How to Transfer an Inkjet Image onto Polymer Clay | Easy Tutorial Demo with Extra Tips

[@elessar11]

Thank you - this is exactly what I was looking for! Also this might sound obvious but reminder to everyone that when you transfer you will get a mirror image.. so if you are printing text, mirror image it before printing.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Glad it was helpful!

[@mylifemyrules8955]

This is the 2nd video I've watched and I subscribed because you have great instructions. You talk clearly and concisely. I appreciate that you have tested things and told us what works and what doesn't. Thank you! More videos please.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thanks very much for your compliment :) I'm glad you liked the video!

[@twilliams7687]

Thank you for posting this. It was exactly the technique I needed to create a marquee for a miniature sign in polymer clay

[@RokoleeDIY]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching :)

[@merryclicker]

It sounds so much easier than all the other methods, so I'll have to try it. The one you did for laser prints worked well, so I believe it's worth a shot.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thanks :)

[@KatsMeyow]

Very clever idea. Thanks for taking the time to find a method that works well with ink jet printers.

[@zakailondon2979]

I guess I'm pretty off topic but does anybody know a good site to watch newly released tv shows online ?

[@jakobjaxtyn4628]

@Zakai London Flixportal :P

[@zakailondon2979]

@Jakob Jaxtyn Thank you, I signed up and it seems to work :) I really appreciate it!!

[@jakobjaxtyn4628]

@Zakai London you are welcome xD

[@FoxySparkles]

WOW this is fantastic, I just ordered the inkjet acetate sheets to try out. And you can reuse them too you said, WOW. WIN WIN thank you!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Awesome! Have fun :)

[@lilasolnick]

Brilliant! Thank you so much for producing this video. Great tutorial!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thanks very much :D

[@CreatedbyRuby]

Thanks again. I'm a convert from fondant...new to this stuff so still learning. You've been very helpful.

[@RokoleeDIY]

No problem :) Hope you have fun with clay crafting!

[@KP-nx8lo]

Using water decal paper or film works even better!

[@baileyerisman1085]

How does it work?!

[@foreverhobbydays]

Hi! Thanks for the tip. If the sheet dries and i use it after a while, would it transfer the same? The ibk wont be wet i think...

[@RokoleeDIY]

If the ink dries I doubt it would transfer much at all, although I've never tried.

[@lanakeskisaari8409]

thank you! Amazing xx

[@RokoleeDIY]

Glad you liked it!

[@marigeobrien]

Thank you! I just checked and I DO have an inkjet printer. This would be great for transferring photos to REALLY personalize something, don't you think? Like a picture of a couple onto, say, a vase for an anniversary gift, or a favorite pet or a home.

[@maureengreen1627]

Very good video, thank you!! Have you tried to modge podge a picture onto the clay?

[@RokoleeDIY]

I haven't tried that, but I imagine you could decoupage a picture onto baked clay totally fine.

[@dixiegal9460]

Did you see the optical illusion? Nicely done😊.

[@patriciaweaver7735]

Lovely this was exactly what I wanted. Can you tell me where to get the acetate sheets. Thanks for the wonderful video ❤

[@RokoleeDIY]

Sorry for the late reply...I got my acetate from Amazon here : www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01AAM85HM/ Glad you liked the video :D

[@emmari0601]

So great! Thank you so much! :D

[@diegooland1261]

oh that's great, thanks!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Glad you liked it!

[@LiveSleepResin]

Brilliant thanks so much.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Glad it was helpful!

[@CreatedbyRuby]

Thank you for the reply. I am going to give it a try. Have you ever tried putting text onto baked clay, if so what method did you use? Hope you don't mind all the questions

[@RokoleeDIY]

I'm not optimistic it would work on baked clay, certainly not laser print images anyway as transfers seem to work best on fresh clay and if the clay is too dry it doesn't work well. You might have a shot using an inkjet image on acetate sheet though, as in that case the ink will not be dry. I haven't tried it myself though, sorry.Please let me know how your experiments go...I'd be interested to hear 🙂

[@mckenzie3473]

Can I ask what brand of sheets you used? Also, weird question: would this method work the same if I drew something on the acetate sheet, or do you know? Like with a permanent marker or something similar?

