Custom decal options

In the future I'd like to make some more bespoke designs on my cars either with decals or masking and spraying. Having done some research here and on the web at large it seems as though the options for this are rather limited.

Is it true that an ALPS printer and its expensive consumables are the only option for making my own decals? Are there any companies that will accept designs then send me the decals? Has anyone here used a company like this?

Since I have seen a lot of custom paintjobs and decals, I was just wondering if everyone relies on these being available as off the shelf decals or are there more ALPS printers out there than I thought?

Cheers
Oli

Is it true that an ALPS printer and its expensive consumables are the only option for making my own decals? Are there any companies that will accept designs then send me the decals?

I can't comment on their print quality, but if your design is to include white, silver, or gold, then you need an ALPS printer for that. You can get around the white problem by printing the decal on whie paper and trimming it.

I can't comment on their print quality, but if your design is to include white, silver, or gold, then you need an ALPS printer for that.

Or if you want to use Red, Yellow or any light color (that need a white base to look ok)

There're many professional print shops that can print custom water slide decals for you. (check the phone book) I shopped around in Wichita KS (while I was still in collage), and got the cost. I even got a few samples, and they were top-notch quality. Problem is the price. I believe the setup fee was somewhere around $350-450 regardless of the number of prints. So, it's too impractical to just print one sheet. If combine several projects, like 20 kits, it'd be $20 per project, which isn't bad at all. Or if you make 500 sheets, the cost will come down to less than $1.00 per sheet.

But with the same amount of money, you can buy a good-condition used ALPS printer, and a few cartridges. Also, I don't think ALPS cartridges aren't so expensive, because each costs only $9.00. (A genuine color inkjet cartridge costs $30, right?)
And like SteveK2003 said, only ALPS can handle those special colors.

One of the alternatives is to use the dry transfer. While it might be a little harder to find the shop that does custom printing, the setup fee is about $30, and each single-color print costs $8.00.