Waterslide Decal Instructions

Custom Waterslide Decals for Variety of Applications

Home
Resources
Waterslide Decal Instructions

Step 1: Soaking

After cutting the waterslide decals and tearing off the release papers, soak the decals in water. They must be completely soaked in the water, in case patterns and the waterslide decals are difficult to separate.
They generally need to be soaked for 5-10 minutes.
Maintain an appropriate water temperature. Temperature will affect the effectiveness of the waterslide decals. Generally, when the temperature is low, the decals will be fragile and can crack after application. Therefore, the users can soak the decals in hot water or water with alcohol or softeners added. The proportion can be determined according to the situation during printing.

Step 2: Printing

Put the soaked waterslide decals on the surface of the and make sure the waterslide decals are flat on the surface in case the decals wrinkle and the water cannot be wiped off completely.
Scrub with gloves or cloth made from cotton and chemical fiber to completely wipe off the water and bubbles between the surface and the decals. If bubbles are left, there will be blisters during the baking process.
If the surface is not flat, the users must ensure the are close to the surface of the item in order to prevent discoloration in the uncompacted part after drying.
During printing, if the waterslide decals cannot be pressed in an uneven surface, the users can use a hot air blower while pressing.

Step 3: Baking

To improve the adhesion, the object should be baked in a curing oven. The duration and temperature of baking have a great influence on the strength of the adhesion. The temperature and duration settings are based on the highest temperature resistance of the plastic. The higher the temperature, the better the adhesion.
ABS: Baking temperature 65-75 ℃ Duration 25 minutes
Metal: Baking temperature 75-85 ℃ Duration 20 minutes
Glass: Baking temperature 130 ℃ Duration 20 minutes

In addition, the plastic pots for holding object should be resistant to high temperatures in case the shapes of the plastic pots are changed during baking and damage the plastic.
It is best to bake after 12 hours after the workpieces are attached to the waterslide decals. The time can be shortened appropriately in summer and lengthened appropriately in winter. This is to prevent the occurrence of blisters after baking due to water and bubbles.
Make sure there is a proper spacing between the workpieces during baking in case the waterslide decals stick to each other.
After baking, adhesion test and packaging process should be performed when the workpieces are completely cooled.

STORAGE of Decals Waterslide decals are best used within three months. The longer the storage time, the lower the activity of the chemicals in the waterslide decals. Thus, the use of the waterslide decals will be affected.
The temperature of the warehouse where the waterslide decals are stored should not be too high. The optimum temperature is between 15 and 25 ℃.

Waterslide Decal Instructions Maintain an appropriate water temperature. Temperature will affect the effectiveness of the waterslide decals. Generally, when the temperature is low, the decals will be fragile and can crack after application. Therefore, the users can soak the decals in hot water or water with alcohol or softeners added.

Waterslide Decal VS Dry Transfer Decals Dry transfer decals are a printing method that involves printing photos such as portraits and scenery on colored inkjet paper using sublimation ink and then heating the paper to a certain temperature by the transfer printing equipment to print the image on paper to items of different materials such as glass, metal...

Printing Color of Decals Fantai waterslide decals can be produced in a broad spectrum of colors based on customer requirements. The method allows for vivid colors to be applied on transparent PVA film that will permanently adhere to many different materials. The colors we typically use include black, white, blue-green, fuschia, yellow, red, purple, green, silver, gold, etc.