Printing decals

[70sFAN]

Thanks for the nice coments, Steve.
When i need decals with large colored areas, i draw them using Corel and print them at home with a HP Office Jet Ink Jet printer.
As you said, the density of the colors is better than with Ink Jet, but less precise.
When i make very small decals that need precision (like the ones below), i then use Autocad -it allows for very good control of line thickness- and print them on Laser printer
I don't own one, i have used the services of different printing companies. They had different brands of Laser printers but the quality of the prints were equivalent.

Oliver
PS: the examples below don't look good, they lost sharpness when converted from Autocad format to JPEG.

[Xuma]

I use MicroScale TrimFilm; it comes in clear and white. I have both but have only used the clear so far. For software, I use Xara Xtreme Pro which is vector-based. Printing is done on an HP Color LaserJet 3550. A few words of caution. The HP Color LaserJet is not very accurate for reproducing colors, particularly saturated colors - this can be compensated for by experimentation. Darker colors fade over time, particularly in bright light. Of course, the decals will have to be hand-trimmed, unlike manufactured decals. Making your own decals can be useful but I always look for premade decals first.

[SteveNoble]

I Making your own decals can be useful but I always look for premade decals first.

I agree on this point.Like you say it can be handy to be able to produce one off decals for a particular model or colour scheme,but I don't think you can match the proper decals from the top manufacturers.

[SteveNoble]

Thanks for the nice coments, Steve.
When i need decals with large colored areas, i draw them using Corel and print them at home with a HP Office Jet Ink Jet printer.
As you said, the density of the colors is better than with Ink Jet, but less precise.
When i make very small decals that need precision (like the ones below), i then use Autocad -it allows for very good control of line thickness- and print them on Laser printer
I don't own one, i have used the services of different printing companies. They had different brands of Laser printers but the quality of the prints were equivalent.

Oliver
PS: the examples below don't look good, they lost sharpness when converted from Autocad format to JPEG.

Thanks for the reply.I think it may be worth looking into a laser printer.I won't use it a lot,but for the times I do need to use it i think it will be a handy tool to have.Another thing you mentioned,which I never thought of was to use a local print shop to print my decals.I have one just down the road from where I live.Thanks for answering my questions,it's most appreciated.

[indycals]

Another thing you mentioned,which I never thought of was to use a local print shop to print my decals.I have one just down the road from where I live.Thanks for answering my questions,it's most appreciated.

I worked in a print shop for 14 years and I can say that won't work.... if you're talking about a Sir Speedy type print shop with actuall offset-presses that is.

The reasons:

Decal paper is too slick - inks used in offset presses wont adhere to it.

Cost: For four color printing you need to shoot four plates - that'll run you $80-$300. Then there's press set up time and finally running the job. You need probably a minimum of 50 sheets just for set up.

You would need to find a printer that does high-end silk screening (unless you are fine with Fred Cady-type quality in which case lower end silk screening might work, but to me that kind of quality is unacceptable). That would not be cheap either, but it would work and you'd get good quality (ie, Cartograph quality from a good printer). Silk Screening will also let you do white, dayglo, etc.

[Xuma]

MicroScale will custom make your decals but the minimum run is 250.

[SteveNoble]

Another thing you mentioned,which I never thought of was to use a local print shop to print my decals.I have one just down the road from where I live.Thanks for answering my questions,it's most appreciated.

I worked in a print shop for 14 years and I can say that won't work.... if you're talking about a Sir Speedy type print shop with actuall offset-presses that is.

The reasons:

Decal paper is too slick - inks used in offset presses wont adhere to it.

Cost: For four color printing you need to shoot four plates - that'll run you $80-$300. Then there's press set up time and finally running the job. You need probably a minimum of 50 sheets just for set up.

You would need to find a printer that does high-end silk screening (unless you are fine with Fred Cady-type quality in which case lower end silk screening might work, but to me that kind of quality is unacceptable). That would not be cheap either, but it would work and you'd get good quality (ie, Cartograph quality from a good printer). Silk Screening will also let you do white, dayglo, etc.

So as a person 'in the know' about decals and printing of them what is your opinion of using a laser printer/inkjet for decals? I'm not talking producing 100's of sheets for sale or anything,just the odd decals for myself for custom projects.I know printing your own decals is not ideal and I would much rather buy a pre-printed sheet any day,but there are a couple of projects that if I could produce some decals for myself it would be a real bonus as there just aren't any available aftermarket at all.

[daniel]

@ indiycals: do you offer custom printing ? if yes can you give some prices/exampüles how much it would cost.

thanks

daniel
-germany-

[indycals]

So as a person 'in the know' about decals and printing of them what is your opinion of using a laser printer/inkjet for decals? I'm not talking producing 100's of sheets for sale or anything,just the odd decals for myself for custom projects.I know printing your own decals is not ideal and I would much rather buy a pre-printed sheet any day,but there are a couple of projects that if I could produce some decals for myself it would be a real bonus as there just aren't any available aftermarket at all.

The obvious problem as previously stated is the translucency of the ink. It's the same with the decals I print, but I can print white underneath them to prevent bleedthrough. If the decals are going on a white background, there is no problem. If they're going on a color and they're not black, you have a problem. Printing on white decal film can minimize the problem, and if you're good you can print the color of your car around the logos to eliminate intricate trimming issues. In other words, for example on my Lotus 78 decals I print not only the biscuit color, but the black areas surrounding it.

Bottom line - if it works for you, go with it.

[PJE]

Michael,

What type of printer do you now use? ALPS?

Paul Erlendson