Decal Paper Blues

[rokitflite]

OK, I have been buying decal paper from Tango Papa for 5 years or so now. The last batch I got was "defective" in that it had little to no glue. It would come off of the backing paper after 2 seconds in the water and "silver" even when applied to a sheet of smooth, clean glass. I contacted Tom about it and he said mine was the only complaint that he has had. I contacted the company that makes the paper out of the UK and they said they had no complaints yet. I've sent samples to both parties to prove my point, but in the mean time I'm dead in the water for decals (hence no kits right now). I ordered paper from one of our distributors, Stevens International, and it turned out it was made by the same company I'm having issues with... So. Now I want to order some of the Micro Mark paper. I tried to get in touch with them to find out who makes their paper because I don't want to end up with MORE bad paper. Their line stayed busy all day. Does anyone here know if the Micro Mark laser decal paper is made by Trelis Russell? If any of the sheets say "Decafix" or have any other writing in red, dot matrix type letters on the back, the answer is yes.

 

[jim fustini]

Ping "Sandman" aka Gordon Angello He maybe able to shed some light on it.

 

[Shade]

I pulled out my Micro-Mark paper and the backing only has in Blue printing
(not dot matrix) Inkjet/Clear waterslide decal paper.

There are no other identifying marks save for Micro-Mark's

 

[rokitflite]

Ping "Sandman" aka Gordon Angello He maybe able to shed some light on it.

Gordon and I get our paper from the same vendor, thanks though.

 

[rokitflite]

I pulled out my Micro-Mark paper and the backing only has in Blue printing
(not dot matrix) Inkjet/Clear waterslide decal paper.

There are no other identifying marks save for Micro-Mark's

Thanks! THAT is some good news!

 

[sandman]

Gordon and I get our paper from the same vendor, thanks though.

Yep, but my problem with the paper is a little different. I'm getting some kind of "debri" under the plastic film. I actually think some of the debri is what may have damaged the printer head on one of my printers.

 

[stantonjtroy]

Thanks! THAT is some good news!

Scott, I checked mine and it says the same BUT it is for ink jet, you specified for Laser printer. Micro Mark has three papers; Decal paper for Inkjet printers, Decal paper for Inkjet and Laser Printers , Decal paper for Laser printers and Copiers. Not trying to let the air out of your sails but they may get them from different sources. I swear by their inkjet paper but I'd hate to see you get stuck with a batch of paper you already have. FWIW

Troy

 

[Micromeister]

OK, I have been buying decal paper from Tango Papa for 5 years or so now. The last batch I got was "defective" in that it had little to no glue. It would come off of the backing paper after 2 seconds in the water and "silver" even when applied to a sheet of smooth, clean glass. I contacted Tom about it and he said mine was the only complaint that he has had. I contacted the company that makes the paper out of the UK and they said they had no complaints yet. I've sent samples to both parties to prove my point, but in the mean time I'm dead in the water for decals (hence no kits right now). I ordered paper from one of our distributors, Stevens International, and it turned out it was made by the same company I'm having issues with... So. Now I want to order some of the Micro Mark paper. I tried to get in touch with them to find out who makes their paper because I don't want to end up with MORE bad paper. Their line stayed busy all day. Does anyone here know if the Micro Mark laser decal paper is made by Trelis Russell? If any of the sheets say "Decafix" or have any other writing in red, dot matrix type letters on the back, the answer is yes.

Scott:
Looked at all the Micro Marks Laser Paper I have it's just blue backing with some black copy not dot matrix of any color.
I've been using this paper for years, it's the very finest decal paper i've been able to find and i've never has a single dog eared piece in more the 8 years. This latest batch was purchased in November of last year.
Hope this helps some.

 

[rokitflite]

Scott:
Looked at all the Micro Marks Laser Paper I have it's just blue backing with some black copy not dot matrix of any color.
I've been using this paper for years, it's the very finest decal paper i've been able to find and i've never has a single dog eared piece in more the 8 years. This latest batch was purchased in November of last year.
Hope this helps some.

Yes, it does... I will order some. The Tango Papa stuff has been GREAT over the years and I will go back to it IF they fix the problem. I also love the fact that he has 8 1/2 x 14 sheets.

 

[foose4string]

I've had issues with three batches over the past few years. Papilio, Bel(Decalpaper.com), and Micro Mark. My most recent orders were from Bel and Micro Mark papers. Both looked identical to me, and both displaying the same adhesion problem you described. Bel's customer service is absolutely horrible. Good luck getting in touch with someone there. If you do, you'll be transferred to through several people, each passing the buck to the next, with no resolution or answers. They don't answer emails either.

The inkjet paper from BOTH Bel and Micro Mark have white backing and blue printing on the back in a block style font. The printing says: (Larger font on top line) "Inkjet/Clear", (smaller font below) "waterslide decal paper". The text is repeated over and over on the back and angled about 30 degrees. There is nothing to distinguish the two sources other than the plastic sleeves and instruction inserts. Otherwise they look identical and both performed badly.

