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Cannon or Epson printer

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Cannon or Epson printer
Posted by fourt on Tuesday, January 17, 2017 2:53 AM

 Need to buy new ink for my Epson printer, Almost cheaper to buy a new one. Printed up some decals on my dads Cannon printer, the ink stuck better to the decal paper than the Epson printers that i had used in the past. So which printer brand is better for doing decals?

Modeling on the cheap

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Posted by "JaBear" on Tuesday, January 17, 2017 4:06 AM
I haven’t printed any decals since my old Epson went and munched itself, but I was very pleased with the previous results. However, if you’ve got better results from your Dads Cannon; well it should be fairly obvious what’s best for you!Smile, Wink & Grin
 
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Posted by cowman on Tuesday, January 17, 2017 8:50 AM

Bought a new HP recently.  When I talked to the sales person they said HP most economical on ink if you do a lot of printing (it's primary use).  Cannon was recommended for photo quality. If I remember right, Epson was sort of in the middle. Got mine at Staples, they were very helpful.  Check with your dealer and see which they would recommend for decals.

There was another post not long ago on a new purchase.  For the same price I paid for the HP there was a Cannon which took individual color cartridges, saves throwing away color ink when one color runs out.  Those multi color things are expensive.

Good luck,

Richard

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Posted by BroadwayLion on Tuesday, January 17, 2017 9:06 AM

LIONS use LASER printers. While more expensive to buy than the cheap ones, and the cost of cartridges notwithstanding the Council of Felids declares the Color Laser Printers to be better and cheaper in the long run than inkyjets. (Sorry Octopuss).

 

ROAR

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Here there be cats.                                LIONS with CAMERAS

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Posted by RR_Mel on Tuesday, January 17, 2017 9:31 AM

I have several printers, three HPs, one Lexmark and an Alps MD.  As far as Ink Jet printers go manufacturer’s ink cartridges do well for me, refilled cartridges are like flipping a coin for printing decals.  About the only thing an ink refill is good for is printing on paper and even then colors are up for grabs.
 
My grandson has an Epson XP and my daughter has a Canon MG and I can’t see any difference between in either of them for printing decals, both work very well.
 
From my experience in printing decals with Ink Jets the higher the resolution the worse the ink adheres to decal paper.  My HP 7960 has excellent photo print quality but prints better at low resolution on decal paper, 600 dpi works the best, 1200 dpi is far better than 2400 dpi and at 4800 dpi the ink bleeds between colors.  The problem seems to be the decal paper, decal paper print quality varies between brands.  Kodak Photo paper works great at 4800 dpi.
 
I bought my Alps for printing white and metallic color decals, I rarely print full color decals on my Alps because of the higher ink costs.  It’s now up to $25 and higher per color and the ink doesn’t get much mileage either, about 25% of a standard Ink Jet cartridge.
 
The Laser printers have really come down in price, like Lion says they are far better than Ink Jet printers for decals.
 
 
 
Mel
 
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Posted by MisterBeasley on Tuesday, January 17, 2017 10:18 AM

I replaced my old HP 722C inkjet with a Canon.  I think the Canon produces better decals, but I'm also using different paper because I could no longer get the same paper.  The first Canon died after a couple of years.  From looking online, a lot of people had the same problem with that model.  I now have another Canon and it works well, but I haven't been printing a lot of decals.  I get my paper from Decal Paper dot com and I've ordered from OfficeSaints dot com for replacement ink cartridges with good results.  They're much cheaper.

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Posted by Lone Wolf and Santa Fe on Tuesday, January 17, 2017 12:46 PM

A laser printer is the best for printing decals. If you use a laser printer the heat seals the ink to the decal. You do not need to spray on any kind of finish. Ink last a lot longer in laser printers but they cost more and the printer slower.
HP printers have five ink cartridges for colors plus black so you don’t waste ink.
I would recommend a HP color laser printer.

