Need help to find out how to make custume Signs or to get some place to make them

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
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Need help i want to get a custume sign made

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I just print out my own custom signs, using my word processing program. Typically you can adjust font color / size and background color / size, print it out on plain old paper, or card stock, and glue it to sheet styrene. I went online and googled fonts and down loaded interesting fonts.That’s how I do it, and it seems to work pretty good.

Oh, you can also print onto decal paper as long as you seal them real good before using them (ink jet).

Glenn

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You can also print directly onto 1/64 wood with most inkjet printers. Here’s a how-to link and example. Fred http://www.2guyzandsumtrains.com/Content/pa=showpage/pid=18.html

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I was messing with signs during the Christmas break and found an interesting tool to make adhesive backings for signs, as opposed to using the decal kits sold at the LHS. First, the decal kits sold are pretty expensive if you’re doing a lot, especially when the decal sheets are 8.5" by 11" and you only need one or two decals…what a waste. They also sell kits which have half sheets and comes with the spray-on adhesives which becomes expensive after a while. Anyhow I went to a local Michaels Craft shop and purchased an interesting label maker called a Xyron 250. For example, I cut/pasted old billboards from my computer and printed them on simple printer paper. Then you cut just what you want to print (up to 2.5" in width) and send them through the machine. The machine applies an adhesive backing to the paper or any material up to 1/8" thick. Then cut the decal to shape desired and apply. It works great and I paid about 20.00 bucks for it. Here’s a link to their site:

http://www.xyron.com/products_list.php/sub_category_id/argval/2?sess_id=41606e28e753442eceb756d95a1b4c53

They don’t show the Model 250 which is about $ 20.00 or so and comes with an adhesive cartridge. After that, all you replace is the cartridge which is about $ 13.00 or so which is about 20 feet long and 2.5" wide, that will produce plenty of decals. Hope this helps.

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I used Word for a lot of my stuff too, but sometimes I need something smaller then Word will go. Microsoft Publisher will print much smaller fonts, you just won’t have so many different styles of fonts to pick from. I used it for car markings in N scale if that gives you an idea of the sizes available. You don’t get backgrounds either.

By the way, you have to seal laser printed decals too I think.

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Scan the magazines and sunday papers for suitable pictures small enough for your layout. Wrappers from sweets are sometimes also small enough to use. Cut out and mount on card or stick direct onto the building where they’re needed.

I did and it looks fine (see pic below)
[image]http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d91/Challenger3802/WaitingRoom.jpg[/image]
Look inside the building and you’ll see a train picture - this was found in a flyer advertising train vacations, just the right size for HO gauge buildings

Ian

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I did a google search for the signs I wanted, downloaded them as pictures, adjusted them and printed on my color pronter. It worked better than I thought. I certainly will try the printing on thin wood as Fred suggested. That is real cool.

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If you want to make your paper signs look really old…Turn them over, and using sandpaper, sand them down until they are really thin and then apply them to your structure. The sanding makes the paper look really old and it also fades the ink somewhat.

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Look on ebay at the classic advertising sections… I’ve found more neat signs there than I know what to do with… Then follow any of the advice above for putting them on the layout…

[image]http://www.rolleiman.com/trains/brewery1.jpg[/image]

The 2 signs on the above building were downloaded from Ebay at some point, printed on plain white paper with an Epson Stylus 600 printer, sanded, and then glued on. They’ve been there for about 6 years now, are glued with white elmers school type glue, have survived the dampness from 2 basement floods and are holding strong…

Good luck,
Jeff

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Does anyone have suggestions for seealing labels prinbted with a laser printer on label paper ? I boguth some Labco label paper today. They recommend tape made by MANCO called Cyrstal Clear. They also state that color is out for inkjet printers because the water will cause the ink to run when applied. Right now I was simply looking at some black lettering labels and the LAbco paper looks like it will work, if sealed properly. I am curious what others are doing for color labels and printing their own labels on clear transfer paper ?

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I design my signs in Corel Draw. It works like Word only I can skew bend or have the words follow a curve, like a semi-circle. I model the old west, and don’t like white paper for signs. I have been tinting the paper with a light brown was of acrylic paint, but lately, I’ve taken to printing my signs on brown parchment paper–which you can get at any copy store.

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I found another thread here where someone recommended two coats of Dullcote to seal the decals. I am going to try that and see how it works.

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Just a little note here. ‘image’ doesn’t work. You have to use ‘IMG’

Like this:

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J Binkley asked about sealer for inkjet. Micro_ Mark decal paper which is inkjet printed uses Krylon Clear acrylic as sealer. It works good but use a minimum of water if you are applying decals. Just alittle puddle on a yogurt lid. Do not immerse the decal. For paper it should work great. You could probly get satin or flat in that color at the hardware store,and yes Dullcote might be worth a try but it is Lacquer.

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I like decals, personally. There was a bit of a learning curve to get them right, but now I do them all the time. I find that I can print a short row of decals and slice the paper with a paper cutter right below the row. Then, I can re-use the short sheet and print some more. The printer doesn’t know how long the paper is, really.

These were both graphic image downloads. (Right click on pretty much any picture you like, and choose “Save Picture As.”) I import them (Insert-Picture-From File) into Word and re-size them, and then print them out. This one is George Burns and Gracie Allen for a popular luncheon treat, with the decal applied to a DPM building:

Sam-I-Am Wants You, printed on a decal and applied to a fence made from coffee stirrers. Both of these are printed on “clear” decal paper. That means that anything which is white comes out clear. To provide the white background, I first paint the square behind the decal with white acrylic paint.

The rough surface both of these are applied to really breaks up the smooth look of the original, and adds years without any extra weathering work on my part. These signs are all just printed on the computer. I used a combination of Word with Word Art and Paint for these. I print them on card stock, which is stiffer than paper. (It’s a decal on the barrel.)

Finally, back to some more decals. They are applied to the outside of the windows. The curtains inside are printed on paper and glued. The “Evil Eye” above the door is a download, printed on cardstock (2 copies) and glued back-to-back.

[img]http://www.railimages.com/albums/bruceleslie/afr

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The Dullcote method seems to have worked so far. I haven’t brushed anything over the decal yet to seal it to the building but it came off the label paper easily. This was printed with a laser printer.

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I print my signs and decals on onion skin paper. It works pretty good.