5 Ways to Print on Wood | DIY Image Transfer

5 Ways to Print on Wood | DIY Image Transfer

Wood print and DIY image transfer are great tools to customize your woodworking projects or to brand your work. I’ll show you 5 different ways to print on wood and the pro’s and con’s of each of them.

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Tools/Supplies Used (affiliate):

Acetone – http://amzn.to/2yX0nEN
Nitrile gloves – http://amzn.to/2zUjT2G
Polycrylic – http://amzn.to/2nnstDd
Acid brush – http://amzn.to/2iFjayd
Liquitex gel medium – http://amzn.to/2zVTcL6
Foam brush – http://amzn.to/2yZtsiT
Spray lacquer – http://amzn.to/2zToNwN

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50 Comments

  1. Opawesum on October 1, 2023 at 8:18 pm

    I did this to a folding table with Modge Podge and an image on printer paper, and let it sit for 7 hours. I went to rub the paper off with a sponge and it didn’t work at all.



  2. One Handed Brand on October 1, 2023 at 8:18 pm

    Does polyutherane and polycrylic work the same?



  3. Clay Wisner on October 1, 2023 at 8:19 pm

    One note – this doesn’t work very well on end grain (like the “log discs” for Christmas ornaments, coasters, etc.). Actuall have had the best luck thus far with modge podge and inkjet prints for that. I’m trying a mother round with laser & polycrylic today, just putting a heavier coat down… we’ll see. I feel like modge podge isn’t as “permanent” and am not sure what to put over it as a top coat.



  4. Amber Atkinson on October 1, 2023 at 8:19 pm

    Would acetone nail polish remover work?



  5. Kelley Kula on October 1, 2023 at 8:20 pm

    2 questions: 1. how long can you wait after you print the picture? (does the ink have to be hot, or could you wait until the ink dries?) 2. does this work with colors?



  6. ynot2nite1 on October 1, 2023 at 8:20 pm

    what about doing this in color



  7. Timothy Van Der Schultzen on October 1, 2023 at 8:21 pm

    Excellent! I’m going to use this to replace the decal on an old Craftsman scrollsaw. Thanks!



  8. HappyGoTeddy on October 1, 2023 at 8:21 pm

    Hi, do you believe the results would be equivalent in quality if using a color photo? Thx



  9. Silence Dogood Wargaming on October 1, 2023 at 8:24 pm

    how do you think anyone of these methonds would work with a light colored picture tranferred to a dark stained pieces of wood?



  10. Shammi Gandhi on October 1, 2023 at 8:25 pm

    I did mine on canvas no keep rubbing don’t know how



  11. S T on October 1, 2023 at 8:26 pm

    My guess is that the second method failed because of the flatness of the iron only allowing the harder grain to make contact with it. Using the edge of the iron or a harder wood would perhaps improve things?



  12. Linda Lynch on October 1, 2023 at 8:26 pm

    Thanks for the transfer tips!



  13. Samuel Contreras Madera on October 1, 2023 at 8:26 pm

    friend, I congratulate you on the video, what a great job. I ask you to use ink injection printing, can you also use the polyacrylate method?

    What does the wood look like using inkjet printing?



  14. GiftsORZO on October 1, 2023 at 8:30 pm

    can polyurethane use instead polycrylic ?need a reply



  15. American Inquisition on October 1, 2023 at 8:30 pm

    #5 is not looking to good imo



  16. R B Fuehrel on October 1, 2023 at 8:32 pm

    I tried Acetone print on cedar plank and pine board, the ink did not transfer at all😮



  17. goldenboyNJ on October 1, 2023 at 8:32 pm

    Wood any of these methods work on something like plastic or pvc type board



  18. Pateicia Lane on October 1, 2023 at 8:32 pm

    This is great! ♥️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England



  19. Katherine Pittman on October 1, 2023 at 8:32 pm

    I’ve done several tests with the polycrylic and every single time I get holes in the image when I remove the paper. I’ve tried doing it by hand, soft toothbrush, soft sponge, smooth felt…. Does anyone know how to solve this?



  20. AGOmodern on October 1, 2023 at 8:33 pm

    I thought the laser print was one of the worst looking ones. Amazing? Not even close because it was super faded unlike the ones with polycrylic or the gel.



  21. Lucrezia90 on October 1, 2023 at 8:34 pm

    I wonder if it works on color, I have a project I want to do for an anniversary..



  22. The Lost Scrolls of Handwork on October 1, 2023 at 8:35 pm

    The laser turned out to be pretty bad. How could you say it’s great?



  23. April Degele on October 1, 2023 at 8:37 pm

    I’ve done a LOT of image transferring and I can tell you that in this instance, the poly will be just as good and cheaper per oz than the Liquitex. I’m also an artist and Liquitex is expensive!
    However … the Liquitex (I haven’t tried the poly) will also transfer inkjet images, though not as well because inkjet ink doesn’t sit on the surface like toner. Same process, but works better if the image has been printed on magazine paper. The type of paper you use is also important. Must use high quality with inkjet so that it’s a smoother surface you’re printing on as well as a higher density of pigment.

