I'd like to learn more about this myself, O Gauge decals seem to be pretty tough to find nowadays, unless you're doing restorations and not custom jobs.
I WOULD like to put something more interesting on my tenders than "Lionel Lines".
I've used inkjet decal film with varying degrees of success. On my first attempt, I used the white film in an HP printer. I used the sealer, but the HP ink wasn't colorfast. My second attempt went flawlessly. Granted, I was only making a few black letter decals, but the ink didn't run and that's the biggest issue. I used "Experts-Choice" No 121 clear decal film by Bare-Metal Foil Co. and Testor's 9200 Decal Bonder and a Cannon Pixma Inkjet printer. No runs, smudges or bleeding. So, it seems that a few years of inkjet evolution made the difference.
Another option for custom lettering is to use dry transfers. This can be a bit tricky as I've noticed the transfer sheets tend to slide out of alignment while you're burnishing. It's a good idea to secure the transfers one letter at a time to keep from accidentally rubbing off letters you don't want from elsewhere on the sheet.
A third option I had some success with is to paint the shell white (or whatever color you want the letters to be) then apply peel and stick letters where you want them. Then you paint the car the final color and peel off the letters after the paint dries revealing the white painted letters from the layer below.
The fourth trick, the one I use most often, is to use the time honored method of paper labeling. Just use plain paper instead of labels and white glue for installation. I use this more often than other methods because it's completely and easily removable. The paper is also more flexible than labels so you can blend it around rivets or other details more easily.
Becky
Trains, trains, wonderful trains. The more you get, the more you toot!
Thanks for the advice Becky! One of these days I'm going to have to break down and buy a printer, it'll probably open up a whole new world for me.
I've got some dry transfer sheets. I'm trying to work up the nerve to do "Susquehanna" on a tender one letter at a time. "N.Y.O.&W." would probably be a lot easier on the nerves.
If you are doing a lot of the same thing, over and over, you can get custom rubber stamps made for your insignia. That is in fact how much of the lettering was applied to the original rolling stock in the factory. I haven't actually tried the technique myself, but from others who have posted about the process I understand that getting good results requires a lot of practice before you move on to production.
I have figured out what is wrong with my brain! On the left side nothing works right, and on the right side there is nothing left!
Do you know where one could get a stamp made? I also was wondering if anyone knew if a company like Woodland Scenics would be able to print off a whole sheet of just one letter. I get a whole sheet of dry transfer letters and only end up using 4 of the letters. Thank you all for the ideas. I do have an insignia that I want to reproduce and it is just lettering. Sometimes it can be difficult to always get them lined up perfectly, but a stamp would be great.
For Flyer guys there is always Port Lines Hobby: http://www.portlines.com/stamps.htm
For Lionel: http://www.jlmtrains.com/rubber_stamps.htm
There are plenty of custom stamp places on the Internet, they tend to produce the kinds of stamps used for business and mailing, not sure how that would work for your purpose.
Office supply stores like Staples make custom rubber stamps, you could try them. Also, whenever I see rubber stamps on Ebay for train use, they often include Speedball brand ink. Speedball ink is commonly used for screen printing.
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