Ceramic toner is dry pigment in a carrier that a laser printer can fuse to paper. Pigment alone does not stick to a fired surface; something has to melt and bond it. That something is either the glaze on the ware, or a glass frit mixed into the toner itself. Toner without frit is unfluxed. Toner with frit is fluxed.
Unfluxed toner: the glaze does the work
Unfluxed sets are fired in-glaze, hot enough for the glaze on the ware to soften and take the pigment in. INEQS unfluxed sets fire at 860 to 1,150 °C depending on the set. Because the pigment ends up inside the glaze, the result is the most durable decoration possible: floor tiles, pool tiles, tableware that goes through a commercial dishwasher every day. Unfluxed toner always needs a fluxed covercoat, which means the fired surface is glossy and the decal edge can be visible if it does not reach an edge of the ware.
Fluxed toner: the toner brings its own glass
Fluxed sets carry the frit with them, so they fuse to surfaces that have no glaze to soften: finished onglaze porcelain, vitreous enamel, glass. They fire lower, 805 to 900 °C for the ceramic sets and 540 to 630 °C for glass toner. Fluxed toner can be coated with lacquer only, which burns out completely and leaves no visible edge, or with a fluxed covercoat for a shinier finish.
Choose by ware and temperature
| Substrate | Toner type | INEQS set and range | Coating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glazed tile, stoneware, porcelain (in-glaze) | Unfluxed | R101 red set 860 to 1,150 °C; M40 magenta set 880 to 1,000 °C | Fluxed covercoat |
| Finished porcelain, onglaze | Fluxed | MM40 magenta 880 to 900 °C; RR85 red 805 to 830 °C | Lacquer or fluxed covercoat |
| Vitreous enamel on steel | Fluxed | MM40 or RR85 | Lacquer or fluxed covercoat |
| Float and borosilicate glass | Fluxed glass toner | Glass B/W and glass colour sets, 540 to 630 °C | Lacquer |
The red question
Whichever toner set you choose, one key question is whether the design needs a true ceramic red.
At lower firing temperatures, magenta and yellow can produce an acceptable red, but at higher temperatures, especially above about 1,000 °C, this becomes much more limited.
INEQS red sets, such as R101 without flux and RR85 with flux, replace magenta with a dedicated ceramic red pigment. They are the better choice for applications where strong reds, warm skin tones, logos or warning colours are important.
For designs focused more on pastels, pinks, violets and a wider general colour range, the magenta sets are usually the better option.
The sticker effect
With a fluxed covercoat, the decal edge can show after firing as a faint step. Avoid it by covering the whole decoration area with the fluxed material, or by aligning the decal with an existing edge of the ware. With lacquer only on fluxed toner there is no edge to see.
Wondering where underglaze fits into this? See underglaze, in-glaze or onglaze transfers.