Gunny Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Who can you recommend to print single sheets of custom decals, if anyone? I mainly want a few 1/48 sheets that I already have scaled up to 1/32. I studied how to do my own about 15 years ago but never got around to it. If there's no one known here that can do the work can someone give me a tutorial on how to do my own again? I have the paper & a Cannon Ink Jet printer. Thanks for your time! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spejic Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 If the designs are black (or close to it), or if the decals are going on a white aircraft, then you can print your decals on clear decal paper using the inkjet printer. In some cases you can print your images on white decal paper and cut them out. Otherwise you will need a printer that prints opaquely - namely the Alps printer. There are people that print out your designs on their Alps printer for a fee. A search for other custom decal threads will give you some contacts. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cap'n Wannabe Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Here's a couple of sheets I've designed: I use Autocad to get the primary line work done, then import it into CorelDraw....that's just because I've been using Autocad for about 20 years and know it backwards. Both programs are vector based, so the artwork can be easily scaled up or down, and easliy tweaked to suit the model. I used to print on my inkjet, but colours were an issue as they were too translucen, and white was impossible. I use a company in Sydney to print them now. Unless you're in Australia, it's probably not much use to you.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gunny Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share Posted July 16, 2015 (edited) Thanks, gents. Which Alps Printer do you recommend? Edited July 16, 2015 by Gunny Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheFlyingDutchman Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 (edited) I've used http://www.fireballmodels.info/ recently and I'm really happy with the results. I submitted a vector based file, done in CorelDRAW. I think the price is very fair. Keep in mind that the ALPS printer he used works best on pure CMYK colours, mixed colours such as orange will have very visible dithering, which is also visible on the swans on my custom sheet. Once you know what's possible (white decals!!) and what isn't (gradient colours, photorealistic windows etc.), and when you learned to draw vector based in Illustrator or Corel a new world will open for you! Edited July 16, 2015 by TheFlyingDutchman Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gunny Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 I've used http://www.fireballmodels.info/ recently and I'm really happy with the results. I submitted a vector based file, done in CorelDRAW. I think the price is very fair. Keep in mind that the ALPS printer he used works best on pure CMYK colours, mixed colours such as orange will have very visible dithering, which is also visible on the swans on my custom sheet. Once you know what's possible (white decals!!) and what isn't (gradient colours, photorealistic windows etc.), and when you learned to draw vector based in Illustrator or Corel a new world will open for you! Thank you for the intel. Which version of CorelDRAW do you recommend? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cap'n Wannabe Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 I use Corel X7, which is the latest. I only have a very basic knowledge of it - enough to do what I want it to do, and that's it. The company that prints my decals uses X6...converting between the two is simple - just a matter of me saving to the previous version. Another thing that I find handy about Corel is that you can subscribe monthly rather than shelling out big $$ for the package. As I don't use it all the time, this is very handy for me. Costs me somewhere around $27 AUD for the month. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheFlyingDutchman Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 (edited) I use X7 as well, bought a cheap license for educational purposes through my dad who's a teacher. I didn't want to use illegal software for my small decal company but didn't want to pay +300 euros for it either.. But any earlier version will do for most decal designing purposes. I converted it to PDF and sent it to Fireball. Just make sure you use his template as found on the website. Edited July 17, 2015 by TheFlyingDutchman Quote Link to post Share on other sites
11bee Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 +1 on Fireball, I've used him. Great product, great service and a very competitive price. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gunny Posted August 5, 2015 Author Share Posted August 5, 2015 Thanks for the info, gents. One other question: Alternatively to the Alps, would any of the Epson printers work for DIY decals? Thanks! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gunny Posted August 7, 2015 Author Share Posted August 7, 2015 Thanks for the info, gents. One other question: Alternatively to the Alps, would any of the Epson printers work for DIY decals? Thanks! Does anyone have an answer about experience with the Epson printers for decal printing? Further, which ink works best? Thanks! Masterguns Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spejic Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 Does anyone have an answer about experience with the Epson printers for decal printing? Further, which ink works best? Thanks! Inks in Epson and any other ink jet printer are mostly transparent except for black. So black markings work great, and you can do color markings for white (or very light) areas of aircraft. Color decals on non-white surfaces will look wrong, and it is impossible to make a marking lighter than the paint under it. You can print to white decal paper, but it has to be a simple shape you can cut out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tsubame Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 (edited) Does anyone have an answer about experience with the Epson printers for decal printing? Further, which ink works best? Thanks! Masterguns . I've just created my first ever custom decals for a South Korean 1/48 AH1J SeaCobra using an EPSON SX405 inkjet printer with cheap aftermarket ink that cost less for 3 sets of colour and black cartridges than one EPSON single colour cartridge! Admittedly I only needed to print black decals and haven't tried colour decals yet but I can report that the results are flawless! Furthermore I used Humbrol Matt Cote to seal the decals instead of the proper fixing spray and it works perfectly, with no ink run and the clear decal part disappeared completely after applying over the gloss cote on the bodywork, and also saved me having to pay quite a lot for stuff I'm hardly going to use again! I've run out of decal paper so I can't try to do a colour test print for you but I have to make some coloured Iranian AH1J SeaCobra decals soon so when I do them I let you know if they work too. . Oh, by the way, you can paint directly onto decal paper with enamel paint so that could be a way to create white backgrounds for roundels - just place the colour roundels over the white decals to get the white part They don't even need to be fixed because the paint is already waterproof! Edited September 13, 2015 by Tsubame Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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