your laser-printer transfer process.  I used to work in laser-printer development (I wrote the low-level code for some control panels) and I have a laser printer in my home office (retirement gift).  I'm not too sure about using acetone on leather, but if the process works without damaging the leather it might make my life easier especially with small projects where I've scaled the image down.

    /dwight

[dikman]

The last thing I'd be doing is trying to use inkjet inks on leather!  It will probably act like dye and get into the leather. My experience with such ink is that it's not colourfast and it runs when wetted with anything.

I'm curious about your laser printing process too. I dabbled with it for making printed circuit boards many years ago so would like to know how you did it.

[rvc]

I'll have to try the tracing film and paper and maybe get a thinner modelling tool too.

 

The laser image transfer is simple:

1. Print a mirrored image to plain copy paper, only the outlines to be traced. The ink comes of from glossy papers easier and heavier papers don't stretch so much but usually if your paper starts stretching you're using too much acetone.

2. Tape the paper printed side facing dry leather.

3. Trace the lines using makeup remover pads or soft cotton soaked in acetone. Usually just a small amount of acetone is enough. I found it easiest to use nail polish remover because it's easy to get the right amount from the bottle. If you're doing it correctly you should see how the ink fades away from the paper and moves to the leather. 

4.Remove the paper and case the leather.

5. Do your carving.

Notes:

-I've never had any problems with acetone damaging the leather. You're applying the acetone to the paper, not the leather and because it evaporates so fast, the small amount that ends up to the leather doesn't do much and you're going to oil the leather after carving anyway.

-Getting the lines the right width takes some testing. If the lines are too thin they don't transfer nicely but if they are too thick they might show after carving. If you're lines are the correct thickness they basically disappear in the carving process. If you dye the leather or use antique paste it will mask any remnants of the toner. However if you intent to leave the leather natural you might see some traces of the lines after carving.

If you try this let me know how it went!

 

8 hours ago, dikman said:

The last thing I'd be doing is trying to use inkjet inks on leather!  It will probably act like dye and get into the leather. My experience with such ink is that it's not colourfast and it runs when wetted with anything.

I'm curious about your laser printing process too. I dabbled with it for making printed circuit boards many years ago so would like to know how you did it.

My inkjets ink seems too colorfast :D It doesn't come of with acetone, alcohol, deglazer, water, heat, you name it. I've already tried almost every chemical in the household and we have a lot  It smudges a bit with Tokonole and Fiebing's Atom wax but doesn't transfer. I have to check but it's probably archival grade ink, maybe using a low quality ink would be easier

[dikman]

Sounds to me as though you're lucky that ink didn't transfer. if it had I don't think you would have had very sharp lines! Thanks for the explanation of your laser process, when I used it for making PCB's heat transfer was used, an electric iron (as used for ironing clothes) was used to transfer the toner onto the board. Same basic idea as your process. Using an iron might work on leather too, as it won't be hot enough to burn the leather.

And yes, the "traditional" way is to copy the pattern using tracing paper and then use a pencil, ball-point pen or stylus to imprint the pattern onto cased leather.

[DwightT]

Laserjet toner is essentially composed of polymer beads that are "fused" to the surface of the paper with heat.  I'm not exactly a chemist, but I would imagine that the acetone breaks the bond between the paper and the polymer and lets it settle onto the leather.  Once the acetone evaporates the polymer adheres to the leather.  I'm guessing though that it isn't a strong bond, and over time the toner would wear off.   Inkjet ink though really is ink that has absorbed into the fibers of the paper.  The developers of the inks have actually put a lot of R&D time into making those inks stay put even when they get wet, so it's not surprising that you couldn't find something to make them transfer.

As interesting as your laserjet process sounds though, I think I'll stay with the transfer film method.  Since I can see through the film I would imagine that it would be easier to align the pattern on the leather piece.  I may try your process on a sample piece though just to see how it works.

Thanks for the description.

