Homemade Decals...Advice Sought!

[fightersweep]

Hi All;

Recently, I made up some artwork on my PC for some decals that I needed for a project. It was just a few odments that I needed, namely some VF-11 Red Rippers badges (for a rendition of Stephen Grey's bearcat) and a whole batch of Great Warbirds Air Display "Teddies" (the little teddy design that all the display aircraft wore at the 1983 show at West Malling) in 1/72, 1/32 and 1/24 scales. So all simple stuff.

Wizzed off to my local copy shop today to get the designs lazer printed onto Hannants clear decal sheet, and being quite pleased with myself, wizzed back home to try them out.

The problem that I have, is that the designs are very translucent and not opaque at all! In particular, the yellows are pretty useless. Therefore, my questions are;

1: Should I have had them printed onto white decal paper (although cutting around all of those teddys would be a real headache!) so that the colours would have been opaque.

2: Even though they have been lazer printed, should I still seal the sheet to protect the print?

3: Is there anyone out there who could print off my design properly so that the decals are opaque and usable at a price that won't break the bank??

I'd really appreciate some help on this as I could really use these decals for my Great Warbirds Air Display project. It's not as if the designs will ever appear on an after market sheet, so I have to try and sort this myself.

Many thanks in advance...

Steve

[Giorgio N]

Steve, you've entered a dark world the moment you started to draw your own markings.... now it will be hard to escape !

To answer your questions:

1: Should I have had them printed onto white decal paper (although cutting around all of those teddys would be a real headache!) so that the colours would have been opaque.

Yes, inks and toners used on most copiers and printers are not opaque enough to be used on their own in a clear backed decal that ends on a dark background. On white and light greys they work fine, but as the background gets darker they simply can't make it. Printing on white paper is the only alternative. Of course cutting around things like codes and serial numbers is a royal PITA... there's however an alternative: print them on white paper in a square of the same colour of the background ! Can be done easily enough if the model is a single overall colour, more difficult where the decal crosses a camouflage demarcation line

2: Even though they have been lazer printed, should I still seal the sheet to protect the print?

It's not necessary, but it's useful nonetheless: the toner used will never be as tough as the inks used in commercial decals and laser printed decals can be easily damaged. A clear coat of your choice will make them more robust.

3: Is there anyone out there who could print off my design properly so that the decals are opaque and usable at a price that won't break the bank??

There are a few people here who can, try to do a search under the "decals" section of the forum and you'll find some name

Wish you the best of luck: in my opinion watching a model completed with your own designed markings is something that gives great satisfaction.

Edited September 4, 2012 by Giorgio N

[wunwinglow]

Steve, get in touch with Greg Drawbaugh at www.drawdecal.com; excellent product and service! He did all the decals for my Comet tank kit. Usual disclaimers, just a very happy customer. The printed items work just like conventional ones, except the varnish is over the whole area, so you do have to cut out each design, but they work extremely well. Greg was at last years Telford IPMS show, so you might catch him there again this year.

Tim Perry

Edited September 4, 2012 by wunwinglow

[fightersweep]

Thanks guys for some really helpful advice! I can see where I went wrong now. I didn't really take into account the fact that the lazer printer inks would not be opaque enough, which is a shame as everything else worked out fine.

I think I will look into getting a custom sheet printed as I really don't mind paying out to get the project finished. After all, I've invested enough so far in the required kits. Is there a rough ball-park figure for the average cost of a custom printed decal sheet?

Thanks again for the advice!

Regards;

Steve

PS...apologies for sticking this in the wrong forum. Didn't notice the dedicated decals forum. Darn newbies!!

Edited September 6, 2012 by fightersweep