Simple gel plate laser print transfers onto copy paper and wet strength tissue

In this video I demonstrate how to transfer laser printouts using a gel plate. The first image is transferred onto another piece of copier paper using acrylic paint and the second image is transferred onto wet strenth tissue paper using matte medium to preserve the transparency of the "white" areas of the original image. I also show some pieces of art work where I have used these simple techniques within my mixed media art.
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Materials used.
Gel plate: I have a gelli arts plate and a gel press plate. These both work well with acrylic paint.
Brayer: just a cheap one from amazon
Paint: system 3 pthalo turquoise, vallejo quinacridone burnt orange (fluid acrylic), hobbycraft barely pink (a craft paint)
Medium: Liquitex matte medium (it's quite fluid)
Substrates: regular printer / copier paper, carnival wet strength tissue paper.
Images: arrow pattern image originally from DavidZydd on pixabay, free for commercial use, no attribution required. Own photograph of a post box taken in my village, digitally modified to enhance the black and white areas in order to make a high contrast image which will transfer well.
The key(s) to successful laser print image transfers on the gel plate:
High contrast black and white images. The toner on the printed images resists the paint and will leave it on the plate whereas the unprinted (white) areas of the paper will pick up the paint.
A thin, but not too thin, even coverage of a (dark) colour for the transfer.
Rub the laser print image gently on the plate - make contact with the plate with all the paper but if you press too hard more paint will be removed.
Work quite quickly.
Let the paint dry on the plate before picking it up / pulling the print off the plate.
Pull the print using a very thin even coat of paint or acrylic medium, you should be able to see your image through paint if you use that.
If using medium and the brayer "slips" across the plate you have too much medium, roll your brayer on paper and then back to the plate until it rolls nicely.
Put your paper / tissue down before the paint or medium dries - work quickly.
Press down / rub well.
Again let the paint dry. You can tell it's dry when it no longer feels cold.
Any questions? - ask in the comments below.

[@peggybogardus9340]

You are an excellent instructor. Thank you for sharing this.

[@lucymathersart]

Hi Peggy - thanks for your lovely comment! 😊

[@chrisruss9861]

Thanks Lucy. A nice quiet pace lets viewers absorb information. The post box image from your own photo is a personal touch.

[@lucymathersart]

Thanks very much for your comment Chris.

[@mmebirdie7125]

Thank you so much for this wonderful little tutorial! Really appreciate you sharing this method. Looking forward to seeing more of your work ❤️

[@lucymathersart]

Thank you very much! I'm glad you found it enjoyable.

[@anggo2604]

Best demonstration and explanation of image transfer with gelli plate. Gives me confidence to try again.

[@lucymathersart]

Hi Angela - wow thanks a lot for your comment, pleased it's given you a reason to try again - hope it works out for you! come back and ask if you have any questions!

[@emilybirdiebelle862]

Wonderful techniques! I have not seen any of these before . Letting the paper dry before pulling the print is great. New art days ahead, thank you!

[@lucymathersart]

Thank you, so glad it has inspired you - have fun creating! 😊

[@shelleynobleart]

Just found you. Love your art. Your explanations are the most detailed I’ve encountered. So helpful.

[@HelenMcLean]

Agreed!

[@lucymathersart]

Thanks so much Shelley, glad you have found it helpful..

[@lucymathersart]

Thank you Helen! ☺

[@Ironic_Jihad]

Thank you! This helped.

[@lucymathersart]

Great - happy to hear that, thanks for your comment!

[@cynthiakammann7368]

Thank you for the excellent demonstration of your technique. I'm so happy to find you as I I have a gelli plate to play with and no experience. Using a medium seems particularly helpful.

[@lucymathersart]

Thank you for your lovely comments.I hope you enjoy having fun with your gel plate.

[@shannonbooth6208]

Thank you! thank you! thank you! I have a brand new plate and just can’t seem to get it right. Your tutorial has really helped!!!! 💗

[@lucymathersart]

Aah, lovely! Thanks so much for letting me know. Happy for you, as I remember that feeling of frustration well. Have fun!

[@celiabuchanan]

nice work

[@lucymathersart]

Thanks very much Celia ☺

[@zartist]

Excellent video and explanation of how to do transfers. I also like that you gave written instructions in your comments below the video. Well done!!

[@lucymathersart]

thank you very much! glad you found it useful - feel free to copy and paste the written instructions to your own document for future reference!

[@anneatkinson4074]

I really enjoyed this Lucy! So many good tips and really clearly explained. I will have to give it a go! Thanks.

[@lucymathersart]

So glad to hear that Anne. Please show me the results if you do!

[@shrineshrine389]

EXCELLENT TUTORIAL and beautiful work. Thank you

[@lucymathersart]

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for your comment!

