Decal HELP!

[depressed lemur]

Hi Guys, I need some help with making my own decals for a kit I'm making. I bought some decal film designed for ink jet printers, knocked up my design and printed it on my Epson Stylus Photo R285.

For some reason this happened

I tried adjusting ink settings to best photo, photo, text and even draft, all came out the same. I even tried putting some decal film liquid on first but this just made the ink bead on top.

What am I doing wrong???

I am hoping to have this on the Britmodeller table at Cosford, but unless I sort this out I am unlikely to finish.

Amy suggestions, help etc gratefully received.

[Black Knight]

I've only seen this happen once.

A question, please do not take offence; are you sure you are printing on the film and not the backing paper? With some makes both sides look and feel the same.

If your printer is like mine, the paper needs feeding in upside down, ie backing paper uppermost, as it turns over as it goes through the printer.

[depressed lemur]

I've only seen this happen once.

A question, please do not take offence; are you sure you are printing on the film and not the backing paper? With some makes both sides look and feel the same.

If your printer is like mine, the paper needs feeding in upside down, ie backing paper uppermost, as it turns over as it goes through the printer.

None taken Black Knight! I really am at my wits end with this, and if that is all I have done wrong, then all I can say is a day you have never leaned anythig is a day wasted.

I will give the "back" a go this evening and see if it really the "front"!

[depressed lemur]

Well, thanks for the help, unfortunately the other side says do no to print on this face, so that was a fail. Anyway, I have set my ink to a low level, and immediately given the sheet a blow dry for 5 minutes with SWMBOs hair dryer and it looks like I have dried the ink enough to stay put. I have stuck it in a dark cupboard to think carefully about what it has done, and hope I will have something useable in the morning.

Other than this, any ideas?

[Giorgio N]

Never seen something like that, it's not the typical ink smearing that can happen for example if too much ink is used.

What paper brand are you using ?

I see you've tried the decal film below the artwork, better don't do this as the ink needs to "grip" on the paper and the film will prevent this. Of course the decal film liquid will need to be used on top to prevent the ink from dissolving in water

[depressed lemur]

Hi guys,

I am still in the dark as to why this has happened, As you suspect Giorgio, I think you are right about the amount of ink used, however, I found that if I cut it right back, and used draft, the soaking in was reduced, but he quality was no good. I am wondering whether this has to do with the fact I am using "aftermarket" ink, rather than the more expensive Epson ink. Maybe that ink dries quicker? Anyway, aiming the hairdryer at the paper as it came out did the trick, and I managed to salvage a set of decals for my kit.

I will probably pick up some more decal film at Cosford for future attempts, but may first have to invest in a decent art package first.

[Giorgio N]

Yes, setting draft reduces the amount of ink but of course the quality is not as good. In the past my preferred setting was photo, as best photo tended to use too much ink and often the ink smeared.

The aftermarket ink might very well be the problem here, it's very hard to know how these will behave. In any case, I'm glad you sorted this and have some useable decals.