One of the ways to create a unique and colorful advertising product is a decal, the application of which is possible on almost any hard surface. This method of creating images on various products is quite popular among consumers. For example, it is in this way that branded dishes, souvenir figurines and other items are most often branded.
What is a decal?
Decal is actually decals known to all from childhood. They are printed on sheets of special gummed paper and fixed with varnish. If you immerse such a picture in hot water, the varnish and paint layer with ease move away and the picture can be moved to the subject. To consolidate the result, the decorated product must be placed in a special oven.
If you decide, for example, to place your company’s logo in such a way on a large number of objects, you will have to be patient. The fact is that decoloring is done only manually. Firms that promise you to print thousands of copies per day are most likely to be disingenuous - putting this into practice is very difficult.
Hot application method
The implementation of the hot decal is most suitable for applying logos to ceramics, porcelain, glass and other materials that can withstand high temperatures. A hot decal is applied using paints that are absolutely harmless to human health, so you can eat and drink without worries branded in this way. The subsequent firing procedure can significantly increase the life of the product, for a long time to maintain its attractive appearance.
Of course, a hot decal is a little more expensive than that used for products processed by the cold method, but the quality of execution is an order of magnitude higher. Application technology usually consists of three steps:
- printing the picture itself by silk screen printing;
- sticker of the printed image on a souvenir or dishes;
- firing products using high-temperature equipment.
This method of application has understandable advantages:
- durability - baked paint will not be erased or scratched; it can only be destroyed with the product;
- wear resistance - a branded product can be washed, washed and rubbed using any household chemicals, the image will not go anywhere;
- clarity - bright colors do not fade, do not fade even with years of use.
When applying images in this way, you can use natural precious metals in the edging of the drawings, achieve a dull pattern or imitate laser engraving.
Cold decal
This type of application of “decals” is used in cases where the product cannot be burned for various reasons: inability to withstand high temperatures, sizes and dimensions, and other qualities. In this case, a cold decal is used. The picture for decoloring is printed on special paper coated with water-soluble glue. After the pattern is printed, it is coated with a special colloidal varnish and dried thoroughly.
This is the usual moving picture, which moves on the subject using ordinary water. If it is impossible to wet the branded item, then a dry decal is used. Although cold decoloring is much cheaper, it has significant drawbacks. For example, many components used during application are prohibited for use in the food industry, which means that decorating your favorite plate or cup in this way will not work.
Advantages and disadvantages
Like any other method of applying information to objects, decoloring has both positive and negative features. The pluses include the following:
- decal is an opportunity to decorate objects of any shape and size;
- individuality of a decor, an opportunity to order a circulation from 1 piece;
- the use of various forms and methods of printing;
- long life of branded products;
- wear resistance and colorfulness of the applied print.
Of course, a decal is not only advantages, but also certain difficulties. For example, such:
- due to the use of manual labor, a large percentage of marriage is likely;
- the complexity and complexity of printing;
- the possibility of distortion of the selected colors during baking, if paint of inadequate quality is used;
- long prepress preparation.
How to distinguish decal from hand-painted?
Despite the fact that decoloring items is very practical and beautiful, it is still mass production. However, sometimes unscrupulous manufacturers try to raise the already considerable cost of the product, passing off the applied drawing as manual work. How to understand - is it a decal or a hand-painted?
This is not always easy to do, so you need to be very careful. First of all, the decal is still a print, so the picture will certainly have at least minimal grain. However, sometimes, to see this, you have to use a magnifying glass.
For manual work, they often try to give out a decal with painting. This means that the main picture is still printed, but individual, especially important details are drawn by hand. But what if the magnifying glass is not at hand, and the ornament is very small and no dots are visible? In this case, compare the repeating parts of the picture with each other - if they are absolutely identical, then you have a decal. Not one, even the most skilled master, is capable of repeating the once drawn motif with millimeter accuracy.