[@ginaburgess9759]

Thanks Lucy for a great demo!

[@lucymathersart]

You're welcome Gina, thanks for the feedback! 😊

[@LarkOnWheels]

Really nice video- I need to try this! Love your piece with the vase on the cradle board!

[@lucymathersart]

Give it a go! The worst thing that can happen is that you get a new sheet of collage paper and the best outcome is a nice transfer of your image! Thanks for your kind comments about my vase painting!

[@nikkiobrien2345]

Thank you Lucy. That explained why i was not getting good results with picking up my first image. I'm new to gelli printing, and have been being too heavy handed when laying down my photo. Great video, i enjoyed that

[@lucymathersart]

So pleased to hear it was enjoyable as well as helpful! thanks Nikki.

[@jonlizsam]

This is a very clear presentation on image transfer using a gel plate. I really appreciate how organized the instruction is. I learned a couple of things too, like applying mat medium to pull a print. Thanks!

[@lucymathersart]

Thanks so much Mary, really nice to know it was helpful and you learnt something new! Hope you'll give it a go with the matte medium too.

[@sakeverboom3609]

Thank you for the presentation. Clear and honest instructions! Love it! I learned a lot and can't wait to start myself.

[@lucymathersart]

Thanks Sake - I hope you do give it a go and have fun!

[@wandaspencer9523]

Very informative video. Thank you for sharing ❤

[@lucymathersart]

Thanks so much for your comment, glad you found it useful!

[@BlueZion9]

Excellent work

[@lucymathersart]

Thanks so much Ann!

[@vinayakshanbhag8717]

Thanks for sharing your techniques. Love the prints.

[@lucymathersart]

Thanks so much Vinayak 😊

[@zebralite2020]

Good job. Look forward to more from you.

[@lucymathersart]

Thanks so much Sheila

[@frankfolino3118]

Lovely and fun. Thank you!

[@lucymathersart]

Thanks so much for your comment ☺

[@allthumbs3792]

Great video and tips. Thank you!

[@lucymathersart]

Thanks - glad you enjoyed it!

[@jacquelinewoodart]

Thank you Lucy. 🤩

[@lucymathersart]

Thanks for watching!

[@anstedjoseph1643]

I loved the video. The points you made cleared up a lot of doubts that I had about transfers. Thank you very much🤩🤩🤩

[@lucymathersart]

Thank you so much for your comments, I'm so glad it helped you and that you give transfers a(another) go!

[@gillyb44]

thanks for sharing. With my laser printer I have to pass it through 3 times to get enough carbon to transfer. Some laser printers are better than others.

[@lucymathersart]

You're welcome Gill. Yes some printers seem to work better than others. Mine is a cheap one and my first gel print transfer was a surprise, it took me a long time to get the "magic" ingredients right to do another.

[@theresacurrin6395]

Great video! Thanks for sharing 😊

[@lucymathersart]

Thanks so much - glad you enjoyed it!

[@chrissyhayes8762]

Great video. ❤❤

[@lucymathersart]

Thanks so much for your comment ☺

[@KathyBrooksArt]

Very useful and enjoyable. Thanks so much. Just subscribed, looking forward to more great demos. So enjoyable.

[@lucymathersart]

Thanks so much for your kind comment. I do have another video planned, just not sure yet when I have time to film!

[@rubiadias7677]

Muito obrigada Lucy!

[@lucymathersart]

You're welcome Rubia 😊

[@morvathomson4372]

Hi Lucy, is there any specific cleanup on the gelli plate after you have used the matte medium. Thanks

[@lucymathersart]

No, matte medium is essentially acrylic paint without the colour so you shouldn't need to clean anything after a transfer using it. In fact I tend to use matte medium if I do ever want to clean my plate. I have another video about cleaning the plate. Thanks for your comment and please do ask if you have any further questions!

[@samradja5275]

Brilliant

[@lucymathersart]

Thanks so much Sam

[@deannahall2032]

I love the cradled panel with the vase as well as the black and white work in your sketchbook! Thanks for providing the details of the materials you used, I was curious about the tissue paper holding up to the pull off the plate but I see you use a strong tissue, I need to get some of that asap!! Thanks for the video!!

[@lucymathersart]

Yes, I do use other tissue papers as well, but the wet strength tissue is excellent. if you are in the states you can use Deli paper as a replacement for tissue. From what I have seen that holds up well. Just experiment with what you have, if it's left on the plate even craft / gift tissue shouldn't rip. More likely to rip and stick if the paint is still wet. Thanks for your lovely comments on my work 😊

[@deannahall2032]

@@lucymathersart Thank you, Lucy!! I found some wet tissue on etsy, just a small amount so I could try it out without spending way too much money for tissue paper!