    /dwight

[Arby]

Sorry for being late to the party. I am a new member here, searching on techniques and saw this string. Recently I have been using transparency sheets to laser print (or ink jet) the pattern then apply via stylus.  It works similar to transfer film, with a caveat - the side with a slight roughness/opaque must be kept dry and not contact wet leather or it may leave a sort of glue like mess.  Print on the rough side, transfer with the smooth side to the leather.  When tracing onto the leather, a small amount of the printer ink may scrap off - so the templates are often a one-use.   I'm still looking for transparency sheets that are water proof.  This is the one that I have tried: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KS3VTQQ?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details. Select transparency setting for paper; if your printer does not have it, select for heavy paper.  By printing, it's faster and I avoid copying mistakes that may occur when using transfer film. The fine detailed lines of patterns, such as by Don Gonzales, come through nicely using this approach.

[Cattleman]

I use similar methods as others have described to get the larger broad details of the pattern transfered... Then I will use a 6B pencil and draw in the finer details directly onto the leather.

Edited October 20, 2023 by Cattleman
Typo

[Dwight]

If you really ONLY want the outline . . . and you are doing a bunch of stuff on and off . . . 

You may want to look into a laser engraver.  I have two of them now . . . one is simply for putting "stuff" on leather . . . and the other one I'll be devoting mostly to cutting out patterns.

There are units out there like my little one . . . will do a 14 inch square piece without moving the feet . . . (or you could decorate the whole side of a cow hide just by moving the unit on the taped down leather hide) . . . 

It will take any *.jpg I want to give it . . . thru LaserGRBL . . . and I can scale it up or down at my pleasure. 

You can make the lines as dark or as light as you want.

Draw out what you want . . . take a picture of it . . . send it to your computer . . . move it to LaserGRBL . . . tell it to do it's thing.  

Depending on what you are wanting . . . I've had pieces take up to a half hour to duplicate . . . but when it is done . . . yahooo . . . it's what I wanted.

This one is very similar to my little one . . . https://www.ebay.com/itm/305103253109?hash=item4709922e75%3Ag%3AfAcAAOSwiethOa4z&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4F2Kls0UH2Gr9qi8vzR9JYyij83n6Gk9FxlYGcYs56MuEMY9qlKfH8fY2im9ml5NHodhj0uHTtnVaw%2B8Ao25ZQUzZy06VJsp%2FEWIjP7w2iF016Gk78DFa%2BqZ6u1wsNUqVurN22kMCjoFvL%2FYDMRR6NFp%2BpAbZlJN4%2B9SgYc%2FBaEBUeDLYbkDu4yukKUj4MqX%2FFQRWJKn7AdQMJlv8dRv7NHkMxYABlLeifXb1Y%2FRITokYLB3DThmiTkgJO2GbL7IZc%2FvKNOQkHd%2FHY8PKy6mtkKpyTPBM%2F2inBBM%2FhH0D9WH|tkp%3ABk9SR5KBiujpYg&LH_BIN=1&LH_ItemCondition=3

May God bless,

Dwight

 

Edited October 20, 2023 by Dwight

[Burkhardt]

11 hours ago, Arby said:

Sorry for being late to the party. I am a new member here, searching on techniques and saw this string. Recently I have been using transparency sheets to laser print (or ink jet) the pattern then apply via stylus.  It works similar to transfer film, with a caveat - the side with a slight roughness/opaque must be kept dry and not contact wet leather or it may leave a sort of glue like mess.  Print on the rough side, transfer with the smooth side to the leather.  When tracing onto the leather, a small amount of the printer ink may scrap off - so the templates are often a one-use.   I'm still looking for transparency sheets that are water proof.  This is the one that I have tried: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KS3VTQQ?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details. Select transparency setting for paper; if your printer does not have it, select for heavy paper.  By printing, it's faster and I avoid copying mistakes that may occur when using transfer film. The fine detailed lines of patterns, such as by Don Gonzales, come through nicely using this approach.

Wouldn't taping the sheet first take away any issues of transfer to the leather?