Decals

As you found, inkjet ink is not very 'strong' in colour, and on clear decal sheet do not show up well on a dark background object. Delving into the printer properties, it is possible to make it lay down more ink.

Cracking can occur if you spray the varnish before the ink is completely dry.

For transfers onto a dark surface, I have found it best to use white decal sheet, and try to colour match the obect you are applying the decal to as a background to the required image/lettering. Then you can cut round it and just need to blend in the edge of the transfer.

Here is a video I made some years ago:

Ianm42......

.........I don’t recall ever seeing and ink volume control in my advance settings but admittedly I never looked. I will have to check that out. I did the color matching method one time with black and it turned out ok. I’ll post a picture when I find it.

Thanks

Peter

Micro Mark Paper

I used Micro Mark decal paper on my inkjet and sealed it with Mod Podge acrylic spray.  No problems but I did learn a couple of things. 

1. Two to three applications of the acrylic spray, with drying time between each coat, is needed to insure the ink does not run.

2. The decal takes extra soaking time in water to loosen.  “Probably because of the acrylic seal”

Evan’s design used to sale decal paper which was fantastic.  It was pricey but the results were well worth the price.  Plus no sealant was needed. Unfortunately the manufacturer quick making product.  
 

If you can find it anywhere, get it!

Joe

Peter

If you can make your own art - we can print the decals for you, including white which will give them the opacity you need to place them on painted models.

http://www.pdc.ca

We can usually print and ship within a day, with no minimum size or order.

Cheers!

Use white decal paper for white lettering

Saw this method on line. https://evandesigns.com/pages/adding-white-text
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I bought a 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of white decal paper on eBay to try it out.  

Cut the sheet into 4x5.5 pieces and used my printer to print steam loco lettering for my 2-8-0. Trimmed the decals very close which left a this white edge. Then I used a black sharpie to darken the white edge.  

Applied the decal, let dry then dulcoated it.  Looks great. 

You Can, But

contrast is a real problem. As is solubility. I've made OK decals in 1:160 for truck models, but the definition required for a lot of signs isn't there. Haven't tried dimensional data, and wouldn't care to, with an inkjet. Which is what I have. I see a decent laser printer runs about $700, which isn't bad, considering. And you can use it to make photo-etch masks. I can't speak to the operating costs. 

I think if I was going to make decals on a regular basis, I'd look at farming it out, or buying good equipment, and learning how to use it.. 

Plus 1 for Bill's decal

Plus 1 for Bill's decal printing services!!!

Decal paper for colour laser printers

Does anyone know of a source of decal paper for color laser printers please?

Michael Downunder

Making your own decals on an inkjet

I have made many inkjet decals, including over 30 locomotives.  I was never happy with the quality, but it was a quantity problem that drove the inkjet decision.  I came to regret it.  I moved to Bill's decal service when it was time to do a like number of cabooses.  The difference was remarkable.  Clarity of the edges, opacity and the thin film all worked to set a much higher standard.  I used minimal design services so I can't comment on that part.  I still use the decal paper I have for something simple, such as a small printed sign on a truck door, but will not be doing my own decals on the inkjet going forward for larger jobs.  I thought it was saving money, but in the end I was significantly compromising quality.  Bill's prices were more than reasonable.

laser decal paper

Hi Michael, you can get it on Ebay, just type in laser decal paper and you will see page after page of suppliers,

I bought mine a couple of years back in both clear and white and they turn out pretty good, I'm using a Brother Colour Laser printer.

Inkjet vs. Laser Decals

     I started making decals about 7 years ago. I started with an HP inkjet printer and PAINT.net and M/S WORD for graphics. I was pretty happy with the results but there were 3 major issues. First, I didn't like clear top coating the decal to prevent bleeding of the inkjet inks because it made the decal thicker, harder to soften with Micro Set/Sol and curled noticeably at the edges. Second, I model the Western Pacific who used almost exclusively white lettering on freight cars in the transition era and as we all know inkjets can't print in white. Last, since I am a prototype modeler I need to be able to reproduce lettering, numerals and heralds etc. just like the prototype and PAINT.net and WORD came up short. The first upgrade I made was with downloading an SVG(scalable vector graphics) program called INKSCAPE. This program gave me the tools I needed to get my graphics just right--and it's free! The big breakthrough came when after trolling the web for how to print in white(ALPS seemed on the downswing) I found a company from Germany called GHOST(no joke) that offers a white toner for almost all HP laser printers and many others. The HP printer was reasonable but the toner cartridges are expensive and the GHOST white toner is costs over twice as much as the HP toners although the laser toners last MUCH longer that inkjet cartridges and no clear top coating before application is required. I decided to make the investment and I've never looked back. I currently use Microscale decal trim films for my decals because they are very thin and nestles down onto detail very well. I don't like the lightness of their background paper because it makes the white decals hard to see. Another advantage of the HP laser printer is there is a setting for print density--very handy! Happy decaling!

Bill Kennedy

Decals making your own

I have a Epson  NX430 printer and have made numerous decals from this printer. The lettering is sharp however the only color I am not happy with is yellow. The ink in the cartridges has  resin mixed into the ink and this makes them waterproof. When I purchased this printer I read that the cartridges are sold with resin impregnated  ink making the decal waterproof. I cut all my decals on a sheet of glass using surgical knives, this gives the edges a clean sharp cut. After dipping the decal into luke warm water I have no trouble applying the decals onto the model. The lowest number i have used to make a decal is 4.  Another printer to use is ALPS which also gives excellence results.

Custom Decals

Tichy provides custom decals.  You provide the artwork and anything/color that fits on 8.5x11 sheet is $35 for the first sheet and $15 for additional sheets.  They are very high quality. Artwork needs to be done with Corel or other similar vector programs.

https://www.tichytraingroup.com/Portals/0/Instructions/CUSTOM%20DECALS.pdf?ver=2020-08-29-224643-307

If you need help with art work they charge $30/hour.  They will answer any questions you may have by just giving them a call.

Steve B.

Thank you I have found a

Thank you I have found a supplier in Sydney through ebay and will get some to try out. I also need a way of producing "ghost" signs for old buildings without having to sand off the back of normal A$ or similar paper