Modeling a fictional version of California set in the 1990s Lone Wolf and Santa Fe Railroad
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Posted by carl425 on Tuesday, January 17, 2017 12:51 PM

I have not done this but I always heard that dye sublimation printers made the best decals.  Is that no longer the case?

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Posted by G Paine on Tuesday, January 17, 2017 5:30 PM

fourt
Need to buy new ink for my Epson printer, Almost cheaper to buy a new one.

Companies that make printers make their money from selling the ink or toner. I even wonder if they make a profit on selling the printers.

 

George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch 

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Posted by cedarwoodron on Tuesday, January 17, 2017 6:15 PM

See my recent post regarding my experience with my new Canon Pixma MX922 printer, written several days ago last week.

I will be posting images of my most recent box car project in the gallery next week with Canon-printed decal work.

Cedarwoodron

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Posted by joe323 on Tuesday, January 17, 2017 6:27 PM

I avoid printing as much as possible by using PDFs as much as possible in the office and at home.  So mich so that the printer companies would be out of business if they were dependent on me. My HP is fine for the few decals I print.

Joe Staten Island West 

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Posted by G Paine on Tuesday, January 17, 2017 11:08 PM

One thing I have found with my Epson 3 in 1 model XP-610 is the paper feed is not as good as my previous Epson printer for doing decals and photo paper. The old one had a paper feed from the back and was straight through the machine. The new one has a paper tray under the printer. The paper feeds to the back, makes a 180 degree turn up and to the front before getting to the print head.

I print decals and signs by cutting a piece of decal or photo paper and tape it to plain paper to run through the printer. It uses up the scrap pieces. with the old one I had no problems. With that turn around feed on the new one, I often get ink smearing on the printed surface which ruins the print. This even happens with full sheets of photo paper, which is stiffer than plain paper.

If you plan to do a lot of decals and such, you may want to look for a printer that has a straight through feed.

George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch 

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Posted by fourt on Wednesday, January 18, 2017 12:45 AM

 Did have a little probelm with my dads cannon not sure what model i forgot, the printer in tray was on the bottom and had some probelm picking up the sheet, also it printed on the bottom of the paper weird.

 Did once a couple years ago printed with a laser printer a hp i belive, the ink/toner did not want to stick to the decal paper.

 Can i just replace the black ink on mine and will it work without the othere colors? 

lol never mind google search says you cant do that as it will not work 99% of the time. Even if you tell it to just print in black.

Btw the decal i used is the testers brand that i got at hobby lobby.

 One thing i noticed with the cannon printer is that on the larger sized printing like the R from the The Rock, the ink did not cover all the way, kinda a spotty look or maybe cracking? not sure how to discribe it.

 

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Posted by NVSRR on Wednesday, January 18, 2017 7:05 AM

The type of decal paper.makes a difference too.  I find some.work really good.and.others not at all.  Depending.on the printer used.      Wish I alps were still around.  

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Posted by BroadwayLion on Wednesday, January 18, 2017 8:34 AM

fourt
Can i just replace the black ink on mine and will it work without the othere colors?

 

Depends on the brand of printer, and its settings.

ROAR

The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.

Here there be cats.                                LIONS with CAMERAS

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Posted by Lone Wolf and Santa Fe on Wednesday, January 18, 2017 9:21 AM

fourt
Did once a couple years ago printed with a laser printer a hp i belive, the ink/toner did not want to stick to the decal paper.

The decal paper for laser printers is different than the paper for ink jet printers. You have to match the type of paper with the printer. Laser printing on laser decal paper won't come off. It has become part of the paper, which is why it is the best choice.

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Posted by G Paine on Wednesday, January 18, 2017 10:14 AM

fourt
Can i just replace the black ink on mine and will it work without the othere colors?

I have owned 3 color printers, 1 HP and 2 Epson. In all of these cases, when an ink cartrige runs dry, the printer stops and will not run until a replacement is installed.

George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch 

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