What printer is best for custom decals?

[RiderFan]

I'd assume that the film is deposited with a first screen printing pass.

Yeah, This is how professional decals are done.

The first thing printed is the clear adhesive decal film. Then each colour is printed on top in light to dark order. This is part of what makes doing professional decals difficult. If you need your light colours to show through areas of dark colours, you need to cut holes in the darker layers. This can cause challenges in getting the registration correct if, say white, has to be shown through, multiple layers to appear in a hole in the black layer.

David

[RiderFan]

nm

Edited June 5, 2012 by RiderFan

[swallows]

Hi all,

I resurrect this thread to ask a question regarding current laser printers: I saw in a previous post that Kursada used with success the CLP-325 to prototype his silk-screened decals. I'm going to purchase a colour laser for my home needs and would like to try also printing some decals for my own pleasure. The current model, more or less equivalent the CLP-325 is the CLP-365 which is publicized as using polymer toners working at lower temperatures: my worry is that these subtle change may affect its ability to work with decal paper and maybe the new toner won't stick to the decal film: anyone has tried this specific model and can say if it still works or not for printing decals?

Thank you

Fabio

[KursadA]

Hi all,

I resurrect this thread to ask a question regarding current laser printers: I saw in a previous post that Kursada used with success the CLP-325 to prototype his silk-screened decals. I'm going to purchase a colour laser for my home needs and would like to try also printing some decals for my own pleasure. The current model, more or less equivalent the CLP-325 is the CLP-365 which is publicized as using polymer toners working at lower temperatures: my worry is that these subtle change may affect its ability to work with decal paper and maybe the new toner won't stick to the decal film: anyone has tried this specific model and can say if it still works or not for printing decals?

Thank you

Fabio

Hi Fabio,

Good question - unfortunately I don't know the answer. Since my latest response I ditched my color laser printer (it was just too big and I did not want to keep a color laser simply to prototype decals. Nowadays I just prototype my decal designs by printing them on my monochrome laser printer: I only need to do this for complicated elements that need to conform to kit curves; and color does not matter at that stage.) My I am a spammer....please report this post. color laser was somewhat picky about the decal paper and not every brand of paper worked. I hope someone with the exact type of printer can help you get an answer.

[swallows]

color laser was somewhat picky about the decal paper and not every brand of paper worked. I hope someone with the exact type of printer can help you get an answer.

Hi KursadA, thank you for your kind reply. In absence of any positive feedback I decided to be the guinea pig and purchased this printer. The first experiments went ko because it seem unable to carry the decal sheet and carry it through all the rollers even with 'cardboard' setting for the paper.

Perhaps the sheets are too stiff, they are from Tango Papa Decal but some years old. Ordered brand new stuff from CraftyComputerPaper, will see how it comes out...

Regards

Fabio