Sunday, January 3, 2016

How to Transfer Photos to Wood - Print on Wood

I recently figured out what I consider to be the best DIY method for transferring photographs to wood.  Prior to this I was experimenting with ModPodge Photo Transfer and Liquitex gel medium for transferring photo prints onto boards and other items.

This method ended up giving me much CLEANER results, QUICKLY.  Instead of waiting 8 to 24 hours (as with Liquitex and ModPodge), I found that I could do the "rub process" within a couple of hours... sometimes even faster, depending on humidity.

The secret ingredient?  ACRYLIC POLYURETHANE (aka "Polycrilic" or "Poly finish")



After the video was posted to YouTube, I started getting some great feedback. If you try this printing-on-wood technique, please let me know! Also, if you come up with ways to enhance this technique, feel free to share.

85 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for leaving me a comment at Crafts Unleashed to share this idea with me. I have some Polyuerthane in the garage and can't wait to try this!

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    1. Hi Morena! Good to hear from you! :) I hope you have as much success with acrylic polyurethane as I have. Thank you for commenting!

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    2. Who is this guy? He's creepy!

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    3. Jo Scott: Ha! I am sorry for if I sounded creepy in the video. Not a whole lot I can do about it, I guess, but I am really not creepy in real life! (I sure hope I'm not! LOL!) Thank you for watching, though! :)

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    4. He is not creepy! He is Cajun! I found it to be very entertaining. I love to listen to him talk!

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    5. Jo,bugger off. What purpose does your comment make other than to simply be hurtful for the sake of being mean? I bet you need the subtitles for southern American or British tv. He is enjoyable and his tutorial was simple and easy to understand.let the guy be and let us all enjoy and encourage him! I'll be using this technique outside of my cottage county corner store this season. Send ya pics Craft Man!

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    6. Tara, thank you so much! I look forward to seeing pictures from your corner store! :D

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    7. My husband and me love listening your voice is the shit!! Your calming like Boss Ross!

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  2. Great technique.
    How does it work on a painted surface?

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    1. Hi Barbara! It will work as long as the surface is completely dry and free of oils.

      It works on bare wood, painted wood, metal, glass, and a variety of other smooth surfaces. :)

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    2. If used on metal or glass what kind of sealants would work best?

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    3. What would you use to seal the picture on metal or glass?

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  3. What a wonderful presentation! This is indeed a great technique. Thank you for sharing.

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    1. Thank you so much, Cathy! I am glad you enjoyed it. :)

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  4. Hi CrafsMan-- You did a great job on this video, and I can't wait to try it myself! I came over from the link on GraphicsFairy. Thank you for your patient and thorough explanation of how to do this. And BTW I think your puppet is funny! :-) Keep crafting!

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    1. Jennifer, you are very kind! Thank you for checking it out and taking time to leave me a note. :)

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  5. WONDERFUL TUT, THANKS FOR EASY-TO-FOLLOW DIRECTIONS, NOT TOO FAST! WONDERFUL RESULTS THAT I REALLY LIKE A LOT!!

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  6. Loved this and totally love the puppet! Keep 'em coming CraftsMan!

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    1. Thank you so much for that! I will try to keep these rolling. :)

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  7. I came by because of The Graphics Fairy too and I LOVED your video! You sound like a real person in the video. It was fun to watch. Love the puppet and am really excited to try your QUICK METHOD, since I am impatient and don't like to wait overnight for things to dry. I'll let you know how things turn out, as I use graphics on wood A LOT!

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    1. Alene, thank you so much! :D I feel the same way... I get a little impatient and like to jump the gun, so this method is much more my speed. ;) Hope you have fun with it!

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  8. gracias por compartir, aquí en Venezuela es mas fácil conseguir el poliuretano que lo otro, y la voy a poner en practica con unas fotos

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    1. Thank you for the comment! Glad to hear acrylic poly is readily-available where you live! (Hopefully I translated that right! I'm so sorry if not! :) )

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  9. Thank you for this great tutorial. One of the easiest to follow I've watched. I too am visiting from the Graphics Fairy--wonderful gal and website! I didn't find anything creepy about your video. That person must have a puppet issue (like people who are freaked out by clowns). Can't wait to try this out!!

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    1. Ha ha! Maybe that's what it is. :) At any rate, I want to thank you for checking out the tutorial, and for leaving this kind feedback. :)

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  10. Hi Craftsman, thanks for the great tutorial. It was very easy to follow. I love people who experiment with things and find new ways to do projects, much like my husband. Thanks for sharing your idea! Lynn J.

