Home made decals

[copernicus]

Hi wondered if anyone can help me. l purchased a couple of sheets of ink jet decal sheets and printed a set of decals for a model I am building. I oversprayed them with several coats of acrylic sealer as advised on the instructions. However when I came to apply them two things happened. The first one I tried - putting it in a bowl of warm water, merely washed the ink jet ink off. So I sprayed several more coats of sealer and tried again. This time the decal was so flimsy it just disintigrated when I tried to apply it.

What am i doing wrong ? How many coats of sealent should I apply (must have had at least 8 now) Should I brush the sealent on - I have been thinning it and using an airbrish. Any advice help will be apreciated.

 

[ademaker]

Home made decals - tips

Hi, I'm glad I'm not the only one who has had problems with what is quite expensive decal paper. Here are my tips:

* The best sealing agent I have found is cellulose dope brushed on

* The ink will run at the cut edge but not so much

* Small home made decals curl when wet but can be made to go flat stick down with watered down PVA glue and as soon as poss seal with Johnsons Klear.

* Alternatively, print them in reverse, seal and apply upside down

* They are generally thicker than proprietary decals and the cut edge can leave quite a visible step, not so noticable on matt finishes

* To avoid wasting this expensive paper, print decal on photo paper first then cut a window around it. Mark out and replace the window with decal paper the same size and tape on the back of the photo. Put the photo paper in the printer and print again.

* My waterslide decal paper dried over time and after a few months the ink did not penetrate it so it became useless.

* Instead of decal paper, try printing on Epson gloss photo paper with Epson ink - it is waterproof when dry and doesn't need sealing. Peel the paper back off then carefully rub the remaining paper off under flowing water with decal face down on a shiny surface until you are just left with the resin or plastic top layer - it is amazingly thin and can be used like a decal and is photo quality!

Good luck,

Ade.

 

[copernicus]

Hi, I'm glad I'm not the only one who has had problems with what is quite expensive decal paper. Here are my tips:* The best sealing agent I have found is cellulose dope brushed on

* The ink will run at the cut edge but not so much

* Small home made decals curl when wet but can be made to go flat stick down with watered down PVA glue and as soon as poss seal with Johnsons Klear.

* Alternatively, print them in reverse, seal and apply upside down

* They are generally thicker than proprietary decals and the cut edge can leave quite a visible step, not so noticable on matt finishes

* To avoid wasting this expensive paper, print decal on photo paper first then cut a window around it. Mark out and replace the window with decal paper the same size and tape on the back of the photo. Put the photo paper in the printer and print again.

* My waterslide decal paper dried over time and after a few months the ink did not penetrate it so it became useless.

* Instead of decal paper, try printing on Epson gloss photo paper with Epson ink - it is waterproof when dry and doesn't need sealing. Peel the paper back off then carefully rub the remaining paper off under flowing water with decal face down on a shiny surface until you are just left with the resin or plastic top layer - it is amazingly thin and can be used like a decal and is photo quality!

Good luck,

Ade.

Thanks for that. I have eventually managed to use the decal paper without the ink running mainly by spraying on about a dozen coats of acrylic sealent. The decals themselves went on ok but you have to be carefull as they easliy distort if pulled at all.

 

[Bluewavestudios]

Hi,

Just to add my tuppence worth, The best decal paper I have had so far is from this website: Specialist inkjet papers and fabrics available to create many kinds of arts and craft projects

They do all sorts of decal papers and films and they are the only ones that I have used where the ink has not run once I have printed the decals on. No need for protective coatings until the decal is actually on the model !!

I can certainly recommend this company having used them quite a few times now, their prices are not bad and they are a U.K. company too !!

Regards..........Mark

 

[ademaker]

Laser or Inkjet Paper

Hi Bluewave, Thanks for you note below - I had a look at the site and see they sell 2 types of decal paper - inkjet, that needs sealing with acrylic sealant, and laser that doesn't.. Could you tell me if you were using the laser decal paper or the inkjet when you said that it did not run. Is it possible to use the laser paper in an inkjet printer do you think?

Ade.

Hi,Just to add my tuppence worth, The best decal paper I have had so far is from this website: Specialist inkjet papers and fabrics available to create many kinds of arts and craft projects

They do all sorts of decal papers and films and they are the only ones that I have used where the ink has not run once I have printed the decals on. No need for protective coatings until the decal is actually on the model !!

I can certainly recommend this company having used them quite a few times now, their prices are not bad and they are a U.K. company too !!

Regards..........Mark

 

[stona]

Hi Ade, I've used their inkjet paper and it's pretty good. The two types are not supposed to be interchangeable.

The ink used in inkjet printers is water soluble and I always sealed it with two or three coats of acrylic varnish. The ink used in laser printers is not water soluble and therefore doesn't need sealing. I use the laser printers at work when I need to make decals now( I still give them a coat of acrylic) and find I get better results.

Even with sealed inkjet paper decals I occasionally got some "bleeding" particularly at the edge of letters.

Steve

 

[ademaker]

Sealing decal paper - hmmm...

I shall give it a whirl as I need some new paper. I'll try one sheet of each of the inkjet and laser types. My inkjet ink (uses Epson Claria or PC Line type ink) is pretty waterproof after it dries so it might be it might just be a question of will it absorb into to the laser paper when it gets jetted onto it so to speak. I think that might be more the surface of my previous decal paper that is water soluble so runs if I don't seal it. Thanks for the info.

