White decals

[2jerryl2]

I realize that if you are making decals that have any white in them on an ink jet printer you have to use white decal paper.  How would you go about printing an all white decal?  how could you tell where the edge is? or am I looking at it entirely wrong?   thanks

[jjdamnit]

Hello all,

Check out this thread:

http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/261296.aspx

Hope this helps.

 

[2jerryl2]

Like I said, I'm using an ink jet not a laser.

[7j43k]

What you do is print the color of the item you are going to put the decal on.  As a "negative".

So, if you want white lettering on a red car, you print red onto the white paper everywhere the lettering ISN'T.  And when you put the decal on the car, you get white lettering on red.

I know it works in theory.  In practice, I dunno.  I expect on a black car, it might work nicely.  Getting the color match is gonna be a problem, and I expect you'll be tossing out a lot of "not-quites".

 

Ed

[doctorwayne]

The sign on this structure is a homemade decal...

...although I can't recall if it was done on an inkjet or laser printer.  That doesn't really matter, though, as it was done on clear decal paper, with black used to fill-in what became the black "background".  The letters were left clear, and with the decal applied over an area on the structure which had been painted white, it gives the effect of white lettering on a black background.

This should be do-able on a freight car, too, as long as the area to be lettered doesn't have a lot of three-dimensional details which would make decal application difficult.  
On a boxcar, f'rinstance, one could leave the panels near the car's ends and the doors, with ladders and grabirons, etc. in the way, painted in the car's finished colour.
The normal lettering areas would be painted white, then a boxcar-coloured decal with all clear lettering could be applied over it.

You're on your own for matching printer colours to paint colours, though.  

Wayne

[RR_Mel]

If you are using text and want white lettering on black I use Word with black highlight and white font color.   I used that for lettering my steam locomotives and tenders for years before I acquired an Alps printer.

 

  Southern Pacific 

 

Other background colors can be generated in Paint the same way.

 

Mel

 

Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951

 

My Model Railroad   

http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

 

Bakersfield, California

 

I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.

 

[hon30critter]

jjdamnit

Check out this thread:

http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/261296.aspx

The thread jjdamnit refers to is definitely worth a read. Scroll down to hornblower's post on how to match the background colour to the colour of the model.

Dave

["JaBear"]

7j43k

I know it works in theory.  In practice, I dunno.  I expect on a black car, it might work nicely.

I find even on a black car getting the white lettering on the black to “blend” can be somewhat problematic, though to be fair, I need to follow Waynes advice to cut the decal as close to the lettering as possible.

 

Weathering can help, but then too much can be self-defeating.

 

 

Blaming big paws is not really an excuse either!!

Cheers, the Bear.

[SouthPenn]

You could outline the letters and then cut each letter out idividually along the outline.

Or buy sheets of white lettering from decal venders.

[doctorwayne]

I'm currently working on an order for custom decals from Rail Graphics.  If you need this type of white lettering, get your order in before Dec. 1st, 2017, as the owner is retiring.  

I was very pleased with my first order several years ago (in tribute to a deceased friend), and am ordering again with a need for lettering for my own roads.  They have several pre-set packages available, or you can supply your own camera-ready artwork, as I did, or tell them specifically what you want and have them do the art- and layout-work.
Here's a couple examples of those first sets (with dimensional data from Champ)...

The lettering is crisp and very opaque, and if you need to letter a number of cars, the prices are very reasonable.

Wayne

[Bayfield Transfer Railway]

The owner of Rail Graphics is indeed retiring, but in a phone conversation he said that there is definite interest from others in buying the business, so it is quite likely that RG will continue.

But yeah, order soon and give the original owner a nice little gift for retirement!

 

[bigpianoguy]

The vendor on e-Bay that sells ALPS printers also does custom work, about $25 for an A4 sheet. And Kaydee (yes, THAT Kaydee) also advertises as accepting custom orders.