Make 'n Bake Plates

March 2, 2006 9:09 AM

I’m looking for a design-your-own plate kit in which you place a piece of paper (adorned with your own creative design) between a Melamine (Melmac) shell and bake it in an oven to seal it.

I remember making these plates in elementary school all the time and would like to have another go at it.

The only ones I can find online are produced by a company called Plate Works (see here), but they require that you send your design (or a photo) to product headquarters and they send you back a finished plate in a handful of weeks. I’d like to do these in my own oven. Is there a company out there that lets you do it all by yourself?

posted by tulseluper to home & garden (7 comments total)

Shrinky dinks?
posted by Pollomacho at 9:17 AM on March 2, 2006

It's along the same lines as Shrinky Dinks but I couldn't find anything that resembled the kind of plates that I'm thinking of on their site. There are some pretty distrubing looking "products" in their catalog.
posted by tulseluper at 9:22 AM on March 2, 2006

I suspect there is more involved beyond mere heat. If, in fact, the process is a sandwiching, it would be a good bet that a certain amount of pressure is involved to secure the seal. Unless you have a hydraulic press that fits in your oven, I doubt that you would be able to secure the seal.
All that said, I'm not sure it's actually a sandwich process. I'm looking at a couple of these same plates that my kids made in elementary school as xmas gifts. The art looks more like it's been transfered onto the plate itself, rather than sandwiched. Maybe some sort of transfer process?

Anyway, here's an 800 number from a sticker on the back of one of the plates. If it still works, maybe it can lead you in the right direction. 1-800-248-9443
posted by Thorzdad at 10:47 AM on March 2, 2006

From googling that phone number, it sounds like the plates have to be sent off to be sealed. "Factory processing required."
posted by nevers at 11:36 AM on March 2, 2006

Thanks for the suggestions! I just called the 1-800 number and sure enough, you have to send away for the plates to be sealed. I asked if they've ever sold products that you could seal in your own oven and they said no. Hmmm. The hunt continues!

As for the sandwiching... I'm pretty sure that we sandwiched the artwork between two pieces of melamine, but I could be wrong. I don't recall using any pressure on the plates in the oven. The designs were definitely not transferred onto the plates directly.
posted by tulseluper at 11:46 AM on March 2, 2006

You can get glass plates, use glass/ceramic paint which is then made permanent by heating it in the oven. You pain on the underside of the plate, so it's food-safe, but you have to do it in mirror image.
posted by GuyZero at 11:51 AM on March 2, 2006

Have you looked in a store like Hobby Lobby?
posted by Thorzdad at 12:19 PM on March 2, 2006