Ho hum, need more decal printing advice.

[The Rat]

Still not getting good results. Epson printertestors decal paper, printer settings are plain paper, standard quality.

When the initial print came out, it looked okay. Not perfect, but usable. But after a minute or so the edges of the printed sections began to spread out, leaving fuzzy edges to the markings, totally unusable. I presume that higher quality settings would deposit more ink, which would only make the problem worse.

Is there something that I could spray on the paper, before printing, that might stop the ink from spreading?

[PR19_Kit]

I've never had to do anything like that, but I've never had that problem either.

There's so many different combinations of printer and paper that it's difficult to give any advice unless we've got exactly the same combination as you have. I've found that different models of printer from the same manufacturer can give differing results too, just to make it more complex than it is already.

And I always use the highest quality settings at the slowest possible speed to print the final decal, and that's after doing the opposite on a check print to ensure the colours are correct and that the decals are the correct size.

[The Rat]

I've never had to do anything like that, but I've never had that problem either.

There's so many different combinations of printer and paper that it's difficult to give any advice unless we've got exactly the same combination as you have. I've found that different models of printer from the same manufacturer can give differing results too, just to make it more complex than it is already.

And I always use the highest quality settings at the slowest possible speed to print the final decal, and that's after doing the opposite on a check print to ensure the colours are correct and that the decals are the correct size.

Agree. When it comes to printer brands, it's the old story of 'some swear by them, others swear at them.' "My Epson was nothing but trouble, so I went to an HP!" Reverse the brands, and you'll probably find an equal number of statements in a web search.

I'm off to the local office supply store to buy some half-letter size notepads, they're cheaper to do a test on than using up decal paper. It won't show the spreading, but it will let me check for colour and detail.

[Old Wombat]

I don't want to sound like I'm being facetious, because I'm not, but ... Are you using the right type of paper* for your printer?




[*: inkjet decal paper vs laser decal paper]

[zenrat]

I don't want to sound like I'm being facetious, because I'm not, but ... Are you using the right type of paper* for your printer?




[*: inkjet decal paper vs laser decal paper]

That was going to be my question.

Also, I set my printer on the glossy photo paper setting (it doesn't have one for decal paper).  Try that.  The plain paper setting will be designed for paper with some level of absorbency which decal paper does not have.

[Dizzyfugu]

I'd also suggest to experiment with the paper quality settings. From my experience and my local setep (a 4C HP ink jet printer and Experts's Choice decal paper) I get the best results with the standard settings. I tried higher print density as well as photo and "special" paper, but esp. the latter would tend to "bleed" and ruin the print when I protect it with (only!) a hush of gloss acrylic varnish. It's always a compromise, and probably a very individual one. 

[The Rat]

I'd also suggest to experiment with the paper quality settings. From my experience and my local setep (a 4C HP ink jet printer and Experts's Choice decal paper) I get the best results with the standard settings. I tried higher print density as well as photo and "special" paper, but esp. the latter would tend to "bleed" and ruin the print when I protect it with (only!) a hush of gloss acrylic varnish. It's always a compromise, and probably a very individual one. 

I did some tests with all the settings that the printer has, best result was with 'Plain Paper/Bright White Paper', quality 'High'. Best resolution so far, no discernible bleeding, but it printed darker than the others. Lightened some of the stuff, and just went with it on the final print. Some of the results can be seen on the model at A Whiff of Rebellion  The test will really be on Chilean Spitfire, the decals for that were printed on the same sheet. The solid red areas beaded up a bit, but there was no edge bleeding. The solid blue areas for the fin flash have weird white striping on them, but they're faint so I may be able to get away with it, or put something into the pack of lies backstory.

[Dizzyfugu]

Good luck!

[zenrat]

White striping can indicate print head misalignment.
There should be a clean and/or check routine in your printer settings.

While in the settings have a look to see if you have a "thick paper" setting.  I do and I find it helps prevent ink being tracked down the print.