All,
Thanks for the interesting discussion. It sounds like the safest answer is to go with one of the custom decal printers.
Best to all,Larry
danmerkel wvg_ca OR using a white paper with lighter ink, say yellow or white, and printing the desired background in a close as possible color to the donor rolling stock ... I've tried that a couple of times but the background color seemed to simply flake off. :( dlm
wvg_ca OR using a white paper with lighter ink, say yellow or white, and printing the desired background in a close as possible color to the donor rolling stock ...
I've tried that a couple of times but the background color seemed to simply flake off. :(
dlm
Did you allow the decals to dry properly and then seal them with a bonding spray? This is essential. Testor's makes such a spray and I believe Krylon also makes something similar.
wvg_ca first of all, there are two common but different types of paper, one for laser printers, and one for inkjet printers .. this is because they use different methods for getting the ink to stick .. best results are obtained either with using a dark or black ink on clear paper, for lighter rolling stock ..OR using a white paper with lighter ink, say yellow or white, and printing the desired background in a close as possible color to the donor rolling stock ... say in the case of yellow letters for a locomotive ..
first of all, there are two common but different types of paper, one for laser printers, and one for inkjet printers .. this is because they use different methods for getting the ink to stick ..
best results are obtained either with using a dark or black ink on clear paper, for lighter rolling stock ..OR using a white paper with lighter ink, say yellow or white, and printing the desired background in a close as possible color to the donor rolling stock ... say in the case of yellow letters for a locomotive ..
I agree completely. For example, I needed gold lettering for my Pullman Green passenger cars. I first tried the gold lettering on clear paper but the green of the car body showed through the gold lettering making it almost disappear. I redid it on white decal paper and created gold lettering on a background as close as I could get to the Pullman Green cars. It took several trial and error experiments before I got it right.
Another example is white lettering on Boxcar Red. I played with the background color until I got it reasonably close. When I cut the decal, I do it as close to the lettering as possible so there is just a thin outline of the background color. The slight variation in color is barely noticeable.
A prior thread suggested using clear decal paper, so that's all I have tried. This sign was printed with background colors, changing the text to white, which prints clear. I mounted it on a piece of white styrene.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
wvg_caOR using a white paper with lighter ink, say yellow or white, and printing the desired background in a close as possible color to the donor rolling stock ...
LarryZ...How do you deal with yellow and red and is it possible to get them opaque enough to be useful? Any information would be helpful.
While I've designed my own decals and dry transfers, I don't have the equipment to print them. Instead, my brother does the necessary layout and artwork, and the proofs or positives are then sent out for printing.A friend designed the lettering and layout for this decal lettering, then had it made into a decals for him...
I was especially impressed with the opacity of the yellow.
For more info, here's a LINK to that site.
Wayne
Hi There, waiting to get approval upon joining, but my purchase of a laser printer also had the consideration for laser printing decals. While I did not print any yet for my trains, I did have the oppertunity to print a few sheets on decal paper for a customer of my son's girlfriend. I believe she used them on some sort of trinkets that she marketed on ETSY. She did not report any problems. Mine is the Xerox Phaser 6510.
Cordially,
Gerry
I made my first serious attempt at creating decals last year with an ordinary inkjet printer. I found that when working with colors, for the most part it works best to use a white decal paper rather than clear.
My experience with inkjet colors was similar to yours. Possibly I didn't use Photo quality printing when I tried it.
A company called ghost white toner makes white toner for a variety of printers. We've had threads about the MicroMark printer, but so far, no one has either purchased that printer or tried the white toner and posted their results.
A white toner cartridge is >$150
I take my decal paper and memory stick to the local Staples and have them print my decals. I do not believe they can print white though. Been very happy with the results
Even with the ALPS printer, certain colors are tough to reproduce AND what is underneath them sometimes shows through.
While I have not tried one, there is a company that makes a special cartridge for laser printers that allows you to print white. While it would be tedious, a solution for some colors showing through might be to print the decal first in white and then print a second decal in the desired color and apply one on top of the other one. The white one would serve as an underlying color. DISCLAIMOR: I don't know if this would work but I think running the decal paper through a laser printer twice would be an extremely long shot as if the registration is off only by a few thousandths of an inch, the effort would be in vain.
My only experience with home-printed decals ahve been with sets I have received through private-road-name exchanges.
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I have never been happy with them. Comparing them to custom decals from Rail Graphics or Donald Manlick are nothing but disappointing.
They can look good, but you need to be careful what colors are underneath the decals.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Hello, all.
Some years ago I bought a color laser printer for the express purpose of making waterslide decals. I made several sets of decals with black lettering and they worked fine. I tried a few with yellow and red, but there were problems with the underlying colors showing through. After that, I occasionally printed certificates and things that I wanted to look nice. That printer has now died.I really need to make some decals, but I'd like to hear what experience others have had. What current laser printer (or other printer) would you recommend? How do you deal with yellow and red and is it possible to get them opaque enough to be useful? Any information would be helpful.Best,Larry