Silver etching

[YvonneD]

Hi everyone. I've just tried using blue PnP paper to transfer a name and date of birth to a small round
tag to be attached to a charm bracelet. I used a laser printer to print the name and d.o.b. The silver is 0.7 mm thick. I used an iron on wool setting, no steam, as directed on a video I watched about the process and ironed for five minutes. However, when I peeled the paper off, it came off in one piece (i.e., the blue came off as well). The transfer of the print was excellent, but obviously I couldn't then proceed to the etching part. Does anyone know what the problem was? Too long ironing, or the piece not cool enough when I peeled off the paper? Something else entirely? I admit I was keen to see how the print had worked as this was my first attempt. Any advice welcome!

[china]

The paper is supposed to come off and you are just left with a print of the image on the metal, this is the area that will not be etched.

[Dennis]

Yes, as Bob has said, only the lettering remains, and that is the resist. You also use heavy adhesive tape on the back and edges to protect those parts from the etchant.

If you are using ferric nitrate, a good trick is also to tape a small piece of polystyrene foam to the back, so that your piece will float upside down in the solution. That way no debris will fall on its surface and interfere with the etch.
A down side is that you will need to pick it out from time to time with tweezers to check on the progress. Dennis.

[nicks creative stuff]

hi..... I’ve used this laser print process a lot of times ... I do a heavy etech on a thick copper disk then use that as a pattern to cast with .... i’ve tried lots of alternatives to blue P and P paper ... My favourite being glossy photo paper for traditional Ink printers put through my laser printer on the heaviest setting.... i use a laser thermometer to make sure the temperature is accurate with the piece.... some pieces take an extremely long time to heat up to the required temperature.... I also find cleanliness a crucial part of the process I clean my metal with abrasive paper first to give it a strong key ... wearing rubber gloves I then clean again with acetone and paper towel before applying the transfer ... hope this helps.... nick

[YvonneD]

Hi Nick, Many thanks for these tips. They will undoubtedly be helpful!

[YvonneD]

Hi Dennis and many thanks for your help!

[YvonneD]

Hi China,

Thank you for the information. I had thought the paper was supposed to stay on!