Collection: Waterslide Decals

Waterslide decals are images you apply to surfaces such as metal, glass, ceramic, wood, and other surfaces.

They need to be baked or sealed with epoxy to stay on.

They can be printed with an inkjet printer or a laser printer. You need special paper to print on either. (meaning, you cannot use inkjet paper in a laser printer and cannot use laser paper in an inkjet printer).

They can be printed on white paper or clear paper. White will have a white border around it and any clear part in the design will be white. They are good for dark background surfaces. Clear will be translucent and does not show any white. They are good for white or light colored backgrounds.

They are all sized to approximately 3 1/2 inches tall and no wider than 4 inches wide to fit a 20 oz cup or the top of a 30 oz cup.

They are popular now for the glitter epoxy tumbler cups.

The decal is printed on an actual thin film that has a paper backing, very similar to a temporary tattoo. They are soaked in water to allow the film (with the image printed on it) to slide off the paper backing, hence the name waterslide.

The decals printed on inkjet paper need to be spray sealed with a clear gloss or matte acrylic spray in order for the ink to stay on the film as it is being soaked in water. If not, the ink will dissolve in the water. The laser printed decals do not need to be spray sealed. The process of a laser printer, using heat already seals the toner onto the film. (no ink is used in a laser printer).

There is a "temporary tattoo" method to use inkjet decals without sealing. You just order the inkjet "mirrored", then you apply it to your surface, then put a wet towel on the back to release the paper backing. Then you will need to epoxy over that. It only works with clear decals.

VIDEO showing how to spray seal the inkjet and apply: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLtyjigXAec&t=161s

VIDEO showing the mirror/tattoo method:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUrN-cnZ5RA&t=131s

VIDEO showing the difference between inkjet and laser:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntXYPNrNt3I&t=176s