Large Scale Central

Decal/Papilio info

General Discussion
#1

I’m thinking about doing some simple decals for non-rolling stock items. I know that Stan is the man for all the important decals, but I’d like to experiment with decaling some other, less important things- vehicles, signs, etc. Stuff I could maybe do at home on my Canon inkjet printer and have some fun rather than watching snow melt (I know, what could be more fun than watching snow melt, right?).

I’ve got absolutely zero experience (maybe less) with decals, but I’ve read/researched a bit about Papilio brand decals. What are your thoughts and/or experiences? I know that Testors also makes inkjet decals, but I haven’t read any good reviews about them. Maybe there are other brands/options as well.

Anything other useful info is greatly appreciated.

-Kevin.

#2

Kevin, I’ve used Photo Paper Plus with excellent results. My Johnny’s GAS has been outside for over a year now!

I have a refrig magnet from Papillo - can’t remember if I experimented with the stuff ordered, may have been buried in the pile somewhere…

#3

I use the Papilio inkjet-printable, self-adhesive vinyl all the time! After printing, spray it with a couple coats of Krylon UV-resistant clear (matte or clear depending on your specific needs) and it will hold up very well outdoors. So far the only sign I’ve had to replace was one that was getting rain and hail bounced back onto it from a nearby object, causing abnormal amounts of wear.

I’ve also printed my own decals occasionally, using decal paper I bought on ebay. I don’t know what brand it was, but it worked fine. I’ve mostly used them on rolling stock or inside buildings, only rarely on anything exposed to the elements 24/7 so I don’t know how well they’d outdoors do over the long term.

#4

Printing decals on a laser printer is sometimes recommended. Beware…NOT ALL laser printers accept the correct laser decal paper, as their rollers are heated differently. I tried it on a Brother HL 4040CN…spent the next 5 hours picking bits of laser decal paper the surface of which had melted off onto the rollers…NOT a pretty sight or easy job.

NEVER put inkjet paper thro a laser printer either.

#5

Do-It-Yourself decals sound like a wonderful cost-saving idea on the face of it, but it is not as easy as the people selling the decal products would like you to believe. The cost begins to soar when there is a mistake on relatively expensive, small sheets of paper, and then there is the cost of spray used to coat the decal.

My advise is to use a professional to do it for you. Our member Stan Cedarleaf does a great job and at a low cost. He can help you over many hurdles with the decal process and save you money in the process.

http://gold.mylargescale.com/StanCedarleaf/WebPageDecals/CustomDecalsx.html

#6

I’ve not used the vinyl.

I haven’t tried printing decals with an inkjet.

But my experience with laser printed decals has been mixed.

Black lasts a long time. Colors fade very quickly outdoors.

Ralph

#7

Like Ray, I too have had good luck with inkjet decal sheets bought on eBay ($10.69 delivered for 10 8x10 sheets). I Print and coat with Krylon 3 times then apply using micro sol and/or micro set.

#8

I have printed lots of signs on the Papilio inkjet white waterproof self adhesive vinyl with an inkjet printer over the years.

Durability results are pretty mixed. For occasional use outdoors they hold up very well, for 24/7/365 in all weather they fade

pretty rapidly after the first year, especially the darker colors.

Using several coats of UV protectant spry helps but does’n stop the fading.

Maybe it’s just my printer/ink, but those are my results

I have a deal with a local sign shop, I do the graphics to disc, they print it onto vinyl and I do the weeding and transfer

work. They hold up very well.

Have fun experimenting

Rick

#9

I have used the testors and some off brand that I got off ebay both with great results. Mosty with model cars but also a few train projects. I have no complaints. If you want white letters you have to use white bacground paper as regular injets don’t print white they just omit ink. Anything else use the clear.

Now I did have my first problem with the clear in that the ink was very transparent. you could see the back ground color behind. Don’t know why.

I spray three coats off matte clear over them and then apply and then over spray a clear ether gloss or matte depending on finish. I just did some for my MIK challenge

#10

Pardon my ignorance, but doesn’t all this discussion apply to lettering in every color EXCEPT white?

Greg

#11

Greg,

There are two types of waterslide decal paper white and clear. For most cases you would use the clear. But to print white you use the white paper and then use a colored back ground. Here are some examples from an HO log flat car I did. You have to try and match the background to your paint. In the following pictures you can see the edges of the decals but it to me looks like they were painted over and then relettered. It isn’t perfect but it works.

So thats how you do white with water slide.

These are HO by the way

#12

Re: fading – I think the biggest factor there is what inkjet ink you’re using. I have an Epson C120 printer, and their ink seems to be pretty hold up really well. Another brand might not last as long.

