We are in the market for a new printer here at the house. On one side I want to go with a laser this time since they never have the ink cartridge dry out between uses (since we won't use the printer for a month and a half then need it). I also want to make my own custom decals. Yes, I know I can't print white, but that isn't really an issue. My thinking is to get the freight car data sets from Microscale and either make the road name and herald decals, or have them custom made by one of the companies out there. For HO scale how much printing resolution is needed to make sharp decals? I made some many years ago with a good (at the time) ink jet printer and was not super happy with the results. If I go with a vendor making decals for me I will need to get a program for making my lettering and heralds in vector format plus have a minimum order from what I have researched. If I did want white decals as well as black this makes things a little easier, and favors against the laser printer. Any other points I am overlooking here?
Good Luck, Morpar
I bought my ink jet printer about ten years ago. I used it for signs and interior wall decorations for HO scale structures, plus occasional decals for rolling stock, vehicles, trolley cars and locomotives. I was generally happy with the results.
Because it was an ink jet, I needed to seal the decals before applying them. I used rattle can clear Krylon for that, sealing the decal before applying it and then again after it dried.
If I wanted a white background, I would first paint a white rectangle or whatever on the surface and then apply the decal after the paint dried. This made the color what I wanted because the light colors otherwise look washed out on a decal.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I get my decals printed by Precision Design Co (pdc.ca). Bill, the owner, has very reasonable prices and there is no minimum order. Pricing is done by sheet size, with additional costs if he does design work for you.
Depending on what it is you want to make, software doesn't need to be complicated. Even if you're printing something yourself, you would want the image to be in a vector format so it doesn't look pixelated on print. If you're just doing text with basic shapes and images from online, you can get away with using something as simple as PowerPoint to put your decal sheet together. I mainly use Inkscape nowadays, which is a free open-source drawing program. It has some buggy quirks, but I'm able to make it work. PDF is a vector format, so as long as you can do that you should be ok.
I know some people who print their own decals, albeit on an inkjet I think, and I don't think they look all that great. From what I've seen, decal film you can use in a home printer tends to be a lot thicker than what professional services use, to the point where you can see shadows under the film in the right lighting. Considering how much I can fit on a page, one decal order lasts a long time. And I usually do a quarter or less of a page at a time.
-Peter. Mantua collector, 3D printing enthusiast, Korail modeler.
Putting aside the decal printing issue for a moment, what do you use the current printer for? Is it a color printer? Do you use it to print out pictures/photos?
In my opinion if cartridges drying out due to infrequent use is an issue it is likely that they could dry out during the infrequent period between decal printing.
I think I would go with a black/white laser printer and get whatever decals made.
Or maybe a color laser printer. Friend of mine has one of those and seems happy with it.
I printed using a color printer for about 7 years. Worked OK. When the ink ran out, I looked at the prices of the refils, and decided not to replace them. I now bring my paper and files to print at Staples. It's way cheaper and the quality is good.
Simon
snjroy I printed using a color printer for about 7 years. Worked OK. When the ink ran out, I looked at the prices of the refils, and decided not to replace them. I now bring my paper and files to print at Staples. It's way cheaper and the quality is good. Simon
I've wondered about that. My printer has been gathering dust for years. What does Staples need for input files? I don't need anything fancy. My printer may be too old to find ink for anymore, and I could buy a lot of pages of printing for what a new printer would cost. Then, unless I did a lot of printing, the ink would run dry before I needed it again.
Ours accepts PDFs on a USB key.
Da StumerI get my decals printed by Precision Design Co (pdc.ca). Bill, the owner, has very reasonable prices and there is no minimum order. Pricing is done by sheet size, with additional costs if he does design work for you.
I use Precision Design as well. Bill's work is excellent and he is a really nice person to deal with. The prices are good, and the decal film is very thin. I strongly suggest that you read his application directions before starting to work with the decals. They are a bit different than most.
I had him print the decals for my rotary snow plow project. I explained to him what the decals were for and he took the time to research and recommend a font that was more suited to the age of the plow (circa 1900) than the more modern one that I had chosen. I didn't ask him to do that. He just did it on his own and didn't change the price.
This shot was taken while the decal was still wet and I hadn't pricked the bubbles yet. When it dried I could barely see where the edge of the decal film was. Once it was Dulcoted, the edges were invisible.
https://www.pdc.ca/rr/custom_decals/
Cheers!!
Dave
P.S. I have no affiliation with Precision Design Co. other than as a very happy customer!
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
I've also used Bill several times for decals. I do all my own art, so the turn around is super fast. I tend to make a large sheet with a wide variety of unrelated items. Could be a combination of reporting marks, logos, building signage, even license plates for cars.
One time, I was having decals done for a second hand hopper were the old reporting marks were still visible through the patch. Sort of a ultra dark gray on the black effect. He replied to my email asking if that was a mistake in the art and I explained what it was for, with a picture of the hopper. When the order arrived, there was an extra little sheet of a few variants of the ghost marks in different shades of gray with a note that he wasn't sure how it might print so he made me some alternates. He didn't need to do that extra, but it was considerate.