[@lucymathersart]

@@deannahall2032 Sounds good - have fun with it! I'm sure you will be hooked!!

[@lucymathersart]

@@deannahall2032 I just filmed myself pulling up some tissue (came from a shoe box) from the plate, and guess what? it ripped!! 😮 First time it happened to me. I'll share it at some point.

[@deannahall2032]

@@lucymathersart So sorry that happened to your tissue paper print! Did you leave it on the plate too long?

[@linaalousta7561]

That's great Lucy, thank you! p.s. love what's in your sketchbook 🤩

[@lucymathersart]

thanks so much Lina!

[@lianneverhagen115]

Thank you Lucy for learning how to print. My prints from my printer cannot transfer.i have to buy a new printer. What printer do you have, with the number. It works great by you. Hope you can help. Thank you ❤

[@lucymathersart]

Hi Lianne - I just have a cheap HP black and white laser printer. I am sorry but no idea of the number. Thanks so much for your comment and good luck with your printing.

[@HelenMcLean]

What a great video, it has given me ideas to experiment with! I haven't done gelly printing yet, my question is: do you need the gelly plate or can you use perspex or glass instead?

[@lucymathersart]

Hi, I think for image transfer you probably need to use a gel plate. You could try making your own, just search for gel plate recipes. You can use perspex or glass for printing but one problem with acrylic paint is that it dries quickly, especially when rolled thinly, so you have to work super fast. You might not get the detail as perspex and glass aren't flexible like the gel plate. Have fun and experiment with what you have though, as you never know until you try!

[@HelenMcLean]

@@lucymathersart Thank you! That makes sense, I'll give it a go 🤗

[@lucymathersart]

@@HelenMcLean Great, have fun! ☺

[@taufikgaming1161]

Cảm ơn c ạ,hqua vừa nhận được thông báo là tập luôn bayh e đã đánh được r ạ,cảm ơn c nhiềuuuu❤️❤️

[@lucymathersart]

Thank you for your comment - enjoy having a play with this!

[@cienciainteresante4318]

Gracias

[@lucymathersart]

You're welcome!

[@minnahumble2294]

You have some very nice creative techniques. I enjoyed the video and seeing some finished pieces. BUT the remarks at minute 14:06 don’t make any sense to me. You used white paint? At what point? Please explain further.

[@lucymathersart]

Hi Minna, thanks for your comment and interest in my video. Sorry for the confusion. What I did for that print was reverse the colours. So I had my black and white laser printout as normal, I used white paint on the plate to take the transfer (of the black lines in the laser printout) and used black paint to pickup the print off the plate. The original print had a white background with black lines and the transferred print had a black background with white lines. I hope that makes sense now?

[@flossey100]

❤❤❤

[@lucymathersart]

thanks Lynette ☺

[@desotopete]

Do you make your own gelli plates? Thanks

[@lucymathersart]

Thanks for your comment. I haven't made my own, I have both gelli arts and gel press plates. I am a messy cook so I reckon I'd be a messy gel-plate maker, which is the main reason why I've not attempted it! 😅

[@Giannidelia-b4y]

witch paper print use to transfer from laser print to Gelli ?

[@lucymathersart]

Thanks for your comment, just regular laser printer / copy paper, most likely we got it from the supermarket. I printed the arrow design onto the paper with my cheap black and white laser printer.

[@63artemisia63]

Whingy? I looked it up but just got “complaining” as a definition. Surely gel prints don’t complain! Or do they? Can you help me out?

[@lucymathersart]

Ha ha - it's a while since I made the video and I don't remember saying whingy! which part of the video was it? Could possibly be my accent 😆

[@63artemisia63]

@@lucymathersart Don’t think it’s your accent. I’d have to watch the whole video to find it but I think you described the prints you get when you don’t clean your plate as whingy ? ? ? I don’t have to know. I’m just kind of fascinated by British slang ;o)

[@lucymathersart]

​@@63artemisia63 Ah, thanks - yes, I was trying to work it out with a friend today - I wonder if it was the word "grungy" - all the bits of leftover paint from previous pulls. I think I said it near the beginning because my plate already had bits of paint on it before I started... I learnt this 'term' from Denise Lush I think, that was yonks (ages) ago - new bit of slang for you 😄!

[@63artemisia63]

@@lucymathersart Sorry, Lucy, not grungy. I probably first heard that from Denise, too, 2-3 years ago. Definitely whingy. I remember because I’d only ever heard one other person say it, a British painter. If I could remember her name, I’d ask her and then both of us would know. Thanks for yonks though, that’s a new one.

[@63artemisia63]

OK, I actually paused the video right after you said whingy, which I only remembered a minute ago. 7:04-6 You say “made this print nice and whingy.” Your turn . . . I think you’re probably using it to mean grungy, don’t you?