Erwin Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 Hi decalprinters, I've been meaning to ask this for a while now.So here goes. Ray has printed me the excelent Belgian decals. I had to cut as close as possible to the print. How come this isn't the case with decals provided in kits. Each print slides off seperately. Selfprinted decals don't. How do the printers of kit's decals manage that ? And why can't the selfprinter do that also ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokinguns3 Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 You know what Erwin thats a damn good question id like to know to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattlow Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 Hi Erwin I think this is because kit decals are printed onto carrier film which is shaped to fit the decal - i.e. slightly larger than the printed decal. Self printed decals are printed onto a sheet of carrier film - i.e. the carrier film is as large as the sheet of backing paper. Hope this makes sense. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted September 6, 2006 Author Share Posted September 6, 2006 Hi Erwin I think this is because kit decals are printed onto carrier film which is shaped to fit the decal - i.e. slightly larger than the printed decal. Self printed decals are printed onto a sheet of carrier film - i.e. the carrier film is as large as the sheet of backing paper. Hope this makes sense. Matt I figured it was something like that. But why can't selfprinters do that also? Does it need a special type of printer ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithery Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 I figured it was something like that. But why can't selfprinters do that also? Does it need a special type of printer ? Quite simply Erwin, your printer at home isn't able to make the carrier film out of ink or toner. The carrier film is a very thin layer of plastic coating that the ink sits on top of. Decal paper that we buy has had that coating already sprayed on. Otherwise, you'd be able to print decals onto regular printer paper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_Clements Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 Decals as supplied in most kits are of the silk-screen printed variety that uses a final 'clear' ink to cover and give strength to each printed image. The paper they are printed onto has no carrier - only the waterslide adhesive. Decals printed on Laser/Inkjet or ALPS has a full 'carrier' film that the images are printed onto - hence you have to cut close to each image. Bear in mind thet most kit silk-screened decals have a 'carrier' that is about 1-1.5mm larger than the visible image, cutting close to the image with the inkjet/laser/ALPS decals is no real problem. If only I could do what Erwin suggests with self printed decals. I have tried, but to no avail - the only real conclusion I cam up with is to print with the ALPS onto 'adhesive only' paper and have a silk screened final varnsih on each image. Long winded but it should work. All the best, Rob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ray Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 A couple of other interesting self-made decal procedures out there now: I have a decal paper that says you should print your image in reverse then place your decal upside down on your model. Haven't tried it out yet. Also, there is a system out there to make your own dry transfers, which of course leave no decal film. Kind of labor intensive as you have to spray this on, then that on. I haven't tried it yet but plan to when I have the time. Whenever THAT is!!! No matter what though, you almost always stuck with the Alps to create your white undercoat, unless you want to do a lot of individual cutting out of white decal film, or masking and painting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LSP_Jay L Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 Here's another method... I've started using Montex masks, and I havent looked back. Before the P-36 bit the dust, I was very impressed with the markings. As I use enamels they take a bit longer to do than regular decals, but I imagine if someone were using acrylics, they would take about the same amount of time. Cheers guys, Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ray Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 Here is a pretty darn good new website that describes using the Alps to make your own decals. I got it off the Alps Yahoo mailing list that I subscribe to. http://www.xs4all.nl/~robdebie/models/decals.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stusbke Posted September 16, 2006 Share Posted September 16, 2006 Here is a pretty darn good new website that describes using the Alps to make your own decals. I got it off the Alps Yahoo mailing list that I subscribe to. http://www.xs4all.nl/~robdebie/models/decals.htm Yeah but the problem is where to get one of these puppies? Greetz STB Frederick Jacobs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ray Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Yeah but the problem is where to get one of these puppies? You might still be able to find an Oki version in Europe. THere are a couple of vendors online that sell Alps and Oki's. They also show up on eBay occasionally, but it is a real problem if it is working correctly or not, especially since normal inkjet printer paper can damage the heads of the Alps type printers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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