Post #207454 by OceaOtica on Fri, Jan 13, 2006 7:41 PM

Wise screen printing does custom low fire ceramic decals. You send the design, they produce the decal. When they arrive, you will need to clean the surface area of the mug that you intend to put the label on. I use 99% alcohol on a low lint bar towel. Then follow the manufacturers directions. The process is the same as applying model car decals. Make sure to apply the decals to your mugs a minimum of one day before firing, as a wet decal will cause pinholes when fired. Also make sure your decal is layed on as smooth as possible, once again to prevent bubbling and pinholing. One of the mugs i put decals on was the hula mug from Wholesale Dynasty. The surface on back was sculpted to resemble a palm tree trunk, so it took a good amount of time to work the decal down into the grooves without too much tension.
If you do not have a kiln, find someone that has a studio. They will need to run the kiln low, i think it was much lower than 06. It should not cost too much for actually running the kiln, as lower temp means shorter running of electricity or gas and quicker cool down. From the point they load up the kiln till they open it and and you get to pick up your mugs should(barring a busy schedule)be one day (example loaded monday morning, you get mugs tuesday morning.) It helps if the person firing can have at least two mugs to test on, even more crucial if they have never fired decals, or are using a gas kiln.
I had 5 varieties of mug with two custom decals on each for my wedding reception. I did the design, had Wise make the labels, personally labeled over 100 mugs plus three test mugs, and brought them to a potter i knew. He had the mugs back the following day.
Hope this helps,
TT