We offer a custom dry transfer service that is aimed at professional model makers, graphic designers, product designers, artists, art gallery & museum curators, exhibition designers and scale modellers.
You can make your own DIY transfers, or decals, at home on your printer, but this process yields transfers not suited to a professional environment. The transfers will lack the colour richness and opacity that can be achieved with the process we use.
Using film and photosensitive chemicals, we make a negative is made for each colour on the design that is imprinted onto a transfer sheet.
Our custom dry transfer service is typically used for creating lettering & numbers for signs & labels, company logos, decals for model cars & planes, model railway locomotive livery.
rub down dry transfers arch60 london bespoke
DRY TRANSFER ARTWORK PREPARATION
Artwork can be emailed or sent to us in any windows format, ideally as a PDF, EPS, DWG, CDR, DFX or Ai file.
We do accept image files such as JPG, TIFF, GIF, BMP but you must make sure that these images are at a resolution that makes them crisp (i.e. 300dpi for JPG).
MAC users should save artwork as an EPS, AI, freehand or Photoshop files.
We will colour match your transfer to any pantone, metallic or other reference.
For single colour transfers provide the artwork in black with a colour reference.
For multi coloured transfers it is best to provide separated artwork with a reference for each colour. We can separate artwork for you at a cost of £61.80/hr.
Artwork produced by us on computer from your annotated sketches will be emailed or posted to you so you can confirm that it is correct before the transfers are made.
This service is typically used by product designers for logos, numbering and lettering, or by
architectural model makers for detailing on buildings such as windows and doors.
We have also undertaken work for the hobby market, producing decals for radio controlled cars, model trains and military vehicles.
Example price for an A4 single colour transfer in pantone 321c for a collection:
Artwork setup: £21.84
Colour matching charge: £10.82
A4 Filmwork: £23.21
A4 Matt Single colour transfer: £40.53
Collection: £0
VAT: £21.28
TOTAL: £127.68
If your transfer is a standard black, white, silver or gold we do not need to charge for colour mixing.
Once your filmwork has been produced, we can make further copies for just the cost of the colour matching (if needed), the transfer itself and postage.
PLEASE NOTE: Though these prices are true at the time of writing, no prices are final until you are have accepted our formal quote.
APPLYING & FINISHING DRY TRANSFERS
Position the transfer and secure with masking tape.
Apply the transfer by gently rubbing over it with a burnishing tool.
You may want to seal the transfer by applying a lacquer:
Begin with a light coat of lacquer.
Allow the lacquer to completely dry before adding a slightly heavier coat.
Repeat building up heavier layers allowing the lacquer to completely dry between coats.
The transfers will be protected under 4 to 5 coats of lacquer.
Applying too much lacquer too quickly will dissolve the ink, we advise to first practise on a test piece.