Do it yourself decals

[ysi_maniac]

I have an HP inkjet.
Can I print my own designed decals?
A laser printer is mandatory?
Is it possible to buy blank/clear decal sheet in the Internet?
URLs?

Thanks, in advance,
Carlos.
 

[GeorgeC]

I have in my hand a A4-ish (US equivalent size) white decal film sheet by the Bare-metal Foil Co

click

for inkjet printers, purchased from Hannants in the UK.  Not had the courage to try it yet

[ysi_maniac]

I found this:
Model Decal Instructions

The main use of this paper is for creating transfer decals for various model trains, planes, cars, etc. that will be placed on plastic or painted/unpainted wood, cardboard surfaces, ceramic, glass, enamel, metal plus various other surfaces.

Create your own model decals for railroad names, stripes, logos, stained glass windows, road racing emblems, aircraft and military markings, signs, and limitless other custom artworks. Copy any pre-printed design or create your own artwork with ink and paper or a computer drawing program. Duplicate your drawing onto the blank, water-slide decal paper using an office copier, laser printer, alps printer, or ink jet printer. For color copies, take the original artwork/drawing and water-slide, model decal paper to your local copy center. This works like any water decal. Simply cut out the decal (printed/copied image), dip in water, and slide it into place. You can use clear decal paper for most lettering. Use white decal paper when white is your background color. (Please note, copiers and printers do NOT print white except for the ALPS 5000 printer*). Each sheet of model decal paper is 8-1/2" x 11".

If you are using ALPS and printing white with your printer then we suggest our blue decal paper (with clear coat) so that the white print will be easier to see on Blue than on white paper.

*The Alps MD-5000 ink-jet printer is compatible with our blank water-slide decal paper; it utilizes dry ink to print single colors or multiple combinations of white, gold, silver and many other colors. However, if you do not have an ALPS printer, you can use our "white" paper that may be used for all artworks that have a white color background.

Creating your own Custom Decals has now become easier than ever to do. All you need is a computer and a laser printer. The only task remaining is the preparation of the artwork.

Creating decals is fun and easy and you can do it using the word processing software already installed on your computer. Once you have the artwork prepared on the computer, you just print it out onto the decal paper.If you really want perfection or precision, then perhaps you would benefit from for example, an illustration software program that will enable you to match (exactly) prototype lettering.

White Lettering/White artwork/White Paper:

In order to print the color "white" successfully you will either require an Alps printer which has the ability to print opaque white, or our high performance WHITE DECAL PAPER. If you do not have an Alps printer, then you may order our white decal paper which is especially made for artwork that has white in it. If you do not own an Alps laser printer, you are not completely out of luck. Now you can use our BEL INC white decal paper and get the same excellent results for all of your artworks that include the color white. You may place your order on our online shopping cart now!

Software:

You can choose to use any of the following software for your custom decal creations. Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia Freehand, Deneba Canvas, or CorelDRAW. There are some simpler drawing programs that pack fewer widgets at a lower cost. Some of these come pre-installed on Apple iMacs and many consumer-oriented PCs.

Raster vs. Vector:

Graphic programs are either raster or vector. Raster art is made from a matrix of colored dots, like what you get from a desktop scanner, painting program, or digital camera. Vector art is a collection of data describing the art, like the coordinates of a line's endpoints or the size, font, and location of any text. Raster files are larger than vector files and take longer to print and often lose some clarity when enlarged. It is suggested to use raster art in bitmap or line art mode, where only black and white is used. If your artwork has multiple colors, you will need to create a separate piece of art for each color. If you want to create water slide decal transfers for more complex, full color art, you can scan it and print it onto blank water-slide decal paper.

Coated Paper:

This decal paper is ready to use with your laser printer, color copier, alps printer, or ink jet printer. It already has the soft decal film coated paper. This water-slide transfer paper is already pre coated with our state-of-the-art clear decal material that is soft yet extremely durable.

