I am playing around with different ways to seal the ink on printable shrink plastic. My last attempt resulted in very "bleedy" ink and an undesirable effect overall, as seen in this blog post.
My next adventure in shrink plastic sealing begins with doing what I should have done in the first place: read and follow directions.
I took a handful of inkjet Shrinky Dinks and sprayed them with Krylon Crystal Clear Acrylic coating. This is how I did it:
1. I followed the directions on the can: shake for 2 minutes, hold about 12 inches away, spray with a quick sweep. It was probably hotter outside than the maximum recommended temperature, but I did store the Krylon inside.
2. Let it dry for 15 minutes.
Here are the results:
After one coat, it was very difficult to see any kind of sheen, much less a "gloss." So after 15 minutes, I resprayed...
After the second coat dried, a sheen was visible, although I would still not call it a "glossy" effect. In the photo below, there is a strange yellowness to the ink, and I think it may be an artifact of my camera or the fading light.
Inside under a fluorescent light, the sheen is more visible but you have to look closely to find it. There is also evidence of a "grit" that some folks at Craftster referred to that happens when you use glossy coat spray.
I sprayed a few of the pieces with a third coat of Krylon with no noticeable difference.
Next:
These pieces have 2 coats of Krylon and group 1 has an additional coat of a brush on gloss coating called "Triple Thick." Group 2 has a clear dimensional goo called "Glossy Accents" which I have used on paper with great success.
The results were close, but I have a slight preference for the charms with the Glossy Accents because it is REALLY glossy and there is a dimension to them that is not as noticeable with the brush on Triple Gloss.More of the Glossy Accents charms:
The more "matte" look of the Triple Gloss charms:
Next I will try using UTEE, but for now, my conclusion: DEFINITELY seal the shrinky dinks with Krylon spray before applying a brush on or squeeze on gloss coat to avoid ink bleeding.
12 comments:
I have some shrinky dink inkjet supplies laying around and you have inspired me to use them! Thanks for sharing!
Oh, wow! I have been searching for help on craftster and everywhere else on inkjet shrinky dink sealants! I've been taking pics on all my booboos to write a post about it. I've been using white Grafix inkjet shrink film. I have wasted about 6 sheets in the process!
I'll probably post my "adventures" in a couple weeks. :)
Oh, and another thing...I have tried UTEE, too. I LOVED how thick and glossy it was, but it made my shrinky dink curl. Duh! Heat! I tried to hold the edges down, but it messed up the melted UTEE and when I tried to smooth it out, it made little air bubbles. Annnd it was a tad yellow. Darn!
A coat of resin spray works well. Once you seal with that, you can add on more pour on or brush on resin and it will not bleed. It also gives it a very nice shine and super extra durability.
Thank you so much for this post! I'm just wondering how you applied the Glossy Accents... do you brush it on or just squeeze it on the charm?
Thanks for this great post. I use glossy accents to my shrinky dinks. I just squeeze a little on and then spread it around. Put it on wax paper to dry just in case some drips down. They come out perfect.
Hello,
Can you please tell us where did you get the nice illustrations?
TANK YOU!!
Hi! I love this post, I was wondering if you've ever tried dimensional Magic by Mod Podge? I am testing it out now, and I noticed that the permanent markers are bleeding a little bit. I think I may have to get a hold of some spray sealant first.
Hello!
Did you try out UTEE? I need some advice! :)
I put the shrink charm on a small silicone mat in the Melt Art unit, sprinkled UTEE , a good amount. Then heated it lower than the UTEE setting. When melted, I dragged the charm out by pulling out the mat with a tweezer. Then I placed tweezer in the hole in the charm and dragged it across the clean mat to wipe off the extra on the back. It comes out perfect and the silicone does not yellow since the silicone is not reused .
thank you so much for your information. I've been making a ton of jewelry using shrinky dinks, using sharpies for designs but the sharpie, even after heating would smudge or run. I will try the sealants you've suggested. Thanks again!
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