The biggest issue with home brewed decals is the lack of white. Any colored decals you print will not work on a colored surface as the ink from laser and inkjet printers needs the white paper as the white underlay for the colors to be seen. If you are putting decals onto a white painted surface then they will work fine.
something to keep in mind when shopping for printers now is the, for want of a better word, Scam that the printer manufacturers are doing. If, for example, you buy a color inkjet printer that takes both a black cartridge and a color one, the printer will not work if one or the other is enpty or aged out (timer). My last cannon inkjet did not have this problem but, when the accumulator (whatever that is) was full it would not work any more. I contacted them and they said they did not service that part any more. I asked them if there was a work-around to keep the printer working and they could (would) not give me anything to go on. When I researched a new printer I found that the cartridge game was being played now. Since I really don't need a color printer at home I bought a Black ink Brother Laser and have been happy since. A co-worker bought an epson color printer a while back and recently had to replace both the color and black cartridges not because they were out of ink/toner but because they were out of time. He said he only printed about 10 pages of each color and black text
Decal by Bear, on Flickr
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
I can't imagine not having a printer for a computer - maybe I'm too old and have "trust" issues........ I have never found the cost of ink or printer maintenence to be unreasonable.
I have been a freelance modeler and used custom made decals for over 30 years now.
I have a good understanding of how to make them myself - I never saw any economy in it.
The guy I was using retired and closed up a few years ago - I stocked up.
He made good old fashioned silk screen printed high quality decals, including white, on very high quality decal film.
Hopefully I have enough, but if I need more, I will find someone to make them.
A few examlpes of my custom decals.
Sheldon
ATLANTIC CENTRAL I can't imagine not having a printer for a computer - maybe I'm too old and have "trust" issues........ I have never found the cost of ink or printer maintenence to be unreasonable.
snjroy ATLANTIC CENTRAL I can't imagine not having a printer for a computer - maybe I'm too old and have "trust" issues........ I have never found the cost of ink or printer maintenence to be unreasonable. Black ink only is a reasonable expense. Three or four additional color ink cartridges gets very expensive. Simon
Black ink only is a reasonable expense. Three or four additional color ink cartridges gets very expensive.
My HP ENVY 5660 uses one cartridge for black, and one for all the colors. Cartridges are about $50 each for the XL versions and typically last us 8-12 months. So about $100 a year.
It is also a flat bed scanner and copier, also things I need.
For those who use less, the standard cartridge is about $25 each.
The printer is now about 8 years old, they still make them. If it quit tomorrow I would buy another in a hot second.
I need it for my business, but my business is very small, not needing anything more elaborate.
I surely don't have time to run to Staples for copies...... and then there is the cost of gas........
But, I still do lots of things that don't involve a computer screen...... I design buildings as part of my business, I studied CADD - I hate it. I still design buildings with pencil and Mylar.
Well there's the difference, I hardly print anything for my business.
My experiment with Inkjet decals was a failure. Maybe I should have printed them with Photo grade, but they weren't bright enough. It didn't have anything to do with sealing them, which I did.There is a company that makes white laser ink cartridges. I have never seen anyone in a MR forum review the product.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
BigDaddy My experiment with Inkjet decals was a failure. Maybe I should have printed them with Photo grade, but they weren't bright enough. It didn't have anything to do with sealing them, which I did.There is a company that makes white laser ink cartridges. I have never seen anyone in a MR forum review the product.
They are in GERMANY? $1,000? I have not spent $1,000 on custom decals total in 30 years. And I have enough decals for hundreds of freight cars, passenger cars and locomotives.
In fact over the years I have purchased about 250 sets plus a number of special items from Rail Grapics when he was in business.
Each set generally does two pieces of equipment.
500 cars, special stripes, 4 different colors, custom passenger car names, data sheets - 30 year total cost - $750
Examples pictured above.
There are some things you should just pay a professional to do.
ATLANTIC CENTRALHopefully I have enough, but if I need more, I will find someone to make them.
Hi Sheldon and everyone else who may be looking for custom decals.
I have mentioned his name in a previous post, but I'm going to do it again because this gentleman is excellent! His name is Bill Brillinger. His website is:
Bill offers excellent quality decals, and he often goes beyond what was requested to help the buyer get the details like font and background colours etc. correct. His prices are good and shipping is free in North America. He uses a very thin carrying sheet but it is not fragile. His instructions are a bit different from most but they are easy to follow.
Did I say his work is excellent?!?
Am I repeating myself? Yes, for good reason!!
hon30critter ATLANTIC CENTRAL Hopefully I have enough, but if I need more, I will find someone to make them. Hi Sheldon and everyone else who may be looking for custom decals. I have mentioned his name in a previous post, but I'm going to do it again because this gentleman is excellent! His name is Bill Brillinger. His website is: https://www.pdc.ca/rr/custom_decals/ Bill offers excellent quality decals, and he often goes beyond what was requested to help the buyer get the details like font and background colours etc. correct. His prices are good and shipping is free in North America. He uses a very thin carrying sheet but it is not fragile. His instructions are a bit different from most but they are easy to follow. Did I say his work is excellent?!? Am I repeating myself? Yes, for good reason!! Cheers!! Dave
ATLANTIC CENTRAL Hopefully I have enough, but if I need more, I will find someone to make them.
I have already bookmarked his website.
But I suspect it would be a long while before I need any more.
I will say that I used my laser printer to make custom decals. But the colors are dull and each sheet is pricey. So1) Do a dry run on regular paper2) Fill the sheet up. Running the decal sheet through the laser for multiple passes is a no-go.3) Don't expect good results for bright high-color.
Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions
Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!
highball graphics is the go to for decals
thomas81zhighball graphics is the go to for decals
Hi thomas81z,
Putting your statement in bold print must mean that you are really happy with them! Can you provide some examples of why you like them?