I have some blank decal paper lying around and was thinking of making some patch out decals.
My question is What pixel size should the patch out on the ends of the car and the patch out on the sides of the car should be.
The 'point' size of lettering varies from railroad to railroad. And the actual 'font' also varies. The basic set of fonts(or more correctly, the 'typeface') included with your typical 'Windows' computer usually is limited to l vertical size of 8 points in character height. There are 72 'points' in an inch. You can download a lot of free 'trutype' fonts over the Internet. Here are some typical fonts you can try:
ARIAL ARIAL
HELVETICA HELVETICA
IMPACT IMPACT
TAHOMA TAHOMA
VERDANA VERDANA
The above example are from the limited set available on this forum. Using something like MS-WORD, you can access the full range of fonts available on your computer. Most fonts can be scaled down to about 8 points high. Another good one to use is one called 'STENCIL'. You can also copy your 'artwork' to something like MS-PAINT and 'shrink' the image down even further.
Now, the 'Bad News' - Most printers cannot print 'White' - the most common railroad color for reporting marks. You can print the background with a color similar to your freight car, and the actual lettering in 'clear'. The cut a small strip of white decal stock and place it 'under' the patch dcal you made to get white lettering - a lot of work! If course you can print black lettering like on most covered hoppers, and yellow or deluxe like on ULTX tank cars. If you are using an inkjet printer, you may need special decal paper and a 'fixative' to seal the decal bbefore you soak & apply it.
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
I use the Testors "Decal System" for inkjet printers, with sheets that are half the size of a standard 'letter'-sized piece of paper, and spray-on bonder solution.
Jim already mentioned how inkjet printers are unable to print light-color decals on a dark background, because their inks are transparent. I've gotten around that problem by using Testors' white decal paper, printing the dark background color over the white. I've had some moderate success with this approach, but it takes a large amount of trial-and-error experimentation to get a near-perfect match on the background color.
In the photo below, I did the yellow road number digits on the cab by using the above technique:
-Ken in Maryland (B&O modeler, former CSX modeler)
http://www.railfonts.com/Info/catalog.pdf
I found this when looking for a Chesapeake and Ohio script font for my decals.
I would not use HP Inkjets without some sort of overcoat spray. Their inks run as soon as they hit water.
Epson doesn't seem to have a problem in thie reguard. Neither do color Laser printers. (But the colors tend not be be as vibrant and kind of waxy looking (Perfect for older posters with a lil sanding!))
Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions
Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!
well my entire plan was to make patch-out decals in black and white on Photoshop, so thanks for the tips, looks like I'll maybe either make black on yellow or grey and black patchouts now.
I have produced quite good results using Evan Designs HobbyCal decal paper. This white background decal paper can be used to make white lettering on color background decals. The white background is opaque enough that I usually don't have to use white paint or decal film under the decal. As was stated above, it does take some trial and error experimentation to get the right background color match. I do this by printing a row of small color swatch squares along one edge of a sheet of decal paper. I try to match the background color to my computer screen, then place that color in the center color swatch. I then assign successively darker shades of that color to the swatches left of center and lighter shades to the right of center. Make your changes subtle so that you don't jump over the desired shade. Print your test swatches on the actual decal paper (it will take color differently that normal printer paper). Match your model's color to the sample swatches and select the best match. Save that color and label it for whatever brand and road name the model represents so you can use it again for similar models.
Now that you have your color match, go ahead and design your decals using the saved background color and "white" lettering (the printer can't print white so it prints nothing over the white decal paper). I like to oversize the backgrounds a little bit so I can trim the decal edges to match a full panel on the model as this makes it easier to hide the decal edges. Any remaining color mismatch can usually be blended into the original paint color using a little weathering.
I prefer the Evan Designs decal paper for several reasons. First it comes in full 8 1/2" by 11" sheets. Second, this decal paper is designed to fully absorb the printer ink so it does not need to be sealed. The only decal I have ever managed to smear with this paper was one I couldn't get positioned right and only after several applications of Solvaset and repeatedly pushing the decal around did the ink finally smear, slightly. If you do seal over this decal paper, keep in mind that you must use an acrylic clear if you want the background to remain white (that goes for ALL successive clear coats, too). Using a solvent based clear coat will turn the white background clear permanently (good if you actually need a clear background). This means you only need to buy one type of decal paper and both white and clear background decals can be made on the same sheet of decal paper. Carefully brush applying a little solvent based clear to the perimeter edges of your white lettering decals will also help hide any white background showing around the decal edges.
Hornblower
DavidH66 well my entire plan was to make patch-out decals in black and white on Photoshop
well my entire plan was to make patch-out decals in black and white on Photoshop
When you make your file, set it to 96 DPI.
300 DPI is the best, but for the size, 96 DPI will ensure a clear enough curve to lettering.
It is really too bad that ALPS stopped production of their micro-dry range of printers. For those that don't know, they used resin inks applied by heat to paper, and featured white, gold and silver in both foil and metallics, and the usual Cyan, Magenta and Black. You can still get supplies but they are much more expensive when they were first introduced and the clock on those is ticking away...
Two seasons in my Canada, Modelling and Paintball.
Using something like MS-WORD, you can access the full range of fonts available on your computer. Most fonts can be scaled down to about 8 points high.
Actually in word and most other programs the fonts can be sized down to 1 by simply highliting the font size box and changing the number. If you use a drawing progam such as Corel Draw or illustrator you can size them out to two decinal places.
I make my own decals for my Golden State Railroad as well as for my Bailey Steel equipment. I am in N scale and use the Arial font,. 10 point for the locomotive numbers, 4 point for number boards. The herald is a multi color JPG file that I created. I print them on my inkjet printer.
DavidH66looks like I'll maybe either make black on yellow or grey and black patchouts now.
You need to use white decal paper in order to get gray. Printers don't print gray. They print a little bit of black onto a white background. If you try printing gray onto a clear background, it's not going to look gray when you put it over a painted background.
Steve S