Ink Jet decals not dark (saturated) enough

[chuck540z3]

I've made home made decals before, but it was always black colored ones on light colored backgrounds. They looked OK and did the trick.

Now I'm trying to print light colored decals like yellow and red on a black painted background, and they are a total bust. The color saturation is so poor I can't see a thing. So far I have:

• Used high resolution on clear decal film made for ink jet printers.
  
• Increased the saturation of color to maximum.
  
• Increased contrast to maximum
  
• Sprayed them with Testors decal sealant
  

and they still suck, even though they look great on the white background of the decal film.

Is the answer to use color laser printing instead? Will that give me enough color saturation that they will look like real decals?

BTW, for this application I cannot use white decal film. I need it to be clear.

TIA

Edited July 29, 2010 by chuck540z3

[MHaz]

Without something white behind them, yellows and reds will NEVER look good. About the best I can recommend for you is to call Draw Decal and get them to make your decals for you.

[JohnS]

It's a typical problem with inkjet printers. I have a hi-res printer, but have the same problem.

My quick fix was to print out two copies of each decal, and place one over the other on the model. The down side is the thicker decal.

[chuck540z3]

It's a typical problem with inkjet printers. I have a hi-res printer, but have the same problem.

My quick fix was to print out two copies of each decal, and place one over the other on the model. The down side is the thicker decal.

Thanks guys,

I tried the above method and it still looked crappy- and thick. What I'm doing now is bringing my decal project to a professional copy company and they are going to use their laser printer (on laser decal film) and intensify the color density. If this doesn't work, nothing will.

[TausugAIR]

Without something white behind them, yellows and reds will NEVER look good. About the best I can recommend for you is to call Draw Decal and get them to make your decals for you.

chuck540z3 . . I agree with Mhaz, there should be something white behind the ink-jet printed decal when affixing the decal on dark back-ground.. in the photo below, the Academy 72nd P-51 Mustang wears a decal set printed in Alps MD5500 Printer, while the A-4F ( in a Philippine Air Force "what-if" adaptation of USN Lady Jessie) has decals printed in HP-1280 Ink Jet Printer (both on clear decal paper).. In the latter, the scale poster size photo on the gray colored fuselage is on top of light cream colored piece of equal size decal... the yellow flash is on the white colored underwing fuel tank..

Below is a another HP Ink-Jet printed decal applied on a silver/aluminum colored aircraft . those on the aluminum surface have no white underlay (except for the star and bars that sits on white back-ground to show the white star). . Note the tail-fin badge (on dark ruuder) lack of color registration due to not so opaque a white background..

My apology if the photos may be intrusions . . . These are for illustrations... thanks

Farouk

(from the Philippines)...

Edited July 29, 2010 by TausugAIR

[Triarius]

It doesn't matter whether you are painting or printing, some colors have poor hide, especially white, yellow, orange, chartruse, and some reds.

When you need a color like yellow over black, print black on yellow decal film, and undercoat the decal with white or silver. Same with the other problematic colors.

[chuck540z3]

Again thanks guys. To demonstrate what my challenge is, here's the custom decal I'm trying to create on a Lancaster. The big white ball on the left worked just fine on white decal paper, but the "Virgin Vickie" on the right is the problem. There's no way I can get white under those tiny letters....

[peebeep]

Unless you have access to an ALPS printer or can get hold of special ink for inkjet printing then the only successful method of inkjet printing your own decals in colours other than black is to do so on white decal paper. By definition this means that you have to trim the decal absolutely on the money to avoid unwanted white, although if you can get a good match it is possible to outline the decal design with background colour.

peebeep

[terryt]

What you need to do is to print the image on white decal paper and print the background color around the white. After you put the decal on the model, blend it in with an airbrush.

Edited July 30, 2010 by terryt

[terryt]

What you need to do is to print the image on white decal paper and print the background color around the white an after you put the decal on the model, blend it in with an airbrush.

Using white decal paper, make your artwork with a black background around the white lettering. Since the sides of a Lancaster are black it shouldn't be hard to blend black paint with the decal.

Edited July 30, 2010 by terryt

[chuck540z3]

Thanks again guys- I just learned something again today!

Anyway, the painting around the lettering just isn't going to work with my shaky hands and the weathered paint I already have on my Lanc. Instead, I printed the lettering in yellow first, settled the decal down, then covered it with a red lettered decal. It's not great, but it sure beats what I had before- and it might even pass for weathered lettering. :lol:

[RiderFan]

Yep, as others have mentioned light coloured decals need to be printed on white paper. And use a colour laser printer if you can find one (Staples sells them for under $200 now). I've been doing my own decals for a few years and unless I'm putting the decal on a white subject (Federation starship's are handy for that), you need to print brightly coloured markings on white and cut them out.

I'd love to get my hands on an ALPS printer....

[Andy Mullen]

Another suggestion for the surround, is print the black (I assume its black on the lanc) on the edges, then use your weathering to blend the black of the decal with the balck paint.