Orbital Transport - who makes the best decals?

[chronister]

Hi. I am aware of several differnt companies selling reproduction Orbital Transport decals, and they vary greatly in price. Have you tried more than one, so that you could offer a comparison? Which one is the most accurate (the most true to the original Estes graphics)?

 

[stantonjtroy]

I made my own when I build my OT clone. I downloaded them from Jim Z's, did a little cleanup/ color tweak in photoshop and printed them on Micro Mark paper. Two lite coats of Crystal Clear and they were good to go.
FWIW
Troy

 

[Micromeister]

Like Troy I've made my own decals for many years, so I can't complain don't complain about anyones. An Alps Printer and Micro-Mark papers have never let me down.

 

[foose4string]

As noted on YORF, I make my own. An Alps printer isn't really needed for rockets with a white or light colored paint scheme. An ink jet or laser printer will do fine. I've heard some folks say that the inks will fade, but I haven't experienced this yet with the HP 57 cartridges. I store my rockets in the basement which is dimly lit, so that might help.:confused2:

 

[stantonjtroy]

As for injet printed decals, you can obtain Archival inks at a slightly higher price. They will not fade out.
FWIW
Troy

 

[sandman]

I guess I forgot about this thread but anyway here's a link to an Orbital Transport decal post I just made.

https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?t=3743&highlight=Orbital+Transport

 

[Micromeister]

As for injet printed decals, you can obtain Archival inks at a slightly higher price. They will not fade out.
FWIW
Troy

Inkjets are OK, I do have a few issues with the color rendering with most inkjets. Blues tend to the purplish side and a few others just don't render well on inkjets. But as foose mentioned if your applying to a light colored model they can do a good enough job.
I've had no fade problems with Durabrite epson inks on Micro-Marks papers.

Most of the "Cheapy" on-line papers work ok as well, you just waste alot in crimped, torn or damaged in shippment sheets. After several horrible experiences with Bel papers, I personally will never buy from them again. Some folks have had better luck? On the other hand, every single sheet of every shipment i've had from Micro-Marks have been 100% perfect, not even a dogearred corner anywhere sometimes that couple extra pennies per sheet is well worth it lack of headaches IMHO.

It's also possible to make your own decal strips using water based paper packing tape (Butcher Paper Tape) and plain old spray UV clears as a base. That's how we made decals back in the B.C.... "Before Computers" LOL!!! Hard to remember that only a few short decades ago all graphics and lettering had to be Hand done. Things are so much easier now.