Today there are many options for putting colorful patterns onto porcelain china. Some, like decoupage, waterslide decals and air-dry paints like Delta Air-Dry PermEnamel are within the reach of any home crafter.
Others, like dye sublimation printing, transfer printing and hand-glazing high-fired pottery require substantial investment in equipment and are best suited to well-capitalized businesses and artists cooperatives.
The two classic ways of putting patterns onto porcelain, hand-painting and transfer printing, still exist today. In addition, there is a high-tech version of waterslide decals used commercially which consists of screen-printing decals with glazes and applying the decals to the porcelain. In each case, the pottery is high-fired before decorating to at least cone 6. [Cone is a measure of heat absorption resulting from heat applied over time. Cone 6 translates to between 2165 and 2269 degrees F (depending on how fast the kiln heats or ramps up).] Such high-firing produces the hard almost-translucent quality of genuine porcelain. Then the piece is decorated and lightly fired repeatedly to melt and fuse the glazes to the...