Having purchased clear decal paper recently to create my own decals, I am starting out with something simple- some plain black lettering. When I typed a sheet on Word, then printed it on paper to check it, I found the font was not as “crisp” as it appeared on the screen. I then scaled it own and reprinted on paper, with a worse result. Finally, I wrote the same lettering using AutoCad, then scaled it down for use on an HO car, and test printed that set on paper- the difference was significant! The very small letters were very clear and precise. Before I use one of those decal sheets, has anyone else done the same with AutoCad or other graphics software and had good luck with lettering quality, as opposed to Word or Wordperfect word-processing software? Cedarwoodron
I have not printed decals but have printed very small signs with photoshop elements 2.0 with good results. My guess would be that WORD is not as crisp because of what it is supposed to be used for. make sure your printer is set for the highest resolution. I have a very old printer & it gives you a choice of 3 quality settings. Good Luck.
My brother recently did some decal layout work for me, using Adobe Illustrator. Rail Graphics will be doing the printing, as I need 50 sets.
It’s my understanding that you do your artwork, either hand-drawn or computer-generated, as large as possible, then clean it up with whatever tools are at your disposal. You then shrink the work to either your required size or, for most commercial decal or dry transfer makers, twice the finished size.
I sent a jpeg of the artwork to Rail Graphics for their perusal, but will send a pdf at full-size when I order the actual lettering.
Wayne
The difference in fidelity (crispness) is quite simple- Microsoft Word produces the font in what is known as raster format. Raster is built on a grid in bitmap form- the smaller it gets the more jagged the edges become due to the bitmap- the letters themselves are built of small blocks (pixels) and in this mode scaling letters looks choppy and jagged.
AutoCAD is a vector based program which builds fonts and shapes using vector paths (Adobe Illustrator does the same thing)- these paths are made with strokes (curves, lines, fill shapes) and anchor points in a mathematical equation on an X/Y axis. This means the shapes are not built out of small points, and can be scaled to any size without the loss of smooth edges or sharpness on shapes. In vector format you can create the lettering at any size, then rescale it to the proper size (HO, N scale etc.) without any loss of fidelity.
When I make decals I use Illustrator- I work from actual photos of the lettering/heralds then I scale it to the size I need. When saving the document make sure to save it as an actual vector file (.AI, Adobe PDF, etc.)- saving it as a JPEG will convert the file to a raster image and you’ll lose all those vectors you worked so hard to make. If you keep making your decals in AutoCAD you’ll be in fine shape. Hope that helps.
Matt Holman
Spring, TX
I understand the raster vs vector difference, albeit at a more general conceptual level (scalability for vector images), but have used Word and even Paint for some previous lettering on matte adhesive labels used on some structural signage with success. Now, I am working with very small text, such as used on freight car info (build dates, service info) that caused me to resort to ACAD… If the effect is the same as illustrator and I can import fonts or manipulate them effectively, then I will stick with ACAD. But- is there any greater benefit to using illustrator when it comes to colored signage and color quality? I have access to Adobe CS 5 which has Illustrator within it’s suite of programs. Cedarwoodron