So I now have an Oki C3530 MFP colour laser printer (amongst other skills it has). Has anyone done decals with lasers? Do you need special paper? Any other hints, concerns?
Thanks, Pathfinder
I’ve done them with color laser copiers. Use plain decal paper made for laser printers/copiers. You do not have to clear coat afterwards since the toner is heat fused to the decal film. A clear coat does help prevent flaking or scratching the decal while applying. IMO works better than inkjet printed decals because you don’t have to worry about the ink running if you didn;t seal it well.
Lasers are a good method to print decals with one exception. Printing on clear paper still requires a white undercoat as the toner is not opaque. Printing on white decal paper is do-able. Of course this has its drawbacks too. Black will work on clear whithout an undercoat. If you are applying the decals over a light color like white or light grey the colors printed on the clear will probably work ok. It is the darker colors that will change the colors on the decals.
http://www.tangopapadecals.com/ is a good source for laser decal paper.
Dan Pikulski
Does a laser really produce better decals than a inkjet?? I know that a inkjet prints better photos (i.e., 4x6, 8x10)…
Phil
I think so. The lines are sharper and crisper than with an inkjet. There is no bleeding. Letters a sharp. Lines can be finer and thinner.
This was done with a decal copied using a laser copier.
Thanks all for the tips. Looks like some experimenting is in order.
Here’s a little project I’m working on.
Prototype
http://www.railcarphotos.com/PhotoDetails.php?PhotoID=4409
The model so far (it still needs some final work and weathering). It’s not an exact match car for car and I didn’t change the numbers but the two are very close. These decals were made by first printing the image at high quality on photopaper and then have it color laser copied on to decal paper.
I’ve not messed with inkjet, so let’s see some examples of that technique.