Most of our decals are lead free and cadmium free.  However, digital decals are printed with toners that contain small amounts of lead. All the decals should be clearly labeled on the listing but if you have any doubt, please send us an email at info@MilestoneDecalArt.com.

Click here to read more about safety and your products.

Yesand no. Decals adhere best to smooth, glossy surfaces. When using a semi-gloss or matte glaze, it’s worth testing first, as these finishes can cause issues with adhesion. On matte glazes, there is a risk that air or water may get trapped beneath the decal, which could cause the decal to blow out during firing.

If you’re working with non-glossy glazes, we recommend the following tips to improve decal adhesion:

Warm Water: Slightly heat your ware in warm water before applying the decal to help it adhere better.

Decal Soaking: Only soak your decal for a few seconds. Let it sit for a bit outside the water, allowing the glue between the decal and the paper to soften without dissolving completely.

Slow Firing Ramp: Use a slow firing ramp to help air and moisture escape during the
initial phase of firing. This will reduce the risk of issues caused by trapped air or water.

Testing your decals on a small sample piece before applying them to your final work is always a good practice, especially with matte or semi-gloss finishes.

Metallic colors require firing to reveal their shiny, lustrous finish. Be cautious not to mix up your metallic colors, as they look very similar before firing.

To print white decals on white paper, a pink dye is added to the white ink for visibility and safe cutting. This dye burns away during firing. While the pink dye can migrate slightly, causing a smudged or blurry appearance before firing, this will not affect the quality of the fired decal.

Digital decals: Yes, you can use our decals with glass with some limitations. You can use black decals with good results at 1050F. To get a color image, our colors require of firing temperature of 1465F to mature so you will have to slump the glass. We do not print the color white but we offer a full coverage white glass decal that can be prefired on glass to provide the opacity required for a regular decal to offer its full color range.

Silkscreen decals: Our Glassware stock decals are lead free and will fire at around 1200°F/ 650°C. Some glassware can't sustain those temperatures and we would have to custom print your decals in leaded glass decals firing at 1050°F/ 565°C.

The glassware luster decals are food safe and will fire from 1050°F/ 565°C to 1200°F/ 650°C.

Silkscreen decals allow to print white which can be used as a first layer to provide more density to the print.

Pinholes result from water or air bubbles trapped under the decal. Highly textured or uneven surfaces are more prone to pinholes and blowouts.

Here are some tips to avoid pinholes and blowouts in your decals:

1. Be sure to wipe your work clean and dry with a lint free cloth before firing.   

2. Fire as slow as possible especially below 500F/260C to allow air and water to escape from under the decal.

3. Use warm water and gently heat the ware before application. A warmed ware to the touch will help soften the decal. You can soak it in a tub of hot water, place under an incandescent light or even a quick toast in a toaster oven.  A note about heating:  if your ware is too hot to hold then it will be too hot to receive the decal. 

4. Use a rubber or silicone tool to push out all air and water, then clean and dry the surface with a lint-free cloth. Let the decal air dry in a warm area (e.g., a low oven or atop a warm kiln) for several hours. Inspect under bright light to find any bubbles. Pop them with a thin needle, then use a hot, damp paper towel to press the area down.

5. Let the decal air dry in a warm area (e.g., a low oven or atop a warm kiln) for several hours. Inspect under bright light to find any bubbles. Pop them with a thin needle, then use a hot, damp paper towel to press the area down.

Decal printers often use a yellow tint in the covercoat or flux to help ensure proper coverage of the decals.  Don’t fret!  The tint is in the finish coating and will NOT be visible after the decal has fired.

We recommend Flexible Rib squeegees by Mudtools (medium or firm flex). In a pinch, a kitchen spatula can also work.

This can happen for a few reasons:

-The backing paper or wax layer was not removed before application.

-The decal was applied upside down.

-The ware was underfired. If underfired, return the item to the kiln and fire at a higher temperature to ensure proper bonding of the ceramic pigment powder.

This happens when decals are applied upside down. Ensure the decal’s glue side is placed on the ware, matching the side facing the backing paper. If a decal floats off the backing paper in water, it’s easy to lose track of the correct side. Refer to the image of the decal on our website to confirm the proper orientation before applying.

If you order custom digital decals with the flux finish to use on ceramic, a raised edge wherever you will cut the decals is to be expected.

For all other decals, the edge shouldn't be visible. When it does happen, we have some recommendation to help minimize the impact:

• This can result from mineral-rich tap water. To fix: Gently rub the edges with a microfiber cloth or pencil eraser. In future applications, try using distilled or filtered water to prevent this issue.
• Soak the decals longer to make sure the water soluble glue is all in solution
• Clean the top of decals after application and before firing (to remove any glue deposit)
• Fire the decals in a well ventilated kiln as to prevent carbon deposits on the surface.

We do not offer nor print underglaze decals. Most of our decals are overglaze or inglaze (Cone 6 Decals). They are generally a third firing on glaze ware and will either sit on top of sink into the glaze. It is possible to use them fully vitrified smooth bisque with the use of a third party glue. The overglazed once fired cannot be glaze over while the inglaze can be glaze fired in one path.

Some artists have also used decals on leatherhard greenware. Wax resist applied over the decal helps with adhesion to the unvitrified clay body. This "off label" technique should be tested for compatibility before large scale production.

Yes.