Congrats Chris, nice article.
I've been so busy, I just now picked up a magazine.

I have 3 more buses to do.
Guess I will give it another try at making decals.
Do you suggest this paper for ink jet printers?

http://inkjet-decal-paper.com/...20decal%20paper.html

Thanks.
Steve

Thanks Steve. I haven't tried them myself, but in my research they were very highly regarded by many modelers. Just in trying several other manufacture's papers I will say that if it will work for your purposes, try and go with the white paper, and do the "reverse printing" if necessary. The clear paper always seemed more problematic and printed less crisp. The MicroMark white inkjet paper worked pretty well, but the clear was a complete disaster. The tangopapa paper for laser printers was absolutely great. If you can gain access to a laser printer or copier I highly recommend that.

There was one major co. I had major problems with in shipping costs, responsiveness and general customer service but I'll let them remain nameless.

If you get the Papilio stuff, let me know what you think of them. I just ran out of time in testing all the co's. paper.

I've done some inkjet decals using Testors and also Micro Marks' papers. In doing so I learned a few things:

1. The artwork used must be very clean and crisp. I make it about 10X bigger than the final scale desired. I use a photo management program for making the final print. With it, I can designate the exact scale size for a decal.

2. Ink jet does not do light colors well. There is a good deal of show-through of the base color underneath which lightens it even more. This is because the ink jet is simply a bunch of micro dots close together. The print is not solid as with other printed decals. When printing colors like green, red or blue; make them darker than you want for the final appearance. The light base color underneath the decal will also make the decal lettering lighter than it appears on the decal paper.

3. I had much trouble doing decals in black. The ink ran badly when applying them. I found that the printer setting needs to be 'normal' or even 'draft' and not 'high quality.' The amount of ink deposited on the decal paper takes quite a while to dry (if it ever really does) because it cannot soak in as it does on paper. It can even soak into the special coating of photo papers but not on clear or white surfaced decal sheets. The higher the print quality, the more ink is being applied. So inking needs to be at an acceptable minimum.

4. Let the final ink jet decal print dry thorougly for a day or two before spraying on a bonder coat. I use Testors Decal Bonder 9200. After that drieds
for another day or so, I can put the decals in an envelope without the printed surface sticking to it.

5. In applying these decals, I first give them a quick coat of gloss or dull coat, depending on the final finish. This is usually done the day before I intend to use them. I also do not trim close to the print area, since water might seep under the bonder and top coats and cause the ink to run. Ink jet ink is alcohol based and can dissolve in water. So water use is kept to a bare minimum - just enough float to get the decal to slide off its backing but never submurged.

Once an inkjet decal is applied I usually forego using a decal setting solution. They can cause the bonder and top coats to dissolve and with them, the ink jet printing underneath. If used at all, the setting solution is carefully applied around the edges of a decal. Never over top of it. Once all is set and thoughly dry, another seal coat of gloss or dull coat is lightly brushed on, taking care not to go over the decal more than once.

Ed Bommer

Thanks Ed.
My EPSON R-280 makes clean # 4 fonts.
The printer is great as you can see my sign work.
It's all in using the correct photo paper.

As for decals, I must have used some crappy decal paper I found on ebay last year.
My ink took weeks to cure even out in the sun for 2 days.
As you guys noticed, my bus script faded and also changed color after application.

I will make another attempt using better paper and all the advice posted.

Steve

HI Chris

Not sure if I missed it, but since I have HP 5610 Office Jet , All inn one printer, what paper would I need to make decals ?

Thanks !

Hi Steven,

Just make sure you get paper made for an ink-jet printer. Ignore my response to Steve (SIRT) above. I lost my mind temporarily. I did test the Papilio papers and was quite happy with them. As I said though, if you can work with the white decal paper instead of the clear I would definitely go that way. I realize some applications will require the clear. If you can get to a laser printer then I would go with the tangopapa paper, otherwiswe the Papilio Ink Jet paper should fill your needs nicely.