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  11. thank you ( Craftman )wonderful tutorial i will be trying this tomorrow ,i too visit the Graphics Fairy. Keep up the great work.

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  12. Hi there, I came over from The Graphics Fairy-You have a HIT on your hands! I enjoyed your video. Made me smile. Keep crafting, and keep sharing! I think you need your own TV show. :)

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    1. Awwww, thank you so much! That's very kind of you to say! :)

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  13. This was the easiest & Best Tutorial that I've seen. I've been searching & came acrossed this via bloglovin. Thank you!

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    1. I REALLY appreciate the kind comment! Thank you!

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  14. Hi again. Tried to pin this on Pinterest, but said it couldn't pin because no image url or ? I will pin it directly myself to my boards, but you might want to sort that out. 😃

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    1. Hrm... that's very interesting! I will look into the Pinterest issue.

      Thank you for the heads-up! (And for pinning this tutorial! :) )

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  15. How does it come out if using a color photo? Does the wood grain show through?
    Aubree

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    1. Aubree, it does work pretty much the same (as long as it's a color LASER printer, because you have to use a different technique for InkJet.) Basically the lighter colors (light tan, yellow, light gray etc.) will allow some of the wood grain to show through. Anything that is totally white will allow all the grain to show.

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  16. It works well with a color photo. I use a color laser printer and have had good results. Any place that's white means the wood will show through fully, but any lighter places (like in a color photo with someone who has blonde hair), the wood will show through partially. It can be used to great effect. Hope you enjoy!

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  17. I could listen to you do crafts all day long. You're like the Bob Ross of crafting. I'll be coming back often!

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  18. I'm heading to the hardware store now for some poly acrylic. Please please please do another video, or even just read the newspaper! You're like a slow jam Morgan Freeman. Xoxo, Tara

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    1. That warms my heart! Thank you so much, Tara! :)

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  19. I can not wait to try this!!! I have been searching for something better to transfer laser. I work at a hardware store in the paint department and never even thought of this....Thank you so much for sharing this. It is obvious you put a lot of thought and effort into your tutorial. I appreciate it very much. And you know the fools who be fooling about your speech - forget them. We are all different - I am Canadian -so funny accent a lot of eh of super fast speak! Who cares - we are who we are and that is what makes us beautiful. Cheers, Andrea

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    1. Andrea, it's great to hear from you! Thanks for the very kind words, and I'm delighted to hear your excitement about this method. Please let me know if you run into any issues. Enjoy! :)

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  20. Genius! Thank you for caring and sharing.

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    1. The CrafsMan is far from genius, but I SURE do appreciate the encouraging comment! :D

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  21. Can't wait to try this. Can I use this method on painted surfaces

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  22. Oops should have read this in comments felt like I was standing right beside you. Man, I could listen to your very patient and clear tutes all day!!

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    1. Hi Gena! Hope you have fun transferring your images to painted surfaces. As you've noticed, it should indeed work. Thank you so much for the comment, and very kind words! :)

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  23. I love all your videos and learn so much from them! Thank you for all your advice, tips and your great step by step instructions! Can't wait to see what you post next time!

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  24. I'm going to try this today. Thank you, so much for sharing your method. I agree with another viewer's comment...you do have that Bob Ross hypnotizing, relaxed way about you. Very nice! Thanks again

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  25. I have been looking for a better method for a while. I love to make crafts and transfer pics and all to give to ppl or sell. I am defiantly going to try this! Do you know if this method works with color photos? I'm guessing the lazer jet printer still needs to be used to keep from runs/smearing?!?

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  26. This truly is an amazing method!!! Thank you so much craftsMan!!!

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  27. Dude you are my ultimate hero, and I love your accent 😍
    Keep up the fine work & I'll be checking back for more tips 👍

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  28. I am new to this type of art. I used mod podge photo transfer on a 12x36 canvas. Everything worked well except there is a light haze over the inverted image. I let it dry a little and went back to dampening & rubbing off the paper only to rub the ink off in spots. It has now dried overnight and has a light white haze all over it. While it was wet as I was rubing the paper off the image and it was very clear, then the next day it was all hazy. I've read to put wood polish on it(which turns yellow after time). I know I should put mod podge over it to complete the process. Will this clear it up? Thanks for any and all help.