[@RokoleeDIY]

Hi! The sheets don't seem to have a brand; I bought these: www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01AAM85HM/ I doubt a permanent marker would work, but I wonder if a dry erase marker might? Hmm...if you do try, please let me know how it goes!

[@chanceinhell2000]

Also high gloss photo paper does the same thing, you just can't see the image, but it works in a pinch.

[@sylviepaques1936]

Bonjour. Joli travail !! Dites moi ... Le résultat serait il le même avec de la pate a modeler qui durcit a l'air svp '???

[@RokoleeDIY]

I don't think it would work on air-drying clay, just because it shrinks a fair bit and tends to crack...you could try it and see though, as I have not tried it myself :) Je ne pense pas que cela fonctionnerait sur de l'argile séchant à l'air, simplement parce qu'elle rétrécit un peu et a tendance à se fissurer... vous pouvez l'essayer et voir cependant, car je ne l'ai pas essayé moi-même

[@hollylewis347]

Hello there! I bought paper with this description: “Uinkit Inkjet Transparency Film 50 Sheets 8.5x11 OHP Overhead Projector Film for DIY Crafting 100% Clear Transparency Paper For Inkjet Printer” and polymer clay (sculpey premo) but it didn’t transfer at all. Is this the wrong type of paper?

[@RokoleeDIY]

Weird, because that sounds like the right kind of film, hmm. Perhaps it's a more absorbent type or something? Does it have a shiny or matte finish? I'm really not sure, perhaps the effect differs between film which would be annoying :\

[@ilsem.1771]

hi, i used this technique and everything went well. Had a nice print after baking but when i wanted to varnish it, the ink just dissolved and the picture just comes off. Also when i wanted to sand them with water, the whole picture dissolved. Any idea why you do not have this issue?

[@RokoleeDIY]

Sorry to hear you're having issues! Was it the sanding or the water that removed the design? I would perhaps do a sample piece and try different varnishes on top. I often use a protective clear coat spray for more delicate coatings, or perhaps clear resin could be an option? Apologies I can't be more help, I haven't done this technique for quite a while now, but if I do it again I'll experiment :)

[@erinclark5681]

I haven't tried this technique yet, I just stumbled onto this video today. But while I'm unsure what happened during sanding, I suspect the varnish you have is acetone based, which will melt inks and paints. Try using an acrylic based one instead, I just got a can myself and will be testing in the near future!

Hello Which acetates did you use?

[@RokoleeDIY]

Hi! I bought "A4 OHP Inkjet Transparency Film Sheets 135 Micron Instant Dry" from here: www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01AAM85HM/

[@darrellm9915]

This is going to sound a little weird, but can you slightly alter the image of the clay with your hands if you want to change the shape a bit?.. like the liquify tool in photoshop, for example.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Hm I think that would be tricky to be honest, because the image is quite easily smudged. You could always experiment though :) Have fun!

[@darrellm9915]

@@RokoleeDIY You might be right. How would they turn out if you were to print just normal pictures of yourself on these? because I've heard some colors don't come out so well.

[@RokoleeDIY]

​@@darrellm9915 I would be a bit wary of doing detailed images to be honest, like people's faces. I don't know it won't work, but detail would certainly be lost in the transfer.

[@starrspoter]

wont it work on anything but accetant? in the printer do u have to stick it on paper so it wont roll edt?

[@RokoleeDIY]

I've only managed to do it this way, which uses inkjet printable acetate. I've not had to stick it on paper or anything special to print on it :)

[@DLOgburn]

I have an Epson Xpression Printer and bought transparency sheets that work with Epson. I can't get them to transfer anything at all. Using white Sculpey clay. Tried to transfer immediately out of the printer and still nothing. Any thoughts?

[@RokoleeDIY]

Hmm I'm not sure to be honest. If it's inkjet and you're printing on the correct side of the transparency sheet, I'm not sure what I can suggest. Maybe try a higher printing quality to use more ink? But then it might smear... Yeah I don't know, sorry I can't help you :(

[@Hollywoodlpc]

With the heading of ink what happens if you change the printer settings to glossy paper. I wonder does that fix it?

[@RokoleeDIY]

To be honest I haven't done much experimenting with the printer settings, but I imagine selecting glossy paper certainly wouldn't hurt and in theory should work - now you've said it it seems obvious !