Our laser paper is specially formulated for use with laser printers like the ALPS printers and many others.Our paper can also be used with several late model personal copiers and laser printers.

BEL INC's water-slide decal paper has been used by hundreds of hobbyists and model creators over the past decade. BEL INC provides this paper to most of Americas' largest water-slide decal printing companies. Our high quality model decal paper product has been tested and approved by some of the most well known (and critical) model decal illustrators. The overall performance and end results of our paper are superior to those of any other decal paper supplier. BEL INC water-slide model decal paper will open doors and allow you to maximize on your creativity.

How to Use:

Print onto our model paper using your laser printer (dye sublimation printer) or ink jet printer the way you would any printer paper. Cut out the image and soak the decal in water for 5-10 seconds, then place the entire decal on the model for 30-60 seconds. Slide the film off the backing (discard the backing paper) and position the film where you want it on your surface (model plane, train, car, toy, wood, plastic, cardboard, wax candle, ceramic, glass, porcelain, CD's, computer mouse, etc.). Add water to the surface if you need it. Pat the Decal dry. Decals may be coated with a gloss coat or a flat finish to seal the surface.

[Jennings]

<<<<<KEEP IN MIND>>>>>

You *can* make decals with an inkjet printer, HOWEVER, inkjet inks (at least the desktop type printers) use inks that are *highly* susceptible to UV light.  Don't make home made decals for a model that you're going to treasure forever.  Unless you keep it in a hermetically sealed, light proof vessel, they *will* color shift, if not completely fade away to nothingness in a relatively short period of time.  It's already happened to people I know.

J

[gooberliberation]

Also, avoid using custom decals for irregular surfaces or any application that would normally require using a solvent/setting solution to get decals to stick. Using that stuff will blur the design printed on and leave a chunky mess because the carrier film is comparatively thick.

[ysi_maniac]

Very interesting point      
I will try to check solubility of this ink in white spirit and in alcohol. To check your point could take years. So I have to believe you.  

[kitnut617]

I bought the Testors decal kit which is specifically for inkjets.  I've not tried any coloured decals but I have done a number of black serial numbers for some of my what-ifs and prototypes.

The decals end up a bit thick but they do bed down nicely.  Once you have printed the decal you have to spray this sealer over the decal.  It comes in the kit along with a CD on how-to-do instructions.

Robert

[ysi_maniac]

I bought the Testors decal kit which is specifically for inkjets.  I've not tried any coloured decals but I have done a number of black serial numbers for some of my what-ifs and prototypes.

The decals end up a bit thick but they do bed down nicely.  Once you have printed the decal you have to spray this sealer over the decal.  It comes in the kit along with a CD on how-to-do instructions.

Robert

Thanks a lot. If you think it was OK, I will try this. So:

What does the Testors kit has?
What kind/brand of decal sheet did you use?
Is it possible to get them in Internet?
Please give me full details.

Thanks in advance    

[kitnut617]

Thanks a lot. If you think it was OK, I will try this. So:

What does the Testors kit has?
What kind/brand of decal sheet did you use?
Is it possible to get them in Internet?
Please give me full details.

Thanks in advance  

Great Models Webstore has it in stock.  Do a search for TES9198, this will bring up the kit.  They have the seperate paper available

Squadron has paper too.  Check out numbers TES9200, 9201 and 9203

Robert

[ysi_maniac]

Thanks a lot. If you think it was OK, I will try this. So:

What does the Testors kit has?
What kind/brand of decal sheet did you use?
Is it possible to get them in Internet?
Please give me full details.

Thanks in advance  

Great Models Webstore has it in stock.  Do a search for TES9198, this will bring up the kit.  They have the seperate paper available

Squadron has paper too.  Check out numbers TES9200, 9201 and 9203

Robert

I have just ordered this from greatmodels

TES9198   TES9198 Custom Decal System Download   1   $6.95   $6.95
TES9203   TES9203 Decal Paper Assortment   1   $5.95   $5.95

Is this OK?

Thanks a lot again.