Hydrographic Transfer Printing

[CNYDWW]

Looking to see if anyone on this forum has any experience with hydrographic transfers. I've been doing a bit of research and wanted non industry opinions. I originally thought of using the process for exterior signs however the UV resistance of the inks used is in question. Some suppliers give specs such as 2000 hrs of UV exposure etc. but do not recommend leaving any dipped material outside for an extended period of time. Even with that suggested restriction, interior signs made of any water resistant material could still be dipped at a significant cost savings. That would be compared to burled walnut and other exotics not just the more common material prints. Other thoughts are towards my rifle stocks i'm trying to get working on. Opens up a new world for a lot of products. Get the skull prints for a sign on Jr's bedroom door or flame print your pvc DC or vacuum lines on the SB's. Might make the Alphas look just as fast standing still :D

Regards
Randy

[Brady Watson]

Are you talking about Dye Sublimation Transfer?

-B

[CNYDWW]

Are you talking about Dye Sublimation Transfer?

-B

No this is different, i'll post a youtube vid of the process when i find a good one. It uses a dip tank with ink on a water soluble membrane. You place the film in the water give it about one min, then spray and activator that liquifies the ink. From there you take the item and dip it at an angle into the tank and the ink transfers to item.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxnzJIzjtfg&feature=related

[steve_g]

Looks just like the way we used to make fancy end sheets for books... floating inks on water. our problem was the impossibility of consistent results. This looks like that issue may be partially solved, however registration looks problematic if that is important.

Steve

[CNYDWW]

It's meant more for prints where registration isn't an issue. Burled wood grain wouldn't make a difference and as long as you're careful, with a little practice straight grains would work fine. Considering you can play with it will little investment it might be something to look into. There are a few other things coming down the line in the shop i might use it for as well.

Regards
Randy

[Brady Watson]

Ah - OK...now I know what you mean. Yes - it is really only good for applying camo, burl and other random patterns.

Like this: http://www.camodipkit.com/

-B

[CNYDWW]

The "Pros" do dip carbon fiber and straight grained wood prints with a lot of success but then again we're talking an expensive stainless tank and dividers. With my medical issues i couldn't dip by hand without problems but a friend of mine wants to get into it and wanted some opinions.