There are special transparency films you need to use to print your image on: a drafting film for use with a laser printer or a specially coated transparency film for inkjet printers. The setting you should select is not “transparencies” but “glossy photo paper” or whichever highest quality your printer permits. We have found that an inkjet printer gives the best results in terms of crispness and denseness of the print. If you already have a printer, use it to print a sample and hold it to the light – the black areas should not let light through.
Another aspect to keep in mind is the decision on which surface you will blast: the front of a piece of glassware, for instance, or the backside of an award blank. This choice determines if the image should be printed forward or backward, which is pretty important if text is involved, otherwise you force your client to read things backward.
-Ruth Dobbins, Professional Glass Consultants
