Transfering Images
In the 1750s two competing British inventors petitioned for four separate patents in an attempt to claim commercial rights to the transfer-printing process. Neither was successful at securing a patent, but the mode of decoration quickly became very popular. Early transfer prints were created with a "bat process."

An engraved copperplate would be covered with linseed oil, over which a thin film of gelatinous animal glue was poured to create a pliable surface. The engraved image would be transferred onto the glue layer in linseed oil. This "bat" would then be applied over the glaze of a ceramic vessel, dusted with pigment that would stick to the oil, and fired another time in an enamel kiln to fix the color onto the surface of the vessel. This process worked well but was expensive. Plus, the finished image could be rubbed away as it was not protected by a layer of glaze.

By the 1780s potters developed a simpler and more robust under-glaze transfer process. They printed images onto tissue using a combination of pigment and oil. The image was then transferred onto the bisque-fired clay with careful rubbing. The tissue would be washed away, the oil would be removed by heating, and the ceramic would be glazed-leaving a crisp image under the glaze layer.