I have been experimenting with my white decal paper that I received recently and in the process of looking at the task of making white text lettering in various font styles, I came across this website in my online research:
It describes the use of MSWord to create a colored backround against which white text is then superimposed.
The idea is- if you are using white (not clear) decal paper, and you can get reasonably close to the car body color using the body color RGB code, then a small trimmed rectangle of that same RGB code with the appropriate white text font sized to suit, may well be the best and easiest method of obtaining white letter decals.
I use (variously) the 3DTRAINS (north american) RGB color code list;
As most of us realize, inkjet print colors often vary significantly from those we seek to copy for modeling purposes. With RGB values, the listed ones suggested by the first website for specific railroad colors were somewhat different than the color swatch I obtained from a Polly Scale acrylic paint bottle, and also from a Krylon or Rustoleum spray paint color sample.
What I did- in my case, using B&M Blue as my target, I found a related Rustoleum spray product- Satin Wildflower Blue that was a decent stand-in for the color. It also matched the remnant B&M blue in my Polly Scale jar. I went to the 3DTrains rgb list (by railroad name) and found a number of visually-close analogs to the Rustoleum pro
One thing we found when using the White decal paper doing a background color was
when we cut the decal - it seemed to leave a WHITE line at the cut mark - appeariently when making the cut it pulls a little of the ink/color off the decal leaving a very fine White line from the decal base.
We usually weathered it but it was still there!
And it really takes a lot of work to get the printer to match the body colors.
That is what happened to me too. The white edge was visible where I cut it. Also, if the decal wrinkled at all, then some of the ink came off leaving small white marks. If I was putting it on a basic color like black or bright red I was able to touch up the edge with a Sharpie marker before I applied it, but that’s a lot harder trying to get everything to match if you’re using a special color.
That edge is hard to hide. I accidentally picked up the cab of my Canton RR engine with a little thinner on my thumb, obliterating the cab side lettering and logo. Thinking quickly I scanned the other side of the cb at 300 dpi, then printed it out on white Testors decal paper. A quick touch of black on the ege of the decal, some dullcoat, and the tragedy was averted.
As I have previously explained on other decal threads, I like to use the Evan Designs decal paper for ALL of my white and clear background decals. I find the model color match by first comparing computer screen colors to the actual model and getting as close as possible. I then create color swatch squares along the top edge of my decal design page and assign the closest screen color to the center swatch. I then assign incrementally darker shades of the center color swatch to each consecutive swatch to the left of center. I also assign incrementally lighter shades of the center color to each swatch to the right of center. Before I do anything else in the decal design process, I print out the color swatches on the actual decal paper (don’t use regular bond paper as it will take the ink colors differently than the decal paper). Compare the printed swatches to the model and select the closest swatch (or try again if none match). Once you find the best match, name it (eg. Accurail ATSF Oxide), and save it for future decal use.
Design your white letter decals using the best match background color and print them out. The Evan Designs decal paper does not require a sealer spray as the paper coating traps and locks in the ink (it really does work). I like to make my white letter decals a bit oversized to I can trim the decal edges to match a panel size or rivet lines which helps hide the decal edges. Warning! If you want your white lettering to remain white, use only acylic based clear top coats as solvent based clears will turn the Evan Designs white background permanently clear. Be careful of aerosol cans of acrylic sealers as the propellent may contain solvents that will turn the white background clear (don’t ask how I know this). If you can still see white edges around one of these decals, carefully apply a little DullCote and the white edges will turn clear.
