Dry transfers (also called rub-ons or rubdowns) are decals that can be applied without the use of water or other solvent. The decal itself is on a backing material such as paper or plastic sheeting much like a transparency. The dry transfer is placed in the desired location with the backing side up. The decal is then applied by burnishing the backing with a stylus or similar object such as a ballpoint pen. The contact side of the decal includes a pressure-sensitive adhesive; the combination of heat and pressure causes the decal to stick better to the new surface than to the backing. When the backing is removed, the decal remains. This allows for ink only where needed even if the pattern is delicate, because the backing supports the decal while it is being applied.
Dry transfers are used in manual technical drawing. Standard graphic elements such as title blocks, forms, patterned lines, shading, or piping or electronic schematic symbols are repetitively used. Use of a dry transfer reduces drawing time and standardizes appearance. Dry transfer lettering such as Letraset brand is used where hand-drawn lettering is laborious to apply.
Famous quotes containing the words dry and/or transfer:
“I can love both fair and brown;
Her whom abundance melts, and her whom want betrays;
Her who loves loneness best, and her who masks and plays;
Her whom the country formed, and whom the town;
Her who believes, and her who tries;
Her who still weeps with spongy eyes;
And her who is dry cork, and never cries.
I can love her, and her, and you and you,
I can love any, so she be not true.”
—John Donne (1572–1631)
“If it had not been for storytelling, the black family would not have survived. It was the responsibility of the Uncle Remus types to transfer philosophies, attitudes, values, and advice, by way of storytelling using creatures in the woods as symbols.”
—Jackie Torrence (b. 1944)