i have decals wanting to make/print my own…how do i go about doing that?
Well, this may end up sounding complicated, but it’s really not. Yeah, it’s a lot of steps, but every one is pretty simple.
First, get the right kind of paper, and think carefully about your decals. For an inkjet printer, you need inkjet paper, and for a laser printer you need…Aw, c’mon, why do I always see the same hands? Right! Laser paper. Well, duh…
Your printer can not print white. How do I know? Because you don’t have an Alps printer. How do I know what kind of printer you don’t have? Because if you had an Alps printer, you would probably already know this, and you wouldn’t take your chances with some online train guy like me. So, you don’t have an Alps printer, and you can’t print white. With me so far?
So what if you can’t print white? Well, that’s a problem if you’re planning to print a white C&O logo to put on a black hopper. You can’t do it. So, we get back to the planning part. Think about printing dark items on light backgrounds. That is much simpler, and it’s really a better place to start.
I use Microsoft Word to print my decals. For text, it’s easy. Load the font, type the words. You can even pick the colors. For graphics, you can import the picture into Word (Insert-Picture-From File) and then size it the way you want it. Change the margins to get as high as you can on the page, and as far to the left as you can. That decal paper is expensive. Use a little, cut the top off cleanly, and you can use the same piece of paper again.
Now, Grasshopper, is the time for patience. You have decals printed on decal paper, and you just can’t wait to put them on. Wait. Go to sleep, and dream of distant places, and whistles sounding through the hills. While your mind is drea
Follow the above advice and your on the right road. Been doing my own for years: all the below:
And all these vehicles done by me:
Mr. B -
Lots of good info. Thanks.
- Harry
To do white lettering on clear decals you can do a photo screen-printing process. The equipment will cost about $30 and you still create your layout with your computer. The drying/fixing/applying/finishing is the same.
This website will tell you more about the process:
I used the SuperCal system http://www.supercaldecals.com , to make the decals for lettering and numbering my private leasing units.
Dan