Testors Decal System Q's

[Ferrari TR]

Well, I picked up the kit at Walmart over the weekend.
Now the questions:
Do I have to buy the software upgrade to use it with my own images?
Does the clear paper work well with your inkjet printer?
Got any hints, tips, or tricks for this?

Thanks in advance

[p9o1r1sche]

I bought one of these kits awhile back and recently tried it. I wanted some black numbers for a race car. You can use any graphics software to make an image to print out. The main thing you get with this kit is the decal film paper. The 'fixing' spray appears to be nothing more than clear lacquer. This 'fixing' spray is needed or the water soluble inks will come off the film when you put it in water. Anyway, my inkjet printer, set to max quality, printed the numbers, but they were a mottled dark gray instead of a solid black. The edges of the numbers could have been sharper, also. I ended up not using the decals. You may get good results with different images, but large areas of solid colors may not work well. The film appears to be too different from the inkjet inks for the ink to spread well (like when water beads up on a car's paint). Any other experiences out there?

[935k3]

An important thing when printing with inkjets on decal paper is to make sure the printer is set to print on Photographic Paper, this makes a big difference. Also for plan black lettering you may want to use more contrast using image software like PaintShop Pro or Adobe PhotoShop. More contrast will make dark colors print darker.

[Ferrari TR]

I've have varying results depending on the type of decal paper I've used.
The sheet I have been trying is old and the ink just beaded up after being out of the printer for a few minutes.
Because the art was black I took it to work and printed it on a laser with perfect results.
I think I am going to try to print anything else at a local copy shop on a color laser.

I'm still wondering about the software in the kit...

[hirofkd]

I had an okay result with the decal kit. I didn't use the software that comes with it, because I have Photoshop 7.
I prepared the image at 600 dpi, and printed at max quality.
I sprayed the fixing spray a few minutes after I printed the image, and it caused the ink to bleed a little, so I I waited for overnight for the second try, and it was bettter. (wet coat is no-no, but several mist coats are required)
The decal is not opaque, so only dark color on lighter body color is recommended.

It's a decent kit, and certainly better than nothing.