    But now, all these years later, you can get waterslide paper and not have to worry about all that.



  24. The Truth on October 1, 2023 at 8:38 pm

    for a flawless transfer, I recommend using a transfer medium (paint both the surfaces) and printing the image on one-sided waxed, translucent paper in a laser printer



  25. leonor on October 1, 2023 at 8:40 pm

    Thank you for this helpful video!



  26. Preston Cox on October 1, 2023 at 8:41 pm

    I tried a similar method with a reverse image and modge podge, but kept getting a really ugly flim where the image was laid….to be expected I guess since I didn’t cover the whole piece of wood..but way more noticeable than I wanted. Watching your method, I wonder if I should do a full sheet rather than cutting around the words or the image I am transferring so at least the film from the "glue" will be evenly distributed. Good tips all around!



  27. J Gar on October 1, 2023 at 8:44 pm

    How long does the ink stay on the wood ?



  28. Wolf Chan on October 1, 2023 at 8:46 pm

    so after watching this – it seems like anything like staining you want to do – if you are going the polycrylic route needs to happen ahead of doing the transfer right (because that won’t work over a seal? I am assuming also that that isn’t the case with the acetone. so if I wanted to say – transfer first and then paint with watercolors or alcohol dyes before doing a lacquer – that is something that would have to be done with the acetate. Curious because I was thinking of playing with this on a guitar body so I may want to do some experimentation with transferring in b/w and then coloring it. I’ll probably try it out and mess around on some scrap first



  29. Lisa Lisa on October 1, 2023 at 8:47 pm

    will it work with waxy ink like crayons? or gel pens? maybe color pencils?



  30. Best Shed Plans on October 1, 2023 at 8:48 pm

    Great for printing all the photos you loveLove the small sizes of the photos and the peel and stick photos makes it great for putting together a photo album or collage



  31. owino nyakiti on October 1, 2023 at 8:49 pm

    In Kenya we say "Asante Sams" to mean, "Thank you so much". This is a one semester course given absolutely free? May God bless you!



  32. Sarah Nelson on October 1, 2023 at 8:51 pm

    Greatly appreciate this video!! I did a few with the modge podge method and they turned out great (similar to the gel). A few times later I have had issues. Gave the polycrylic method a shot though, currently waiting for it to dry! ❤



  33. lucithebug on October 1, 2023 at 8:51 pm

    Will these work with magazines or does it need to be with a laser printer? I have a laser printer, but I also have 100s of magazines I would like to use up and recycle.



  34. DennyC on October 1, 2023 at 8:51 pm

    I am wondering… does this work well with painted or stained wood?



  35. Marti Thew on October 1, 2023 at 8:53 pm

    Hilarious that you mention the laser. I designed my entire project to print in the laser and then found that my piece won’t fit. doi…Glad you gave me some DIY options. Thanks!



  36. Carol Fowler on October 1, 2023 at 8:54 pm

    Was the wording on the paper printed backwards? I couldn’t tell.



  37. Jessica Field's on October 1, 2023 at 8:59 pm

    What type of print paper dose it have to be fir the poly Acrylic



  38. L B on October 1, 2023 at 9:00 pm

    Ink jet deposits ink droplets. Laser printer MELTS powder. Laser printers <might> generate more heat than ink jets. Might be something to consider when using waxy label sheets (with paper labels removed)



  39. joppe peelen on October 1, 2023 at 9:02 pm

    the DIY ones look much better though 🙂



  40. Brian Pimental on October 1, 2023 at 9:06 pm

    Have you tried a color image?



  41. Fix This Build That on October 1, 2023 at 9:06 pm

    If you want a detailed write up you can see it here: http://fixthisbuildthat.com/print-on-wood-5-ways-diy-image-transfer/

    Also, all prints were mirror image from a laser printer and normal multipurpose copy paper. I do not own an inkjet printer anymore so couldn’t test those methods.



  42. Cindy Harrison on October 1, 2023 at 9:07 pm

    Bring back money saving Mondays please



  43. Knight of Broken Glass on October 1, 2023 at 9:10 pm

    bro – you are soooooo coool!



  44. lulu avellana on October 1, 2023 at 9:11 pm

    Can polycrylic also work with colored print on wood?



  45. RedDesertRoz on October 1, 2023 at 9:11 pm

    This is absolutely brilliant. Thank you so much.



  46. James on October 1, 2023 at 9:11 pm

    Is the paper used for the prints from a normal printer?



  47. Brett Simpson on October 1, 2023 at 9:11 pm

    How durable are they? I don’t just want something that looks awesome, I want it to keep looking awesome and I don’t want to have to wear white gloves between getting the image on and getting the protective coating on



  48. Zina on October 1, 2023 at 9:12 pm

    Thank you!



  49. Umesh Kavindu jayarathne on October 1, 2023 at 9:12 pm

    ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️



  50. KARI MACINTYRE on October 1, 2023 at 9:15 pm

    Can you use alcohol intend of 1:04 acetone