I’ve done some research on the subject of printing decals at home on a inkjet printer and want to hear of some experiences using one to print black print on clear decal paper. I’d like to print decals for my Crescent passenger cars and did find good artwork but don’t know if I should try printing at home or finding someone to do it for me with proper resources. If anyone can point to a good printer who will do the job without requiring numerous sheets to be done, indeed I only want a few at most, that’d also be much appreciated.
Why not try it yourself? If you have any kind of photo editing software or office & a printer you should be able to do it a LOT cheaper than outsourcing it. You will also learn a different aspect of the hobby. . I have not had to print decals, but have made different types of signs which is no different except for what you print it on. Just be sure to seal the decal because ink jet ink is water soluble. keep us informed. jerry
I print a lot of my own decals on an old inkjet printer. Generally, this is pretty successful. However, I am never happy with getting a good black decal out of this printer. Colors are great, but black is never better than a very dark gray. Realistically, that’s not much of a problem if you weather the model, but if you’re looking for a high-quality image then you might try something else.
I have an HP 732C. It’s 10 or 15 years old. I wouldn’t be surprised if newer printers did a better job on black.
I’m sure a laser printer would be better. Be aware that laser printers use a different kind of decal paper. They are not interchangeable. It’s not a case of the right paper working “better.” It’s a case of the wrong paper not working at all.
You can put the artwork on a disk, buy some laser decal paper and go to Kinkos, Staples or some other copy place. They’ll charge you a couple of dollars. Plan ahead and fill the sheet.
One thought for darker black is to create a new color with 100% of all the colors (cyan, magenta, yellow and black). This will use more ink of course but should produce a nice solid black. This is an “old” art trick!
I printed my own for the first time two months ago. The colors come out great using the highest resolution setting on my printer. However, they seemed more difficult to apply than commercial decals. They were a bit thin and flimsy even after coating them with a clear spray. I got them to work out okay in the end, but it took a few tries. That said, I was rushing to get something done for a show. Maybe if I had more time to experiment it would have gone smoother. I was also wondering if my decal setting solution may be old.
I’d give it try if you can’t find what you want commercially.
I bought mine from their website and what I like is that there is a list of other things that you may need at the bottom of the page. While some may argue that it’s for selling you more stuff, at least you know what else is needed. You decide what you want. I’ve seen people raving and about Micromark on other websites. It’s everybody’s personal choice.
MisterBeasly, I think the issue with the black is you may not have it set to use black only. The default setting is to use color to make the black, under the advanced settings you can select black only, sometimes called greyscale.
Also the number of dpi on the printer will make a difference in the quality. The higher the dpi (dots per inch) the finer the detail. I have an HP 932c and a first gen Kodak.