How do I make my own decals?

[Anonymous]

I know that you can make your own decals with a computer and a high end printer, but I can't afford to buy a printer just to print a couple of sheets of decals.
My question is what software should I use to design the decals and then where can I go to have them printed?

Thanks in advance for any help.

John

[ndbprr]

Walthers sells decal paper designed for ink jet printers with two caveats:
1.Since inkjet printing is water soluble you need to seal them so they don't run when dipped in water
2. You can't print white. Alps makes a low end printer that will if you need white.
Other than that any printer will do but the greater the quality of the printer the greater the quality of the decal.

[Anonymous]

Try this site:

http://www.sound.net/~gcollins/GMCRail1.html

Gary is highly recommended on a number of internet forums (fora?). I have not used this service myself.

Andrew

[Anonymous]

Not to rain on anybody's parade, but making your own decals isn't as easy as the decal-paper websites would have you believe

I tried. First, the inkjet printer wouldn't print on the decal paper. It didn't want to soak in - just sat on the top and smeared. Bleagh.

When I finally found decal paper that I could print out on, there was the problem with no white. Either you print out on white paper, and then cut the decal VERY closely, or you take chances.

For example - to make gray, the printer will print dots of black close together on white paper - but still leave some white showing through to make the gray color.

Now, think if you want to print that on clear decal stock. No white to make the gray. Now, cut out that decal, and put in on a BN green diesel - instead of black and white making gray, you have black and BN green - making.... um... dark BN green :)

Also, when I was trying it, I found a problem in applying the decals. Using a decal setting solution, they did snuggle down over details. The problem is that inkjet inks don't stretch and flex like standard decal inks. I would get a split in the color where on the high points where the decal would flex, but the ink wouldn't.

IMO - it's more trouble than it's worth.

I'd recommend finding a service that will make decals - if you already have artwork on the computer, you're most of the way there.

Rob

[krump]

how much should you expect to pay for a few personalized decal sheets? when you have them made up.

[Anonymous]

For price, you would have to contact Gary at the link in my post above.

Andrew

[Anonymous]

You can always use the old fashion method of hand painting your design on wax paper and spraying it with clear varnish, that is how it was done before computers.

[Anonymous]

I had always been told, if you want it done right, use a laser printer. Stay away from inkjet printers.

As for actually doing them. Well.....can't help you out there. Sorry. I use a guy in our club for that :) hehehehe

Craig

[Anonymous]

Laser printers are wonderful things... except for color. Color lasers are VERY expensive, and have remained so.

Fact of the matter is, color laser technology has not come down in price. Color inkjets are almost given away to you when you buy a computer, and some of the BEST color inkjets are only $200 - $300. Color lasers are much more expensive.

Then only real reason for a color laser over an inkjet in our application is the inks being waterproof. And that's not a big selling point for 99.9% of the rest of the consumers...

If you only need black logos for decals - a laser would be a great way to go.

Rob

[preceng]

If you can make the artwork on your computer, try finding a print shop type store in your area. Check the yelow pages for a store that handles engineering/drafting reprographics. There are several ones in my area (ie. Print-O-Stat, Print King, etc. These stores can print from most types of files on a disk, to most types of media. Some even can print from e-mail files.

[Anonymous]

I make master sheets on my pc using Word. All my decals are printed in black and I have no logo. After printing the masters on my ink jet I take Walthers decal paper down to the local Staples store and they print them on a laser copier for around 25 cents apiece. I've had no problems with the ink running, cracking etc. I'm not sure if they have color laser copiers or not but you could check and if so take some examples to them and have them printed on plain paper.

[der5997]

Coming back to the "how it was done inthe days before computers" thought, there was another method that dealt with decals made from printed materials.
Essentially what this did was to coat a printed graphic with a product not unlike white glue that dries to a clear plastic film. The paper substrate is soaked in warm water and rubbed away, leaving the print on the plastic film. The decal is then glued onto the model with a thin application of the product. The sample I have had (untried ) for years is Patricia Nimocks "decal-it" trabsfer emulsion. It claims to turn any printed paper into a decal. Made by Connoisseur Studio Inc, An Enterprise Company, P.O. Box 7187 Loisville, Ky 40207 One of these days I'll get around to using it [:D]
Anyone used this? If so, how did you like it?

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by masonjar

Try this site:

http://www.sound.net/~gcollins/GMCRail1.html

Gary is highly recommended on a number of internet forums (fora?). I have not used this service myself.

