From the Lazertran Website

Baking Image Transfers Onto Metal and Other Materials

Equipment, Materials and Supplies:

Lazertran For Laser Copiers (Lazertran makes many products, make sure you get the one labeled“waterslide decal for laser printers.”

Papilio Laser Bake On Water Slide Decal Paper (Papilio also makes several products, make sure you get the correct one.)

Original or Copyright-free Artwork or Image
Clean, sandblasted metal (It is best to learn on flat metal, but gentle curves/contours will work.)
Bowl with water or sink with running tap water
Painter’s masking tape
Toaster oven
Oven thermometer
Tweezers
Denatured alcohol
Sharp scissors
Paper Towels

Process:

1.Photocopy or print your image on the proper side of the decal paper (for Lazertran it is the white side, not the bluish side; for Papilio it is the glossy side, not the dull side.) Important -- this must be done on a toner-based (laser) copier or printer (for Lazertran it is important that the machine uses oil-fusing technology and fuses under 356 degrees F (see a complete list of suitable machines at Papilio can withstand a bit more heat than Lazertran.) Yourartwork should be printed in reverse if you want it to appear on your metal exactly as it appears in the original. This is especially important if your artwork contains text or symbols.

2.Ifthe toners do notappear to be shiny on the printed decal paper, put the printed sheetin a hot toaster oven for a minute or so to make sure the toners are completely fused onto the decalpaper. At around 200F, the toners will become shiny and brighten; remove the sheet from the oven. Try not to let the oven exceed 200F for this step. If the oven gets too hot, the toners will “bead up,” the paper will scorch and the image will evaporate. Don’t rely on the toaster oven’s temperature control, use a separate oven thermostat to insure temperature accuracy.

3. Cut the printeddecalimage to roughly match the shape of your metal application surface, but leave about 1/8” extra all the way around.

4. From the back of your metal piece, apply masking tape to the edges, allowing the tape to overlap the edges with about a 1/8” to ¼” overlap. The sticky side of the tape should be facing you when you are looking at the front of your metal piece.

5. Carefully lay the decal face down onto the metal, allowing the exposed sticky masking tape edging to lightly “catch” and secure the overlapping edges of the decal paper and hold it against the surface of the metal.

5. Soak the decal/metal combo in a bowl of very warm (almost hot) water or hold under hot running tap water until the decal’s backing paper loosens from the decal and gently slides off. Using your fingertips and working very gently,start from the center and work outward, smoothingthe decal to remove excess moisture and air bubbles. Be careful not to tear the decal as it is very thin and fragile at this stage.

6. With small scissors, fringe the overlapping“skirt” of decal and tape. Snip almost up to the edge of your metal, and do this all the way around.Attach a masking tape “handle” to the back of the metal for ease in getting it in and out of the toaster oven.

7. Place in a cold toaster oven and set thermostat on low setting for 30 minutes. Try not to let the oven get past 150F during this stage. Watch the separate oven thermostat – do not rely on the oven’s temperature controls as they are never accurate.

8.After the oven reaches 150F, increase the temperature very slightly and incrementally over the next 15 minutes. Continue to nudge up the temperature every 10 to 15 minutes until the surface becomes very shiny. This will happen at about 250F. WATCH FOR TINY BUBBLES -- If tiny bubbles form, you have heated the piece too fast.

Bubbles are almost impossible to reverse! Once they happen you can try to press them out with your fingertips (and then continue heating), but this usually proves to be futile. If you have to start over, you can remove the baked on decal by soaking it in acetone.

Because toaster ovens are never accurate, learn to rely more on the look of the transfer than the temperature of the oven.

9. After baking, if you do nothing further to the surface of the transferred image, it will be protected by the clear acrylic layer that was transferred with and on top of the toner. If you wish to remove the clear acrylic (but not the toner – as for etching), soak or dab the image with denatured alcohol) until the acrylic softens, then gently rub it away with your fingertips or a soft towel.