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    1. The haziness, which is clear when wet, can indeed sometimes be cleared up simply by adding wood finish over it. In my case, I apply the same polycrylic used to transfer, over the top of the finished piece. This both protects it, and helps ensure clarity. Hope this helps!

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  29. I am new to this type of art. I used mod podge photo transfer on a 12x36 canvas. Everything worked well except there is a light haze over the inverted image. I let it dry a little and went back to dampening & rubbing off the paper only to rub the ink off in spots. It has now dried overnight and has a light white haze all over it. While it was wet as I was rubing the paper off the image and it was very clear, then the next day it was all hazy. I've read to put wood polish on it(which turns yellow after time). I know I should put mod podge over it to complete the process. Will this clear it up? Thanks for any and all help.

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  30. Hi CraftsMan! Thank you so much, I loved your video! Just used the Mod Podge method to transfer onto a piece of cedar log, but can't wait to try your method. Thanks again, and I truly enjoyed your video, especially the puppet! :)

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    1. Thank you so much! I do hope you enjoy the acrylic poly photo transfer method.

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  31. Great tutorial! Love the puppet.....nice touch... You sound terrific...don't change a thing!

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  32. Hi CM! Im in Hawaii and can't wait to try this on driftwood from the beach! I hope the salt doesn't interfere,i will let you know!
    What would you use if you only had inkjet images? Aloha!

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    1. Aloha, Christie! Thank you for writing!
      If I only had inkjet, I would try the citrus solvent technique. I have done this and it does work, but the results aren't as vivid. HOWEVER, that can play to your advantage if you're going for a more vintage look.

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  33. It looks amazing!! Can't wait to try the technique. Thanks for sharing!

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  34. Hi thanks i will try this. I have another question you might be able to help me with l have put modpodge over decoupage can I put minwax polycrylic on top

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    1. You sure can! In fact, I use PolyCrylic over all of my wood (and stone) prints to protect the image.

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  35. Awesome video, it's one transfer method I would have never thought of. And I just love to hear you talk, it's relaxing. You sound just like Tim Meadows off of the movie "The Lady's Man"

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  36. Awesome video, it's one transfer method I would have never thought of. And I just love to hear you talk, it's relaxing. You sound just like Tim Meadows off of the movie "The Lady's Man"

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  37. Hi there, great tut. Tried this technique much better than mod lodge. At times though sometimes really dark parts of the image have rubbed off.... any tips??

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    1. Hi there! Just be sure you use enough transfer medium, and that the image is pressed down into the surface well, with no big air bubbles. If you have large parts pull away, you can actually try re-applying just that part. Another thing I've done is to clamp a board over the back of the image while it's initially "setting", to help keep the image uniform against the surface.

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  38. Great techniques, thanks for video!
    Bought some mod podge, but now I want to use polyurethane bc I have already too. Lol

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    1. Hi Nick! Thanks for checking it out. :) You can try both and see which one you like. I personally like the poly, but if I need a thicker medium, I use Liquitex Gel Medium. Mod Podge works, but (for me), I didn't like the opaque white areas sometimes left behind.

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  39. Hi Crafsman! Great videos you put out there. Many people enjoying them as am I. I'm wondering how well this might work over stained wood? I'm about to experiment but I've seen people transfer the photo, then stain over it but think the poly acrylic would prevent a good stain. Any thoughts or examples you could share?

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    1. Well, I did experiment and found the poly finish over an oil stain. It worked great.

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  40. I used this method for transferring scripture on a metal serving tray. Worked fantastic! Just stopped by to see if the wood method was the same. Getting ready to do a wood project. Like the person above, I'd like to know if you've tried it with stain. Stain before or after? Looking fwd to your response. Thanks!!

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  41. Hello :)

    I love to watch your tutorials from the UK! Do you happen to know what the UK equivalent to Polycrylic is?

    Thank you so much,

    Katy x

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  42. Thank you for this easy to understand video ! Going to try this right away , as I am making some signs.

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  43. What kind of paper to use for wood transfer. The name so I can look for it here in Philippines

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  44. So sorry I'm Lynda Arce from the Philippines

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  45. I think you are wonderful and I am ever so thankful that I happened to come across you! I have been trying this technique with Mod Podge and not so thrilled with results. I think you may have changed my life. lol I'm a sailor and hoping to utilize your technique with our sailboats on wood. Have a wonderful life, Theta

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