Photo Ceramic Processes

holmburgers · Nov 11, 2011

I was at the Nelson-Atkins museum of art the other day and I saw a piece of Chinese pottery from the 16th century. The color was as bright and as vivid as a piece of 1970's Pyrex.

I also thought to myself, hey, that's a pretty good cyan.

Fuji has a photoceramic process called 'Fuji Photoceram' as seen here.

I'm interested in ways that photographs can be made in ceramics and thus made highly permament. If that can be applied to color... well shoot, I'm a happy camper.

What really defines a photoceramic process??

Are there genuine methods of producing photographs in ceramics, or is it usually just the application of some other kind of image forming layer atop it? (like applying an emulsion, or a carbon transfer, etc.)

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Nov 11, 2011

They use photograph on porcelain technology at grave decoration. There are many companies that will explain the technology and the services at web. ? had been posted a detailed post to f 295 forums least 3 years ago.
It can be carbon and burned and make hundreds of years stability or laser printer with special color ceramic powders to be carried on plate and later burned and sintered to the surface.
Do you start to grave business ?

Umut

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Nov 11, 2011

There was chinese british porcelain trade at 1800s and china was doing all the milimeter detail paintings by hand but the britons by silk printing.
I think you can learn the recipe from british museum and transfer your decoration on toilet cups and sell at the antique fair for 10 dollars as kansas porcelain since 2011

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Nov 11, 2011

cobalt is responsible from blue color , you can buy cobalt powder and dilute and than inkjet print.

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Nov 11, 2011

color gum printers uses paints that contains all the exotic chemicals in the world.

holmburgers · Nov 11, 2011

Thanks Umut, sounds exciting! Toilets, death... hahaha

So the key to a true photoceramic process is burning or baking the image in?

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Nov 11, 2011

blue ceramics , chinese , dutch and britain manufactured are famous. and the turkish iznik ceramics and abbasid area baghdad and damascus ceramics. Early Islamic ceramics dated 6 to 10th century are the most expensive ceramics in the world. And there is mayan blue and egyptian blue also , these are nepheline cyenide chemicals and its color is Turquise.

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Nov 11, 2011

high heat and burning the organics.

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Nov 11, 2011

I think you must read ceramic glazes hobby sites and need of oxidizing and reduction atmosphere. look at the tiffany and zsolnay glass and ceramic glazes.

holmburgers · Nov 11, 2011

Burning organics, oxidizing and reduction atmosphere... that makes a lot of sense. Thank you Umut!

But how to create the image? That is the trick.

p.s. You can edit your posts to consolidate the number of postings by the way.

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Nov 11, 2011

hand painting or silk screen transfer or laser print with decals and adhesive it to surface. Later two needed a photoshop. burning the gelatin or decal which I am talking about.

DWThomas · Nov 11, 2011

Last year at a ceramic educators conference, a guy did an interesting demo. He used a d!git*l cam to make it quick and easy, but basically he printed on a coated paper used to make decals. The printer was some ancient beast that he guards zealously; it uses a toner that contains some form of iron (probably as an oxide). Apparently most of today's printers do not use the magic ingredient.

Once printed, the decal is dunked in water and slid onto a ceramic object. For his purposes he used a plate that had already been fired with a white ceramic glaze. With the decal in place, the piece would be fired again. The transparent decal film burns away, and in this case, the iron component appeared as a sepia-like tone. Probably a more common technique is to create silk screens and make your own screen ink using the powdered minerals, eye-of-newt and bat wings commonly used to create glazes. Even what are considered relatively low firing temperatures will burn off most organic stuff.

There is probably a way to use a half-toned screened image and a rubber blanket to offset print a photographic image onto ceramic also.

DaveT (who plays with ceramics a bit, but hasn't tried photos)

Hexavalent · Nov 11, 2011

IIRC, the 'dusting on' process can be used to apply pigment to a gelatin-based image transer. Subsequent firing burns off the gelatin and fuses the pigment permanently.

Whiteymorange · Nov 11, 2011

A quick ceramics primer:
The temperatures called for can range from 700 to 1200 degrees for low-fire techniques like the iron transfer decals to 2500 degree (farenheit) or so for high fire porcelain with cobalt decorations. That famous blue seen in both Chinese and Delft pottery is cobalt. Most photo processes are done in what is known as overglazing, a method of adding colorful topcoats to an already fired piece that is then fired again at a much reduced temperature to fuse it to the glaze. Gold chloride is used like this to produce the gold rims on fine china services. The overglazes are much like enamels baked on to the surface of the glaze. Underglazing, a much more permanent process, has the decoration applied to the once-fired but unglazed bisque-ware, which is then covered by a clear or translucent glaze and fired to a higher temperature. Underglazes tend to be monochromatic or muted colors and are dishwasher-safe. Many colors burn off at high temperature. Reducing the oxygen available during the firing process will result in changes to many glazes and can result in colors that cannot be produced any other way; certain reds are reduction colors because most red pigments burn off at relatively low temps.

Fast Frankie · Nov 12, 2011

How about porcelain?

http://www.griffithobservatory.org/exhibits/bbigpicture.html

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Nov 12, 2011

Kaolin in porcelain makes the material strong againts nature.

