DIY Decal Paper - Seen one, see 'em all?

[xpeed]

It probably depends on the quality of your printer. I have an Epson 1400 Photo Stylus printer and it works great. No bleeding. Laser printer isn't as expensive as it was before, you can get a color laser printer for $200 these days, but the quality probably won't be as great. My printer cost me over $400, but I didn't buy it for modeling =D.

[MPWR]

Originally Posted by Didymus

I think it's your manners that need the checking.

Now would be a silly time to start that.

[Didymus]

Originally Posted by Lownslow

i used the bmf decal paper and i sealed my decals with TS13 and they worked fine.

You must have given them very, very light coats. TS13 - a synthetic lacquer - is famous for ruining decals if it's applied too wet. Inkjet decals are especially thin and easily damaged - a little too much TS13 and they are toast.

That's why the inkjet decal manufacturers recommend an acrylic spray like Krylon Crystal Clear.

Ddms

[MPWR]

Instead of spray clear, 'liquid decal film' works very well to seal printed ink to inkjet film. (It can also be found on Amazon, etc.) It is used to keep old, brittle decals from shattering when you dip them in water. It has to be brushed on (and that can leave brushmarks), but the brushmarks disappear with clearcoat after the decals have been applied. It provides a more durable and more flexible protection for printed images than spray clear does.

[Didymus]

Originally Posted by MPWR

Instead of spray clear, 'liquid decal film' works very well to seal printed ink to inkjet film.

Different strokes. I've tried both, and the liquid decal film "leaked"; the ink seeped when the decal was placed in water. (Maybe more coats were needed.) I've never noticed any lack of flexibility with decals coated with Krylon Crystal Clear. So I'll stay with the manufacturers' recommendations.

In any case, the liquid decal film is great stuff for rescuing old decals.

Ddms

[Tibi Keke]

Originally Posted by Didymus

It's hard to tell for sure, but those "trim films" appear to be small sheets of colored decal paper. I'm not sure exactly how they are used, but they don't seem intended for printing. (Inkjet printing on colored film would not be visible.)
Ddms

Ok, but tell me for what is a clear decal needed? The first decal paper on the list is a clear one. I read somewhere that is printeble with both type of printers (inkjet and laser jet) and should be sealed with Microscale Liquid Decal Film.
Regards,

[Didymus]

Originally Posted by Tibi Keke

Ok, but tell me for what is a clear decal needed?

A clear decal is useful if the car is not white and there are "holes" in the design, e.g., numbers and letters like 4, 8, A, B, and D. Or if the decal design has a complicated border - imagine trying to trim a Firebird Screaming Chicken decal. (I have made some up if anybody's interested.)

An easy solution is to paint the car white and use white decal paper.

But if you use white decal paper on a non-white car, holes and borders will come out white unless you match the body color and use it to color those areas. Color matching is pretty tricky, but it can be done with Photoshop, trial and error and a lot of decal paper. An easier method is to use clear decal film.

I read somewhere that is printeble with both type of printers (inkjet and laser jet) and should be sealed with Microscale Liquid Decal Film.

Perhaps that "somewhere" was Post #5949484 on this thread in this forum.

Ddms

[Tibi Keke]

Didymus, this Microscale clear trim film is for self made decals and i read that here : http://www.us-trains.com/index.php?i...6099900101.php
also here you find how to use Microscale Liquid film. Everything is writen in german but i suppose you have some possebility to translate al this page in english.
Regards,

[Didymus]

Originally Posted by Tibi Keke

Didymus, this Microscale clear trim film is for self made decals and i read that here : http://www.us-trains.com/index.php?i...6099900101.php

I've been informed of that in no uncertain terms. Due to a stunning failure of imagination, I didn't think of racing stripes right off the bat.

Ddms