Inkjet Printing Decals

i just leave 2 days to dry after printed, then put on the decals a layer of micro or superfilm liquid to seal it, i use a brush, but an airbrush is better. ps don't thin the superfilm liquid.

After seal liquid is dry just use as normal decals.

I've had better luck airbrush spraying a clear coat (I've used Tamiya clear gloss acrylic and Testors matte acrylic with good results, but keep the coats thin). I've also used a number of rattle-can clear coats like Krylon acrylic--the actual stuff works fine (i.e., doesn't bleed or run the ink), but it's tricky to keep little bubbles from appearing, and they seem resistant to popping.

I've tried brushing on Micro decal film, and have had problems with reds leaching out and "blushing" slightly. (I've got an HP F4200 printer, and use Bare Metal Foil's Experts Choice paper.)

i used too bare metal foils etc, probably micro film was old ( as mine ) or the red just not dried .

never used the glossy as seal decals, microfilm fix as a sort of rubber film on decals.

black colors work perfectly

reds colors tend to desaturete with clear decals base

my only try on a plane was on the academy corsair with white color decal sheets

Thanks for the information, also.  I was planning on trying this too, for some noseart decals that aren't available commercially. 

Does the brand of decal sheet make any/much difference?  I have a white sheet from Tauro, the only kind I could find at the time.

I'm not familiar with Tauro's line, but if it's a plain white decal sheet, it might not work. I've tried printing on MicroScale's plain white stock with terrible results--ink either beaded up instantly, or bled horribly with the clear coat even after an overly-cautious drying period (which I'm prone to allow for, anyway).

Since most sheets designed for printing decals on a home printer specify either inkjet or laser printer only, I'm assuming there's some sort of special coating involved to take and hold the given variety of ink.

My best advice would be to practice with small pieces of the decal you've got and see how it works out...but you might need something else.

Best of luck.

Thank you for the quick reply!

I think you might be right about plain white decal sheets; they are pretty slick and smooth without much "traction" for the ink to grab onto.  Beading up is a distinct possibility.

I will give it a try, anyhow; and then maybe check around for inkjet friendly decal paper.  Maybe someplace like a craftstore might even stock them.  I was looking around back in January, and at that time no one seemed to have any, except Hannant's in London, where I got mine.

I see Tower Hobbies has a brand of Testor's decal sheets, for a decal printing system, to work with inkjets.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXESK4&P=V

Maybe someone has experience or knowledge of this?  It sounds great if it would work.

I've never used Testors decal paper (although I recently picked up a pack to experiment with, just haven't had a chance to try it yet). If you find yourself looking for other options, the "Experts Choice" brand is available directly from BareMetal's website:

http://www.bare-metal.com/Experts-Choice-Decal-Film.html

Scalehobbyist.com also usually has it in stock, at a slightly lower price:

http://www.scalehobbyist.com/catagories/browse.php?pg=1&ppp=24&sb=stocknumber&so=a&kw=film&man=BMF

I have no affiliation whatsoever with either company, but I've had good, consistent results with the product.

Cheers

I'm partial to the stuff sold by Micro Mark.  You can get both white and clear,  in both inkjet and laser print.  The stuff is good decal paper and always had good order service from Micro Mark.

I have printed with both Epson and Canon printers, never tried HP, but I'll bet there is not much difference between major brands of inkjet printers.

Printing dark decals is easy- use the clear sheet. Light colored decals must be applied to the white paper (inkjet printers print light colors very lightly- the ink design is not very opaque).  Using white paper means you either need to trim all decals perfectly, or match the background color of your artwork very closely with the background paint color.  The later step is difficult if you (like me) have not color calibrated your computer setup.  Decals are not bad on black- matching black is pretty easy- but for other backgrounds it is more of a challenge.

I use Testor's decal paper, and Testor's Decal Bonder.... Had pretty good results with both...

I found out that the best results for laying down decals over a dark area is to mask the area and paint it white. Even though the decal paper is white, it still not opaque enough to stop the color underneath from bleeding through. Or if the size of the decal can be handled without it folding over itself, then try cutting out a blank and place the printed piece over it.

Aeros

I found out that the best results for laying down decals over a dark area is to mask the area and paint it white. Even though the decal paper is white, it still not opaque enough to stop the color underneath from bleeding through. Or if the size of the decal can be handled without it folding over itself, then try cutting out a blank and place the printed piece over it.

 

Aeros

I found out that the best results for laying down decals over a dark area is to mask the area and paint it white. Even though the decal paper is white, it still not opaque enough to stop the color underneath from bleeding through. Or if the size of the decal can be handled without it folding over itself, then try cutting out a blank and place the printed piece over it.

 

This can work for simple shapes, but is hard for white lettering or complex shapes.,