Andrew

The link above doesn't seem to work. This one does.
http://www.kcnet.com/~gmcrail/gallery/FrameSet.htm

Hmm, my first try dropped out the link.

Wayne

[Fergmiester]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Muddy Creek

QUOTE: Originally posted by masonjar

Try this site:

http://www.sound.net/~gcollins/GMCRail1.html

Gary is highly recommended on a number of internet forums (fora?). I have not used this service myself.

Andrew

Gary is working on a set for me at this time. I went to great lengths to do my own decals only to find them transparent and unreadible when transfered to the side of a boxcar. Alps printers will do the job providing you put down white before the colour you want. Not a good situation.

Fergie

[Anonymous]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned that Testors offers a do it yourself decal kit for around $5.00 that is for use with ink jet printers. It comes with two half sheets of decal paper, one clear and one white, a small can of spray fixative and a mini CD with designs. Since the kit appears to be marketed to car modelers, the CD is supposed to include flames, stripes and the like (I didn't bother to look at mine).

The system more seems to work. My first attempt was for black lettering and a logo, and it more or less worked. After several applications of Solvaset to get the decals to snuggle down, there was some bleeding of the black ink. It appears that the Solvaset, which is a mild acid, ate through the sprayed on fixative. Perhaps a second coating would have helped. The decals weren't badly damaged, and the lettering just looks like it has been weathered a bit. I doubt if the kit would be useful for yellow or other lighter colors.

My second attempt was for a small green and black logo on a white background, it seemed to work OK. I'll probably use the kit again in the future. Testors also offers separate packages of the decal paper for the same price as the kit. I bought mine at the local Wal-Mart, in the plastic model section.

Also referring to color laser printers, I had some color logos printed this way several years ago. The logo needed a white background, so I had the printing done on white decal paper. I first printed the logos on a piece of high quality paper and had the decal printing done on a color photocopier. These too seemed to work out OK. [:D]

A little effort and experimenting can go a long way!

Bob Boudreau

[Anonymous]

I have used the testors decal set. I ran the paper thru a epson 740 printer which is a inkjet.

I got the decals to come out the way I created them, but new problem with the spray. You would spray it wait a day to dry then transfer onto the car. There is no way to hide the decal paper and also all the problems with highpoints, ink running, blotchy clear decal material... bleah.

I am slowly assembling a custom document to create one sheet of 8x11 worth of decals then I may hire a service to create them for me. Microscale is my favorite decal maker for HO trains but are a bit too expensive.

[Anonymous]

Thats a good question that I would like to know. I use press on letters on some models

[cjcrescent]

ndbprr;
That low end ALPS printer you mentioned as being able to print white is currently unavailable. The company stopped making it. There are other ALPS printers that can be used but like a laser printer, not cheap. There are some ALPS printers always for sale on E-bay, but they generally are demanding a premium price, often times higher than when they were new.

[ericsp]

QUOTE: Originally posted by FundyNorthern

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned that Testors offers a do it yourself decal kit for around $5.00 that is for use with ink jet printers. It comes with two half sheets of decal paper, one clear and one white, a small can of spray fixative and a mini CD with designs. Since the kit appears to be marketed to car modelers, the CD is supposed to include flames, stripes and the like (I didn't bother to look at mine).

The system more seems to work. My first attempt was for black lettering and a logo, and it more or less worked. After several applications of Solvaset to get the decals to snuggle down, there was some bleeding of the black ink. It appears that the Solvaset, which is a mild acid, ate through the sprayed on fixative. Perhaps a second coating would have helped. The decals weren't badly damaged, and the lettering just looks like it has been weathered a bit. I doubt if the kit would be useful for yellow or other lighter colors.

The decal kit is probably designed to work with Testor's decal setting solution. If you try this again, I would recommend using that.

http://www.walthers.com/exec/search?category=&scale=&manu=704&item=&keywords=decal&instock=Q&split=30&Submit=Search

[Anonymous]

Here is the decal paper I use: http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Department&ID=106

Hit it up with about 5 coats of clear sealent when it is dry and it works great. I then use a dull coat over the top and it sinks everything down and hides the edges. Then weathering further disguises them. I've had great success with this method.
I've made some really cool old painted signs on downtown buildings using clear spray and preweathering white painted backgrounds, then applying decals. If I wasn't currently away from my layout, I'd take some pictures.