Water Slide Decal Paper

[dbduck]

Does anyone have a particular brand &/or source for water slide decal paper that they have used with decent success?  

I am looking for both white & clear for use in a Laser Printer,  preferablly in        8.5 x 11 size 

My understanding is, if printed with a laser printer the toner is water proof & does not need a top coat to seal the print before using

any addition information , suggestions are welcome as well

[hornblower]

I have used both the Evan Designs and the Micro-Mark inkjet decal papers.  While I thought I was getting good results with the Evan Designs paper, the results I achieved with the Micro-Mark paper were incredible!  I have not tried decal paper for laser printers as I do not own a color laser printer.  I don't know if it is true that laser prints are waterproof and don't require a sealer.  Keep in mind that most decals need to be set in place with decal solvents such as Micro Set, Micro Sol or Solvaset.  These solvents may still disturb even "waterproof" laser prints.  As it is just a matter of spraying a light coat of a clear finish over the decal, I would apply the clear coat regardless.

[fmilhaupt]

I've long been a fan of the Experts-Choice line of laser-compatible paper from Bare Metal Foil (https://www.bare-metal.com). They sell it in both white and clear versions.

I've not ordered it directly from them as the hobby shops in my area usually carry it in stock, but I've used their laser product for years with an ALPS printer and have been very happy with the results.

[snjroy]

fmilhaupt

I've long been a fan of the Experts-Choice line of laser-compatible paper from Bare Metal Foil (https://www.bare-metal.com). 

Me too. Follow the instructions and works great. When coating the film after printing, I've had better luck brushing on the microscale liquid decal film than using the airbrush.

Simon

[MisterBeasley]

During the decal paper shortage a few years ago, I ordered a package from an online place in Florida.  The post office lost it for a couple of weeks, but eventually it showed up.  It's inkjet paper, and believe it or not it works better than the small sheets from various hobby shops.  It's also a lot cheaper online.  I now have a lifetime supply.

[dbduck]

hornblower

I have used both the Evan Designs and the Micro-Mark inkjet decal papers.  While I thought I was getting good results with the Evan Designs paper, the results I achieved with the Micro-Mark paper were incredible!  I have not tried decal paper for laser printers as I do not own a color laser printer.  I don't know if it is true that laser prints are waterproof and don't require a sealer.  Keep in mind that most decals need to be set in place with decal solvents such as Micro Set, Micro Sol or Solvaset.  These solvents may still disturb even "waterproof" laser prints.  As it is just a matter of spraying a light coat of a clear finish over the decal, I would apply the clear coat regardless.

 

Does the overspray of the clear "sealer" effect the use of the setting agent ?

[hornblower]

I am currently using decals to change the road name on a couple of locos using the Micro-Mark white background decal paper.  I sealed the decals using a clear spray varnish and applied the decals using Micro Set.  I didn't have to apply Micro Sol as the decals snuggled right into the molded-on details using just the Micro Set. 

[wvgca]

yes, the laser paper is theorecticly waterproof, but i gave a light coat of clear krylon matte just in case ..

heavier films or older [read stiffer] films may need addional solvent / set layers

[Lone Wolf and Santa Fe]

dbduck

My understanding is, if printed with a laser printer the toner is water proof & does not need a top coat to seal the print before using

Yes, if you use laser paper in a laser printer it is water proof.

My usual source of paper has gone away but I think the last time I bought some I found it on eBay.

[dbduck]

A follow up.... I found some white decal paper here at home that I had bought years ago, that I thought was ink-jet , but when I ran it throught my printer none of the ink adhered to the surface. I made a Word document (8.5x11) with all the art work I wanted printed, loaded it on to a thumbdrive, took it & a sheet of the paper to my local UPS Store. They assured me that their printers were Laser. They loaded my decal paper into their machine, put the thumbdrive into their computer & about 2 minutes later I had a realy nice looking sheet of decals.....for $2.13 + $2 for what the paper cost a few years back  (5 for $9.99)

Photo taken after some of the sheet had been cut off for my experiment...

As you can see by my now added photo of the art, one of the pieces was a logo of a local business that required a dark brown backdrop because the logo had white printing..so I made the background close to the color of the car I was going to put it on.

Then the experiment...I painted a scrap piece of styrene sheet that color ... was going to apply one decal that was untreated ..straight from the printer, another that had a couple light coats of Testors decal sealer. What I found was that the when I cut out the unsealed decal, some of the print seemed to flake off (?) causing a  jagged white boarder to show (yes I made sure I cut well into the brown). No white showing with the treated decal. Both worked well being applied to the test sheet

I did find that the untreated one did not run when put in the water 

[chutton01]

I did not realize that Catepillar (I guess just called CAT nowadays) has an "entertainment" division, which

provides power generation and temperature control equipment for feature films and video, sports and special events, music festivals, concert tours, and broadcast productions around the world.

I Guess that makes sense, Cat generators and refrigeration plants.

dbduck

I painted a scrap piece of styrene sheet that color ... was going to apply one decal that was untreated ..straight from the printer, another that had a couple light coats of Testors decal sealer. 

. Wasn't Testor's Decal Bonder discountinued a few years back, in Rustoluem's unending quest to not produce anymore paint usable for hobbyists?  What 's was the preferred alternative again?  I had some issues with krylon Matte, but that was several years back (maybe an old stock).

 

[dbduck]

Their entertainment division now called CES(cespower.com) provides power for concerts, television productions, movie sets etc

There is also the regular rental division that provides power for other uses like emergency power, general power, etc (but also "show power" as well)

the one pictured below is similar to two, 2 megawatt units we used at my work when we had a major issue with our incoming power from the utility service ( underground burn out) The 2 units were tied together so that if full power was needed, we could fire both up & use in parallel, otherwise we just ran one at a time alternating between them

 

 I may be wrong but the main difference between the divisions is that the white  units usually produce 480/277 volts 3 phase, & the black ones 208/120 volt 3 phase

My plan is to make a few containers similar to the ones pictured to put on my "CAT" train and eventually at my CAT dealership in the planning

i had bought the decal sealer years ago when I purchased the decal paper