Ade.

Hi Ade, I've used their inkjet paper and it's pretty good. The two types are not supposed to be interchangeable.The ink used in inkjet printers is water soluble and I always sealed it with two or three coats of acrylic varnish. The ink used in laser printers is not water soluble and therefore doesn't need sealing. I use the laser printers at work when I need to make decals now( I still give them a coat of acrylic) and find I get better results.

Even with sealed inkjet paper decals I occasionally got some "bleeding" particularly at the edge of letters.

Steve

 

[Bluewavestudios]

Hi Ade,

I used the normal inkjet paper on mine - I haven't tried the laser stuff. On the first batch of decals I did, I used the white decal paper. The ink did not run at all on this, whether that was due to the paper I was using or the ink I don't know. I did a another batch where I did spray the acrylic on and left it to dry overnight before printing the decals. These came out sharp as anything as you can see in the pic below.

It can be trial and error till you find what works best for you but, the paper from the company I recommended is still the best and cheapest in my opinion. They are very prompt with delivery too !!

By all means try the laser stuff and see if it works - it's cheap enough - Let us know how you get on too !!

The pic below is a set I did for my Nephew's R/C Nissan Skyline - Using paper from this company - Thin coat of spray acrylic applied on first here and they are all as sharp as anything. There is a thin coat of sealant on the top of these and they came out fine !!

I think the trick with sealing the ink is to give it long enough to dry out, overnight, if need be and then apply the sealant.

Regards........Mark

View attachment 19866

 

[N4521U]

Oh brother, I am really interested in this process, so I went to the website, and low and behold, I am on the wrong continent! Will have to seek it out in Oz. cheers, Bill

 

[N4521U]

BTW Bluey, this method you used was at one time called Mod Podge. Transfering printed pictures, magazine page pictures onto plaques, kind of a toll painting thing. Had forgotten all about doing this method. I will have to think on this, but sounds like it would work a treat. But how would you do WHITE markings? Like spitfire side ID letters? cheers, Bill

 

[philphy]

Hi guys, Ive just bought the water slide paper and acrylic sealer and so far Ive had no real probs but I havent had a real go at it yet... I just wondered If there was a site were you can download old or new decal sheets...? that would be handy...? Cheers...

 

[mitza2s]

Hello!I have one question:which program do u use to make decals(photoshop,autocad etc?)Thx

 

[m1ks]

I shall give it a whirl as I need some new paper. I'll try one sheet of each of the inkjet and laser types. My inkjet ink (uses Epson Claria or PC Line type ink) is pretty waterproof after it dries so it might be it might just be a question of will it absorb into to the laser paper when it gets jetted onto it so to speak. I think that might be more the surface of my previous decal paper that is water soluble so runs if I don't seal it. Thanks for the info.Ade.

I wouldn't waste your time and money on trying laser printer paper for an inkjet, Laser's work on a Thermal transfer process which is cured as it cools, hence the reason typed pages do not bleed when rained on unlike Inkjet inks which are water soluble.

Laser paper is tyically a glossy non permeable surface and and inkjet will print onto it leaving a 'wet' surface which simply won't dry and wipe off, if left long enough to dry it would still come off as soon as it saw water.

If you can get solvent based inks for inkjet paper, (I imagine waterproof inkjets are solvent based), then once dry they'd be pretty waterproofed.

However, knowing that you can get laser paper is great, i've been wanting to try some and as my missis has a colour laser for her business I'll nab the odd use of that

As colour lasers are very pricey it might be worth arranging A4 decal sheets and checking your local library, some have colour laser printers and charge a nominal fee per print?

 

[RM4U]

I wouldn't waste your time and money on trying laser printer paper for an inkjet, Laser's work on a Thermal transfer process which is cured as it cools, hence the reason typed pages do not bleed when rained on unlike Inkjet inks which are water soluble.Laser paper is tyically a glossy non permeable surface and and inkjet will print onto it leaving a 'wet' surface which simply won't dry and wipe off, if left long enough to dry it would still come off as soon as it saw water.

If you can get solvent based inks for inkjet paper, (I imagine waterproof inkjets are solvent based), then once dry they'd be pretty waterproofed.

However, knowing that you can get laser paper is great, i've been wanting to try some and as my missis has a colour laser for her business I'll nab the odd use of that

As colour lasers are very pricey it might be worth arranging A4 decal sheets and checking your local library, some have colour laser printers and charge a nominal fee per print?

Hi All,

Staples sell a Colour Laser Printer for about £100.00 and an all in one Colour Laser (Printer-Scanner-Copyer-Fax) for £199.00.

Regards,

Leslie

RailwayModels4U

 

[rogue-one]

hi there people. am new to this sort of thing (just made one model) but i did my own decal ( a pin-up). i printed my image onto thin transfer paper (resolution could have been better) but instead of soaking it in water i just carefully brushed some thin varnish to the back of it to stick it to my model. not much chance for error but it seemed to work fine.

 

[tr1ckey66]

Hi everyone

Try Microscale's Liquid Decal film (from the same people that make Microsol and Microset).

Print the decals as instructed on the decal sheet then paint a thin film of this stuff over them to seal them - worked fine for me. I have found that the decals are a good deal thicker than manufacturers decals though.

Cheers

Paul