Making own decals

[KSaarni]

Hi all,

Decaling seems to be a "topic" now,

either indirectly; Lyle and his Dell color laserprinter
or
directly; Handiabled with P-47 decals instead of 109:s...

So, has anyone printed own decals with laser/inkjet? Easy/difficult, good/bad, worth it/forget it... etc etc

- Kari

[LyleW]

I picked up the Testor's decal kit for inkjets at a local store, Hobby Lobby. Printed some things, just to try it out. I think it printed fine, I sealed it with a clear acrylic. Looked ok to me. when I cut them out and dipped them, they softened right up. Feeling pretty cocky at that point. Stuck them on a scrap piece of sheet styrene. There was no adhesion to speak of. after things dried, they fell right off.

I don't know if it was due to too much sealer affecting the glue, old decal stock, or what. . . my ineptitude. Who knows. I'll try them again with the laser printer and see. It is supposed to work fine on InkJet stock.

[KSaarni]

Thanks Lyle!

Hmm, that does not sound so good.. Like glue is missing or so..

I have been watching ( in other words, mouse pointer hovering over the "order-button") for Bare Metal Foils decal paper.
But 8 euros (~11 $) feels however a little bit too much for 3 A4:s ..

intrigued though to test also...

- Kari

[Ninetalis]

Thanks Lyle!

Hmm, that does not sound so good.. Like glue is missing or so..

I have been watching ( in other words, mouse pointer hovering over the "order-button") for Bare Metal Foils decal paper.
But 8 euros (~11 $) feels however a little bit too much for 3 A4:s ..

intrigued though to test also...

- Kari

Kari, there is somebody at our IPMS club who prints his own decals, you should ask him.
I'm thinking on buying some decal sheet printing paper on one of my next conventions as well, so I can tell you how that one turns out then.

With regards, Ninetalis.

[scorpiomikey]

Ive got the testors stuff, but ive never tried it. I was going to use it on my racer for a different forum, but then said forum canned 48 scale stuff and went exclusive 32nd and above.
So i have yet to try it, i got the proper testors decal sealant that goes with it, so that might make a difference.

[LyleW]

Kari, you should give it a try. On FSM, there is a lot of discussion about that. Don Stauffer does a fair amount, and had written an article for their mag. He uses inkjet stock. I am leaning to it being an ID10T error.

SM- that may be a clue, too. I had bought some Krylon clear acrylic.

I'd like to get some other folk's feedback, though.

[KSaarni]

Alright, I will give it a try.. I ordered one set of Bare Metal Foils decal paper... will be interesting to see / test

- Kari

[LyleW]

You are a good man, Kari! Willing to take one for the team.....

Guess what showed up today? The color laser printer. I ordered it Saturday morning. It is here today with free shipping. Wow! Looks like a "NICE" little printer. not very big, not a huge paper capacity, but enough. Setup was a breeze. Plug it in, turn it on, put in the CD and run set up. Can't get much simpler than that. I plan on using it for any printing that needs to somewhat resistant to water or moisture. I still have the HP All-in-One Office Jet. That is a nice inkjet printer, as well. Since I'm retiring in 3 months, have to get things whilst I have a few bucks.

[KSaarni]

Congratulations Lyle for your new Laserprinter!

I had hoped to receive my decal paper before weekend, but nope, still to be delivered. But it's on its way at least (based on the tracking number).
But unfortunately. testing will be only next weekend (travelling again the entire workweek )

- Kari

[KSaarni]

Finally got the decaling paper:
1 set of white decal film and 1 set of clear decal film.

Will be interesting to test!



- Kari