Greg – We’ve kind of mixed a couple of different topics here…vinyl and decals. When it comes to vinyl, the vinyl itself is white. Just like printing on paper, any white areas in the design will be areas of no ink. So you need areas of color to define the areas of white. For instance, white lettering against a block of color.

If you just want white lettering, or all-white art, and you want vinyl, then you need to have someone do custom, cut-out vinyl for you. But that’s a whole different topic from printing on vinyl.

On the other hand, decal paper comes in clear, which is most commonly used; or white. Ordinary printers don’t do white ink, so to print white lettering on clear decal you need to have it done by someone like Stan, who uses a special kind of printer.

As with the vinyl, white decal paper can show white as long as it is surrounded by a block of color. This can work if you’re going to put the decal on a black loco – just surround your lettering with black. It’s not as neat as white lettering on clear, but it works.

#13

OK, that actually looks pretty darn good!

Good plausible explanation, although to do the main road name and any herald in white, it would probably be almost impossible to match the background of the entire car.

Thanks, Greg

#14

Its a little more forgiving I suppose in HO because its small. Another way to help is after putting on the decal I painted the car color over the edges to blend them a little.

For my loco builds I am going to go with cut vynil but I have fun with waterslide. I used them a lot in car modeling doing custom graphics. Sadly I lost every photo in a computer crash or I would share.

#15

Thanks Ray, I was trying to ask within the framework of the OP and the topic, decals.

I’m trying to understand if someone is able to print white decals on clear background… I don’t see that, but perhaps someone has a laser process.

I’m interested in something I can do myself at a reasonable cost, not buy an out of production printer like the Alps.

Greg

#16

Anything created on Injet needs to be protected from water, it will dissolve. Laserjet is an electrical charge attracting a colored toner, and is not commonly affected by water.

I know of “Color Laserjet” in every color except white. I can’t think of any reason why white would not work, but I don’t know if anyone has tried it. Maybe low demand? If you want a decal sheet done in laserjet, make up a file filling as much of the page as possible, because you will pay per page. Take it to a Staples-like store with 2 sheets of decal paper. 2 in case one is ruined. Have them run the decal paper through their color laser printer. Done.

I understand the way a laser printer works, but I don’t understand why white toner won’t work. It would have to be used on colored paper, or clear decal paper with a blue backing. Hmmmmmmmmmmm

#17

Some great information. Thanks everyone. $10.69 is a small amount of $$$ to have some fun. I think I’ll order some decal paper from ebay and give it a go. If nothing else, I’ll get some practice learning a new skill. And, if I fail, I might just learn some new words!!!

-Kevin.

#18

Greg Elmassian said:

Thanks Ray, I was trying to ask within the framework of the OP and the topic, decals.

I’m trying to understand if someone is able to print white decals on clear background… I don’t see that, but perhaps someone has a laser process.

I’m interested in something I can do myself at a reasonable cost, not buy an out of production printer like the Alps.

Greg

Greg,

To my knowlede there is no way to print white letters on clear decals without the Alps printer. They just simple do not produe whte ink for inkjet printers at east not that I know of. If you want true white on clear then it has to be ordered or vynal. I sure wish t were possible. I have about 40 of them flat ars to make.

Devon

#19

dieseldude . said:

Some great information. Thanks everyone. $10.69 is a small amount of $$$ to have some fun. I think I’ll order some decal paper from ebay and give it a go. If nothing else, I’ll get some practice learning a new skill. And, if I fail, I might just learn some new words!!!

-Kevin.

Here’s the link http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-sheets-Inkjet-Clear-Waterslide-Transfer-Decal-Paper-/110669995021?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19c4721c0d

It’s true you can’t print white so I only do this for light colored rolling stock. Notice my logo includes a white moon. I spray white in that area and mask it with a circle of painters tape then paint the rest of the car. I may have a solution for making white text decals but I need to experiment a bit more.

#20

Lou Luczu said:

Anything created on Injet needs to be protected from water, it will dissolve. Laserjet is an electrical charge attracting a colored toner, and is not commonly affected by water.

I know of “Color Laserjet” in every color except white. I can’t think of any reason why white would not work, but I don’t know if anyone has tried it. Maybe low demand? If you want a decal sheet done in laserjet, make up a file filling as much of the page as possible, because you will pay per page. Take it to a Staples-like store with 2 sheets of decal paper. 2 in case one is ruined. Have them run the decal paper through their color laser printer. Done.

I understand the way a laser printer works, but I don’t understand why white toner won’t work. It would have to be used on colored paper, or clear decal paper with a blue backing. Hmmmmmmmmmmm

Lou, years ago Mita used to have white toner. It was for their machines that reproduced line drawings, the type that were the while line on blue paper drawings. It had such a low market demand in the states that they discontinued it in the states. I doubt that it is even made anymore.

So, to answer your question, it has been tried, it just didnt have the market demand.