[@peteredwards2371]

I think inkjet transparency sheets have one side coated for printing, the other is smooth.

[@sharonDnc]

Trying this today

[@RokoleeDIY]

I hope it went well!

[@CreatedbyRuby]

Hi thanks for this great idea. I need to print some text onto a base of a model. Would this work for printed text do you think? Also, If you do smudge when transferring onto the clay can you use the nail varnish remover pad to remove the ink from the clay?

[@RokoleeDIY]

I should think it would work, yes. Maybe test it on a scrap of clay or something first if you're unsure. And make sure to spray some kind of sealer or varnish on top so it doesn't rub off. I haven't tried to remove the ink from unbaked using acetone before so I can't say for sure, but I'm pretty sure it would work. Again, maybe test on a scrap of clay first :) Thanks for your comment!

[@DandinoTutorial]

Love this idea ❤️ I tried this method but when I put it in the oven the colors is not vibrant as before, it looks dull. Do you have any idea why?

[@RokoleeDIY]

When I do this method, the colours perhaps dull down slightly but not obviously I would say. Unfortunately there are so many factors that could be different, from clay brand to ink used to print the image, it's hard to guess a cause, sorry I can't be more help.

[@madeleinescottcree5325]

Hi, do you have any suggestions for how to get round the issue of the ink drying too fast? I took it straight out of the printer onto the polymer clay but the image transferred quite faded because it had dried too fast :( I looked at the sheets you used via your link but a lot of the comments say they too dry fast (probably a positive if you're using it for something other than polymer clay) and so I'm a bit stuck.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Hmm I'm not sure to be honest. If you use an acetate sheet that isn't designed to be printed on I think you'd get issues with smearing, although I haven't tried it myself. Have you tried using more ink (higher print quality) to see if that helps? Sorry I can't be more use

[@maddy28_05]

Hello!! Is this the normal transfer paper and will it work with homemade polymer clay? Btw, loved the idea.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Hi! This is OHP inkjet transparency/acetate sheet, and I would think it should work with any polymer clay...if you try it please let us know how it went!

[@ztrek2000]

I use inkjet T-shirt transfer paper to do image transfers onto PC. As I just found out printing on OHP transparencies will only work if your printer supports it otherwise the ink just smears so back to using T-shirt transfer paper. I was really hoping transparency method would work for me.

[@winstonchaychel]

i have some laying around and usually i just use freezer paper to do my transfers, but im interested in the tshirt paper. I cant find a good video that shows it (besides one i ran into that was a lady trying to resell transfer paper on etsy calling it her own) but is it transferred via heat (your burnishing the clay with your fingers) or some other way? Thank you.

[@bojojojo9491]

Is that just laminate sheet?

[@RokoleeDIY]

It's an 'OHP Inkjet Transparency Film Sheet' - you can see more details here: www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01AAM85HM/

[@BuildYourFreedom]

It doesn't work for me and I don't understand what I am doing wrong. Does it work with a small picture of somebody's face or only with patterns?

[@RokoleeDIY]

I find it's best for graphics/patterns and things that have more contrast...so like 2 contrasting colours rather than a detailed image with many colours.

[@najsosaurushh]

thank you so much. this is such a good tutorial.

[@SnapShorts6818]

Hi! i Wanted to ask you if you could just tel me the name and brand of the inkjet acetate sheets. I really hope it’s not an inconvenience. Thank you very much for your time

[@RokoleeDIY]

Hi! I bought these: www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01AAM85HM/ which don't seem to have a brand. Thanks for watching :)

[@SnapShorts6818]

Thank you very much!

[@carimacdonald3557]

I don't have acetate paper at home so I'm going to try to print on some parchment I have in the kitchen.

[@crudivor]

Did it work?

[@danielmatheson2924]

Did it work Cari?

[@jamelsessley]

I was thinking putting packaging tape on one side of a piece of paper and transferring that way

[@christianbyrd2844]

It didn’t work. At all. I used acetate paper & sculpy clay. Should I wet the clay first & try that?

[@RokoleeDIY]

Sculpey air dry clay? I don't think air dry clay works the same as polymer clay :(