I have a question has anybody used the Testors decal paper in a laser printer. It is marked inkjet. I know the older laser printers are hotter than a newer laser printer. I just do not want to ruin the laser printer by melting the film. I do have a newer color laser and it does a good job on photos when I use it.
Kurt 56chevytimes2
PS at the moment we have better than 20" of snow in the DC area
Basically, you need to use inkjet paper for inkjet printers and laser paper for laser printers. They are not interchangeable. Sorry. You can get laser decal paper if you’re fortunate enough to have a laser printer to play with.
The walthers decal paper can go through laser printers, even copy machines
I just made some custom decals using decal paper for Micro-Mark www.micromark.com. There is definitely different paper for ink-jet vs. laser. Make sure you set your printer to “transparency” mode under paper type and use the highest quality resolution. With the Micro-Mark product you need to spray the decal with a clear fixative (Krylon matt) after it is printed to keep the ink from running when you loosen the paper in water to apply.
I have 2 other suggestions from my own mistakes: 1. Since the decal paper is relatively expensive, wait until you have plenty of custom decals to reproduce and cover every square inch of the 8.5" x 11" sheet so you get your money’s worth. 2. Try to get the decal as tight around non-flat structures as possible with your initial placement since the solvent (softening) solution tends to leach out some of the color. My yellow lettering faded to almost clear so I had to touch it up with a yellow Sharpie.
Good luck,
John
I’m a Scotsman, and I’ve got a different solution. I use Microsoft Word to print my decals. Mostly, I import the graphics (Insert-Picture-From File) into Word, and then re-size them. I set the margins as wide as possible to print as close to the top and sides of the page as the printer will allow. I always print a plain-paper copy first. This lets me make sure I’m getting the whole image of every decal, and I can use the paper images to check the fit of the decals on the the models.
I only print as many decals as I want at the top of the page. I give the ink a good amount of time to dry, and then I cut them off with a page-sized paper cutter. With a good square edge, I can feed the same partial sheet of decal paper back into the printer. When you’re down to the last couple of inches, tape a piece of regular paper to the back of the decal paper, and the printer will still feed it.
Another approach I use with smaller decals is first print the decal on plain paper, then cut a piece of decal sheet that will cover what has printed out leaving a bit extra at the top and bottom. I tape the piece of decal paper to the plain paper over the printed decal. Be sure to run the tape the full width of the leading edge of decal piece to prevent jams. The extra at the bottom is the decal may pick up some extra ink as it goes through the printer which would smear on the decal if it was cut close.
Before you do this, be sure you know how paper runs through your printer some print on the same side of the paper as it sits in the paper tray, and some print on the back. My Epson prints on the same side, but my wife’s HP prints on the back side.