I’ve never gotten into making my own decals and would like to do so, but I’m confused by the difference, in inkjet printing, between ‘white’ and ‘clear’ papers, mainly which would you use for what purpose. Also I understand it’s necessary to spray the finished decal after installation. Is there a brush on instead of the spray, or is that a big no-no?
Also I saw on a decaling website some software for about $10 that had many different texts, shapes etc. and you could import your own photos etc. Anyone tried this software?
Most printers can not print white, so you use white paper for white lettering. For this you have to match the background color and trim the lettering close, printing the background color in “negative” around the white lettering.
For darker color lettering you can use clear paper. Black works very well.
Some inks are water soluble, so you have to “fix” the printing with something waterproof after the printing is done. I use Testor’s Gloss Cote in a spray can for this but there are many other clear laquer sprays that work. I suppose you could brush it, but that could mess up the lettering if the ink isn’t adhered well to the plastic.
Most any word processing program can be used to generate the decal artwork. MS word allows you to add artwork and adjust its size, mixing it with text. There are hundreds of fonts available for it. I’ve never tried dedicated decal software.
When you make the decals, you may as well plan on using the entire sheet of paper. Make plenty and pack them in tight. For proofs (check printing) you can print on plain paper before you commit to a sheet of decal paper.
The larger the logo or lettering is, the better it works. Really fine print like car data tends to get jumbled up. You might want to use commercial decals for that type of thing.
If you want to make signs or something, starting with square on digital photos of the real thing is a good place to start. You can also import things like logos from web sites and adjust them to the size you need. Use your imagination. Lots of times for signs, you can get away with just printing it on paper instead of decal film.
Jarrell - Your post covers a lot of ground, requiring quite a few individual and specific explanations. Since products and machines (decal paper and printers) vary to some degree, other hobbyists may well offer slightly different explanations, but here goes…
“White” decal paper is just that. It has a solid white, opaque, background already present. Now most inkjet printers print lettering with somewhat translucent inks. This is especially true of lighter colors like oranges and yellows. Applying such colored decal lettering to a black (loco tender), or other dark colored car’s background, will cause the decal letters to appear to fade and may make them hard to read, as well as rather unrealistic. Thus, the white background of “white” decal paper provides an opaque under layer for your lettering and keeps it bright and clear.
HOWEVER, you then have to deal with the white surface surrounding the lettering. You can simply present your herald, lettering, whatever, as if on a white banner, rectangle, whatever shape you choose, with colored letters on it…or you could attempt to print a colored field around the letters to match the shade of the car it will be applied to. Some folks have pulled this off successfully, but most cannot.
“Clear” decal paper is just that, it’s clear, and allows the color of the car, or whatever, to show through around the letters. Of course, as described above, the lettering will be sullied by the background color&nb
I use only a small strip at the top of the decal paper for each run. First, I use the software to make both top and side margins as small as possible, so I get the decals as close to the top as the printer will support. On my printer, this is about 1/2 inch. I put the decals close together, and all at the top of the page. After I print them, I take the decal paper over to a cheap desktop paper cutter, and cut a nice square edge a quarter-inch or so below the decals.
The next time, I might have a sheet that’s only 8 inches high, instead of 11, but the printer doesn’t know that. It feeds in just fine. In fact, by taping another sheet of paper at the bottom, I’ve used these “leftover” decal paper sheets as short as 2 or 3 inches for printing.
Another solution to the “white problem” is to use clear decal paper, but apply it to a white surface. For this sign, I painted a white rectangle on the building with cheap acrylic paint. When I applied the decal over it, all the colors came out at intended, and the “blank space” all came out white.
Surface preparation, by the way, is very important. In this case, I had a brick building with a rough surface, and I used a flat acrylic paint. I ended up with a very imperfect decal application, which, to represent a weathered, faded sign, was exactly the way I wanted it. I sealed the decal with an additional spray of Dul-Cote. If you want a right-from-the-paint-shop clean look, start with a very smooth surface. I apply a gloss or satin spray before the decal, to get a very good application surface, and then another satin spray to protect the decal after it’s on.
Ok, I understand it now…, thanks guys. I was thinking that you applied the decal to… say, a tender and THEN applied the protective spray. But the way I understand it now is that after the decal is made and allowed to dry then before the decal is placed on the tender you spray it lightly.
Jarrell, don’t confuse making the decal and applying it. When you make a decal with an inkjet printer, the inks are most likely not water proof, and need to be sealed to the decal paper. This needs to be a very light coat so that a decal setting solution will still soften it to go over ribs and rivets. The decal printing has to be water proof because you’ll be soaking the decal to release it from the backing paper.
After applying the decal and using the setting solution, you will also need to cover it with a clear spray to help hide the decal film. This step stays the same regardless of whether you use commercial decals or make your own.
I made a few some time ago,using the Testors decal kit. One thing I learned later is the decals should be allowed to dry after printing for a day or so, before applying the sealer. The Testors kit came with a small spray can of gloss protectant, smells a lot like their Dull Cote.
The decals I made were ll black, so they worked OK. Here’s the model of a local shortline diesel I did. The stripes are commercial decals:
Hi: I have used a product from Evan Design called HobbyCal - it is inkjet water-slide decal paper that requires no overspray. It works quite well - the decals are not as sharp as purchased ones but they’re fine for faded wall ads etc. The less than perfect decal image may be a product of my inkjet printer dots per inch but I’m not sure about this. It is suggested that you use lighter fluid for setting the decal to an uneven surface. I got my decal papers from Walthers - they also cite a website www.modeltrainsoftware.com
Much obliged for all the information. As far as weathering and decaling goes my guess is the decals should be applied before any weathering is done so that the decal can be sprayed for protection then it can be weathered along with the rest of the item.
Correct. The surface to receive the decal should be a glossy surface. It will make the decal seat properly, and the setting solution will mke it fit over details on the surface without air bubbles.