When I went back to look at the papers I noticed I ordered a few sheets of the blue back paper... in the event I was able to persuade a friend to make some decals for me on his ALPS down the road. I ordered it from Micro Mark the same time I ordered the inkjet paper from them this fall. I had forgotten all about it. It's blue backed paper with the red dot matrix printing that you decribed and has a white tissue-like sheet protecting the main transfer film. I'm planning on coming down to the shop on Thursday, I can bring a sheet of this MM stuff for you to try out and see if you have better results with it.

The decal paper I've have been most consistently happy with(and have ordered several times from) is from Kustom Rides. I usually order the premium grade.

 

[rokitflite]

I ordered it from Micro Mark the same time I ordered the inkjet paper from them this fall. I had forgotten all about it. It's blue backed paper with the red dot matrix printing that you decribed and has a white tissue-like sheet protecting the main transfer film. I'm planning on coming down to the shop on Thursday, I can bring a sheet of this MM stuff for you to try out and see if you have better results with it.

Did you wait until I ordered it to post this?

 

[rosko_racer]

I've had issues with three batches over the past few years. Papilio, Bel(Decalpaper.com), and Micro Mark. My most recent orders were from Bel and Micro Mark papers. Both looked identical to me, and both displaying the same adhesion problem you described. Bel's customer service is absolutely horrible. Good luck getting in touch with someone there. If you do, you'll be transferred to through several people, each passing the buck to the next, with no resolution or answers. They don't answer emails either.

The inkjet paper from BOTH Bel and Micro Mark have white backing and blue printing on the back in a block style font. The printing says: (Larger font on top line) "Inkjet/Clear", (smaller font below) "waterslide decal paper". The text is repeated over and over on the back and angled about 30 degrees. There is nothing to distinguish the two sources other than the plastic sleeves and instruction inserts. Otherwise they look identical and both performed badly.

When I went back to look at the papers I noticed I ordered a few sheets of the blue back paper... in the event I was able to persuade a friend to make some decals for me on his ALPS down the road. I ordered it from Micro Mark the same time I ordered the inkjet paper from them this fall. I had forgotten all about it. It's blue backed paper with the red dot matrix printing that you decribed and has a white tissue-like sheet protecting the main transfer film. I'm planning on coming down to the shop on Thursday, I can bring a sheet of this MM stuff for you to try out and see if you have better results with it.

The decal paper I've have been most consistently happy with(and have ordered several times from) is from Kustom Rides. I usually order the premium grade.

Craig: Do I have some of that same decal paper? At what time are you planning on stopping by the hobby shop on Thursday???

 

[foose4string]

Raul, the stuff I left you at the shop was from Micro Mark. You may want to try a sheet and see if you have better luck than I did. I wasn't happy with it. I haven't bothered hassling them for a refund, and it's probably been too long now anyway. I'll probably end up getting down to the shop around 11 AM.

 

[rokitflite]

Well, I got the Micro Mark paper, and as far as the glue, it's fine. The only problem is that it's so glossy that the Alps ink does not stick to it well. After several screwed up sheets that printed well on the Tango Papa paper, but terrible on the Micro Mark stuff, I tried something out... I SANDED the decal paper first with 600 grit sand paper! After that, it worked fine. A pain in the butt, but at least I can make decals again!

 

[troj]

Well, I got the Micro Mark paper, and as far as the glue, it's fine. The only problem is that it's so glossy that the Alps ink does not stick to it well. After several screwed up sheets that printed well on the Tango Papa paper, but terrible on the Micro Mark stuff, I tried something out... I SANDED the decal paper first with 600 grit sand paper! After that, it worked fine. A pain in the butt, but at least I can make decals again!

Awesome!

Glad you got the problem solved!

-Kevin

 

[Micromeister]

Scott:
What the heck are you printing that made it necessary to sand the decal paper?

Ya know I do those teeny tiny micro decals with most of the same ribbons your using and metallics. While I have had to double printed colors over some metallics to get good coverage I haven't had to sand the paper.
Is this for a special process your doing?

 

[rokitflite]

Scott:
What the heck are you printing that made it necessary to sand the decal paper?

Ya know I do those teeny tiny micro decals with most of the same ribbons your using and metallics. While I have had to double printed colors over some metallics to get good coverage I haven't had to sand the paper.
Is this for a special process your doing?

I'm printing the same way I have printed ever since I got the printers 5 years ago. The paper is too glossy and the result is that the first layer of ink is getting pulled up by susequent layers. I tried the V Photo Primer cartridge and it would not stick to the surface at all. So, like I do to get better paint adhesion to models, I tried roughing up the surface slightly and it worked like a charm. Just a bit of a pain to have to do.

 

[Micromeister]

10-4:
I'll keep the trick in the file, in case my next batch of paper acts up... Ya just never know.

 

[rokitflite]

OK, I was wrong... The most recent batch of decal paper that I got from Micro Mark was total crap as well. The edges curl up and it silvers on a smooth surface. Craig was right... The paper has the same sort of printing on the back as the Decafix stuff. I guess they make all of the decal paper and different people put the clear laquer on it. Anyway, no more decals until they fix this crap.