Ink Jet Decal Printing

[TheRealMrEd]

Hi all,

 

After trying many ways to print decals on several of my Epson inkjet printers over the years, all I can say is I've had varied results -- some good, many bad. Even some of the good ones went bad , however, after trying to trim the decals closely, only to watch the ink bleed out as water got under the decal sealing film, of which I have also tried many kinds.

 

In any event, as I neared the end of my recent B-45A Tornado build, I once again needed some custom decals printed. In my case, rinting on white decal paper would be fine. The only difference for me was that rather than trying to piece together the needed parts to do the job, I ended up using one brand for all the stuff, Papilio, here:http://www.papilio.com/

 

I ordered 3 of their trial 8.5 x 11 inch white decal paper, the spray-on decal fixative, and something new to me, their Ink Freeze pigment drying powder. I don't know whether one of these was the "magic" item, and it might very well be that they simply all worked together as a team. Anyway, as a rock-bottom, no frills test, here's what I did, using the above-mentioned products:

 

Fist the "stuff":

 

 

I used my trusty Epson Workforce 625, currently loaded with no-name, cheapie aftermarket inks. I did the artwork in an old copy of Photoshop, mostly because the software allowed me to set the top of page and left margins at .125" (1/8"). This positioned the actual decal print into the upper left corner of the sheet, rather than dead center on it. Also, in the printer driver I selected "best photo" and "best whizz-bang super glossy" paper, borderless.

 

I then ran the print and printed out the decals. I waited about 15 seconds and then shook the Ink Freeze powder-like substance all over the fresh decal ink, and waited for 30 seconds.

Then, I took one of the spongy gizmos they sent along with the Ink Dry, and squeegeed off the drying powder. I was really worried here that I'd  scrape off some of the ink, but that didn't happen. In fact, I pressed lightly enough that a tiny bit of powder may have been left on, as the result was very sightly grainy in spots.

 

Next, I sprayed the fixative (which has a very fine droplet nozzle (they included two extra nozzles), a medium wet coat. I waited an hour, then sprayed again, and  let dry for another 8 hours. Shown below is the result, with a piece of plain paper cut out with a window, to prevent the fixative spray from getting on the rest of the decal sheet -- placed over the top:

 

 

Note: Pic is blurry, not the decals!

 

I then trimmed these about 1/32" (or less) from the design, put them in a bowl of warm --not hot -- water for 30 seconds. They slid right off and positioned easily. They were thick enough to handle, but not super thin.

All in all I was very pleased with this "no special prep" session of home-made decal printing. You can see the results in the RFI section where they wee used on my B-45A.

 

One thing of note. After accidentally stumbling across a mention of the Ink Freeze on their website (recommended for Epson inks), I hard to actually use the search engine on the site to actually buy the stuff. Maybe they're trying to hide it.

 

Anyway the whole process was a breeze, no probs. Your mileage may vary. And no I don't own any stock or have any other interest in the company. I can only say, they solved MY problem.

 

Ed

[TimB]

Hi, theRealMrEd, thanks for posting

 

I have had the same problem but found a different recipe.  Canon inkjet plus Canon OEM ink on plain paper settings, Experts Choice decal paper, and a brush coat of Humbrol Satin Cote to seal the ink when dry works for me.  I think different inks react differently to different solvents - for example future just dissolved the ink when I tried it as a sealant. If I have to use an Epson, I'll try your mix.

Regards

Tim

[TheRealMrEd]

Thanks Tim,

 

Wish everyone would post their tricks and give us all more options.

 

BTW, was considering switching to a Cannon before working out the above.

 

Ed

[Mr T]

I have just been making some decals for a couple of models and found that what varnish I used made a big difference. I used some Crafty Computer clear inkjet paper with a Canon printer with the settings on photo paper and fine printing. It printed off alright, but when I sprayed the only varnish in a can I had, which was some Humbrol matt acrylic varnish, the ink ran slightly and the decal had a brownish cast to it. A repeat using two thinly applied coats of gloss acrylic varnish have worked much better.