Hello all,
I would like to scratch build an Advanced Target Drone but am unable to find the decals. I was wondering what your results were with decal paper for my inkjet printer.
It is recommended to spray the decals with clear acrylic after printing. Is this an immediate operation or do I wait a day for the ink to dry completely.
Also, is one paper better than another?
Thanks.
A couple things about Inkjet printed decals.
A: NO White is possilble from an inkjet printer, There is however pre-printed white background inkjet paper on which you can print but you'll need to have a way to crop or cut the print close so the outside white line doesn't spoil the look.
B: Clear coating your printed decals can be done generally within 30minute of the time they are printed, I personally usually wait overnight to clear coat my inkjet or Alps printed decals just to be sure.
C: Clear Coats: Most rattle can clears Do NOT contain any UV inhibitors. Because of this these clears YELLOW very badly in pretty short order. IT is a very good idea to use a UV resistant clear such as Krylon #1305 Gloss or #1309 Matte for this operation. Please note that Krylon Krystal Clear #1300 contains 0% UV Inhibitor just like Testors, S&W, and most other manufactured rattle can clears.
D: I've found the BEST inkjet or Laser(Alps printer) 8.5 X 11 Decal paper come from Micro-Mark or Paplio. I've had awful results with Bel papers. to be honest I've never had a good shipment of papers from Bel the way they package and ship the papers are AWAYS damaged in shipment.
I've never had a single sheet even dogeared when purchaseing from either Micro-Mark or Paplio. Paper quality is supurb and either Clear or White screened backgrounds have been top notch. Neither is the cheapest place to purchase decal paper but then if you get crappy paper with shipping damage from a cheaper source is it really cheaper?
Last thing about printing your own decals: These inkjet decals are much Thinner then real Silkscreened waterslide decals. If not given a couple coats of UV Resistant Clear overcoat they will stretch out of shape badly during application.
I've found it helps my set the inkjet inks with another Clear coat product before applying the Krylon 1305 Gloss UV clear top coat(s)
That product is Krylon #1306 Workable Fixafit. that is not misspelled Workable Fixatif is a fine arts spary clear ment to set pastels, charcoal and pencil art. Works wonderfully on fresh inkjet inks which are not waterproof at all.
One last note on inkjet decals: because these inks do not overlap but are rather super closely spaced Dots of color they ALL come out translucent. don't expect even dark color decals to show up well on darker painted models.
It is also very important to leave about 1/16" no color border around all Inkjet decals when cutting from the sheet. If water gets to any part of your inkjet printed color that water will wick into the entire decal turning it into a brown yuck instantly.
Hope these help a little.
Edit: If any would like a little more info on various methods of printing or making your own water slide decals a visit to
www.narhams.org library section looking for Tech Tip-016 "Making Decals" could be of help.