The Sign, Display and Promotion experts

Dry Transfer Service Launched at BEL Signs

We are very excited at BEL Signs to be launching a brand new service, Dry Transfers.
Dry transfers are a specialist type of rub-down print that is ideal for prototypes, film props, museum labels, and professional model makers. Specially made to order, we thought we would introduce this service with some background.

Expert Team

Industry experts, with over 11 years of experience, our new team members have a wealth of experience when it comes to manufacturing dry transfers. Transfers can be created within 24 hours. Our factory is now well equipped to produce colours to match Pantone® swatches, but also produce a range of fluorescent, pastel, or metallic colours. In addition to matt and gloss finishes, these transfers can replicate foil blocking.

Manufacturing Dry Transfers: the process

Dry Transfers involve many steps in order to produce the transfers you will receive. Once we have accepted your artwork or created vector artwork, via briefs and proofs, the transfers can be made. A rod pulls down a fine layer of ink onto a special flat sheet, which is usually around A4 size but can be A3 or A5. This ink is dried, then a layer of glue is added and after drying, a final layer of photo-sensitive ink is applied on top. The sheet is taken to an exposure unit where chemicals are added to the reverse, leaving what was exposed. The transfers are then ready to be used; they are then ’rubbed’ onto the final product or object – hence the name ‘dry transfer’. Once we have completed this process, we have the film negative, so transfers can be replicated again without additional setup.

Past Projects

Speaking to our team, they have chosen some examples of past projects they have worked on to give you some idea of how this service can be used:

A very special Spy movie – Films often need props to look real and mimic life. Dry transfers can be a way to make one-off special designs and labels to make the illusions more realistic. Our team had to produce dry transfers for a fake brand of whisky to be used on the bottle and added to the set.
Creative Lego pieces – one favourite transfer created was for a modeller reproducing planes, such as fighter jets, in Lego®. These pieces are over a metre in length and match an amazing level of detail, including plane livery, which is how the dry transfers were used.
Sci-Fi Aliens – Musical instruments with odd hieroglyph type symbols, which are, in fact, blue foil dry transfers rubbed onto plastic keys for a science fiction film.
Exhibition graphics – one of the reasons to use a dry transfer rather than CAD cut vinyl is the way it can be used for the smallest of text and lines. 0.5pt lines and fonts 5mm in size can be created with precision and clarity, ideal for museum labels and exhibition pieces.
Restoration projects – from railway models to amps, car dashboards and chopper bikes, dry transfer lettering, and symbols are a great way to finish a restoration project. Many of these types of stickers and labels are not available; custom-made ones to match the originals can be made to finish off a home project or reconstruction.