Whiteymorange · Nov 12, 2011

Fast Frankie said:
How about porcelain?

http://www.griffithobservatory.org/exhibits/bbigpicture.html

The article speaks of porcelain enamel, a fired-on paint similar to what is on your stove or refrigerator. The temperatures for that are much lower and the firing time much shorter than actual clay work. Images can and have been placed on fired surfaces in many ways and the possibilities are exciting. I only meant to speak of the traditional use of printed images; iron, manganese or cobalt for the most part, and the temperature ranges used in pottery manufacture. Since we probably won't be eating off any of our images (melamine plates with pictures are made all the time, but I haven't seen any clay ones) I think there may be some way to print on a tile... I just don't know it.

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Nov 12, 2011

Decals printed with ceramic powder laser printer is the only and easiest method I have ever known. I contacted with largest enamel color producer in USA and France to able to print art on aluminum guitars and they gave me the temperatures is needed. Few years ago , these enamels were leaded to create stronger colors but they are banned in europe and usa. Now all enamels are lead free and more pastel .
I think diluting with a solvent and print on aluminum plate with silkscreening and fire at the open fire or torch is only homemade option to create oversized images on AL without need of kiln is only option. But they warned me to keep flame safe to avoid warp.

Umut

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Nov 12, 2011

Enameling is a very fast and moderate temperature technology. And there are industrial enamels for example painting Caterpillar. There are many industrial enamel sellers at web and may be colors obtained in repair kit.
And there is one option to manufacture your own select color autopaint for less than liter. It can be used.

Umut

Mark Fisher · Nov 12, 2011

Hmmm, I wonder whether you could use a process like carbon printing and use the appropriate metals instead of carbon in the gelatin mixture. The final transfer would be onto the unglazed ceramic. I suppose some sort of clear glaze would need to go on top (?). Essentially, you'd be making the decal with gelatin, dichromate and the appropriate metal powder. Then on the other hand, it might just all run off too.

Warning: this comment is from an engineer with almost no experience in ceramics and only a bit more with carbon printing!!

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Nov 12, 2011

Of course it works. As you know as engineer , rapid manufacturing of mold business use that technology with epoxy.
Material Cast Composite from England is the inventor of this technology and they print stereolithograpkically %40 ceramic powder and % 60 epoxy mixture with laser , layer on layer when epoxy was curing with laser light and than take the printed mass , fire the epoxy in reduction environment and than sinter the ceramic and create a sponge like ceramic part. Than they melt copper and when the ceramic part touches the molten copper , copper elavates in the sponge and cover the all holes.
This technology is using by the F1 Society to create replacable liners for the pistons. There is no other technology better than this.
F1 , now uses linerless engine blocks and I dont know how the rechnology of this company reacts.
I have a British Patent Application printed at the Offical Gazette to use electric current and man made hybrid powder structures for
to create engine blocks like a Turkish Rug within few minutes.

Umut

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Nov 12, 2011

Hello ,

If you interested in enamel processes and print with glass and metal powders and plates - immortal print - you have to visit this site :
http://www.glass-on-metal.com/pastart/index.htm
Fused Photographs in Enamel:
The Ceramic Tissue Method
by James Doran
from Volume 13, No. 3, April 1994
Prior to the nineteenth century, portraits and portrait miniatures in enamel, were pretty much the exclusive indulgence of the aristocracy. Then came the Industrial Revolution, and with it, social upheaval and the dreaded Middle Class, whose consumer demands, even then, were insatiable. In the last half of the nineteenth century, photography, in its frenzied adolescence, offered a reasonable facsimile to traditional portraiture at a price that satisfied the throngs. Then, as if to answer some Bourgeois cry for enamel miniatures, a process emerged whereby photographic portraits of loved ones could be immortalized in enamel. These were not fuzzy reproductions like those seen in old newspapers, but were exquisitely detailed, subtly shaded, genuine photographic prints fused permanently onto enamel (or onto porcelain and glass, for that matter).

Best ,

Mustafa Umut Sarac

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Nov 13, 2011

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

there is lots of information on enameling at above thread.

Umut

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Nov 13, 2011

Vitreous enamel n. A glass coating fired on metal

A vitreous enamel surface finish is achieved by fusing glass particles to sheet metal or cast iron by firing it at a temperature in excess of 800°C. This results in a surface that is incredibly hardwearing to all the elements. It is temperature resistant (upto 800°C) and chemical resistant with exceptional colour stability. The finished enamelled product is easy to maintain, clean and hygienic meaning it can be used for many applications internally and externally.

Our vitreous enamel is available in a wide range of colours plain or with screen printed graphics (block and 4 colour photographic images).

holmburgers · Nov 14, 2011

Mark Fisher said:
Hmmm, I wonder whether you could use a process like carbon printing and use the appropriate metals instead of carbon in the gelatin mixture...

I too was thinking along these lines. Whitey, your explanation of ceramics is most helpful!

If we know how and what is necessary (color forming substance, temperature and atmosphere), it seems that the carbon process provides the most desirable avenue for high quality ceramic prints. The gelatin will just burn off. It won't melt unless it is saturated with water.

Photo Ceramic Processes

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