Direct to Film on Wood Art Panels

The experiment continues! …and for the most part successfully. There isn’t a lot of media/instruction out there for printing Direct to Film transfers onto wood- other than it can be done. Now that I’ve done a lot of them, I’ve learned a few things- 1. Always heat press the wood first. Even if the wood seems bone dry, there is moisture in it. That moisture can create water bubbles under the transfer. Then you need to puncture the bubble, dry the wood, and repress. Hopefully not ruining your print. 2. Lower temperatures than textiles. Direct to Film transfers are designed to be printed on textiles which are very porous. Wood is technically porous, but nothing compared to textiles. I’ve found the hotter you go 300 degrees+ the more likely you print will develop weird textures which I have not found an explanation for online (I’m pretty sure it’s moisture). I’ve found around 270 is hot enough to transfer but not hot enough to develop weird textures (they still sometimes happen) 3. Long press times and lighter pressure. I’ve noticed if you press on wood hard the print will get an adhesive “halo” around the prints- once again wood is no where near as porous as textile. So, go with a lower temp and light press for longer- I’m still playing with about 45 to 60 seconds and I probably think a minute is probably better.

I love adapting unconventional methods to create art. Someone might say that it’s not “Art”, in which I would probably respond “Tell that to Andy Warhol when he adapted industrial silkscreen techniques for said art”