avatar_JayBee

Making your own transfers.

Started by JayBee, August 27, 2009, 09:29:30 AM

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JayBee

Suggestions please. What computer drawing program do you suggest for making your own transfers (decals, to the young amongst us).

Thanks,

JayBee
Alle kunst ist umsunst wenn ein engel auf das zundloch brunzt!!

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They are just physical manifestations of collisions between enigma & conundrum particles.

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Spey_Phantom

i have the awser for you my friend  ;D

you can choose witch program you prefer to use (MS Paint, Word, Photoshop,....)
i use MS Paint, to get the A4 size just right, i scan in an A4 paper, and then just basicly design the decals (you can also use smaller sizes like A5 or A6).

once your design is complete, print it out on normal paper first, just to see if you need to edit your decals in size, color,....

once the final design looks good, you can print them out on decal paper.

there are 2 kinds of paper, one for ink printers (basicly everyone has an inkjet printer) and for Laser Printers.
they come in 2 kinds, white or transparent

(Note: if your planning to print out decals with white parts, please note that ink-based printers dont print white, only a laser printer can do that)

once your decals are printed onto the decal paper, its time to seal them off. you can do that by using a can of transparent spraypaint (like Tamiya TS-13) or decal sealent (like testors or microscale).
when using this, please remember to spray on 2 coats, you dont want the ink of those lovely decals to run out.

leave them to dry for a few hours and your all set to go  ;D
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sequoiaranger

I have only "recently" (last five models) started printing my own "transfers" (decals), and am generally delighted by the creative flexibility it provides.

I have found, however, that the "standard" home-made decals are thick, and have little or no adhesive, so when applied tend to curl at the edges, sometimes severely. Through trial-and-error (and a hint I found either here or elsewhere), I have found that a tiny bit of slightly-diluted MicroSet "Krystal-Kleer" will help the edges lay down, but also requires multiple pressing-downs until the "glue" sets up.

"Krystal Kleer" as used here is a "white glue" kind of product that is used to create clear windows in small openings by touching the medium all around the opening and allowing it to stretch across and become one "puddle". It's thicker and tackier than white glue or even "RadioControl" glue, so it needs to be thinned slightly with water. "Krystal Kleer" also fills in small air pockets to prevent silvering.

I know the name "Krystal Kleer" may mean something else in different countries, but it is NOT the clear floor wax used for canopies, or....? But rather a goes-on-white-turns-clear "gel" medium.

Hope this helps.
My mind is like a compost heap: both "fertile" and "rotten"!

Barry Krell

#3
One thing that you *must* remember is the quality of the image being printed.  What looks fine on a monitor can print out as mush. A monitor will display an image at 72dpi which is the highest quality it can handle.  Any higher isn't noticeable.

Minimum quality for print should be 200dpi, ideally 600dpi.
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ChernayaAkula

Quote from: Nils on August 27, 2009, 09:48:44 AM
<...> (Note: if your planning to print out decals with white parts, please note that ink-based printers dont print white, only a laser printer can do that) <...>

Unfortunately, no. :( Laser printers also can't print white. ALPS printer do print white, but they're very rare (and expensive).

So if you have to incorporate white, go for a white sheet. If you need high opacity (for placing decals on a dark background), it might be useful to print on white paper as well and trim off the excess. 
Cheers,
Moritz


Must, then, my projects bend to the iron yoke of a mechanical system? Is my soaring spirit to be chained down to the snail's pace of matter?

Barry Krell

#5
I read somewhere that they've stopped manufacturing ALPS printers.  In any case, £5,000 to be able to print off a few decals is a bit on the steep side...
Aston Martin  - Power, Beauty, Soul.

kitnut617

#6
I've also read somewhere that when you create your decals, do it full size.  Then scale it down when you go to print, it was explained that by doing this you get a much clearer decal.  I've only made a few serial number decals so I use my AutoCad to create them and they're mostly black.

Here's some pics of the Testors decal kit you can buy.  You get a few sheets of transparent and white paper, a can of bonder and a CD with a drawing program on it (I've not tried this program BTW)
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NARSES2

Quote from: kitnut617 on August 27, 2009, 06:52:44 PM
I've also read somewhere that when you create your decals, do it full size.  Then scale it down when you go to print, it was explained that by doing this you get a much clearer decal.  I've only made a few serial number decals so I use my AutoCad to create them and they're mostly black.

Correct and if you use an on-line image open up the largest image you can find (particularly when using Google) and download that to your Pc rather then the smaller thumbnail and reduce that in size. You get a much sharper image.

I've succesfully printed some of the free downloads from here http://www.modelairplaneinternational.com/ Click on "the download RJ Caruana art for decals". I've made sheets up of individual and unit markings
Do not condemn the judgement of another because it differs from your own. You may both be wrong.

JayBee

Thanks everyone, and thanks Chris for that link.

:thumbsup:

Jim
Alle kunst ist umsunst wenn ein engel auf das zundloch brunzt!!

Sic biscuitus disintegratum!

Cats are not real. 
They are just physical manifestations of collisions between enigma & conundrum particles.

Any aircraft can be improved by giving it a SHARKMOUTH!

anthonyp

#9
I use Adobe Illustrator to do all my custom decals.  I do them up on 8.5x11" sheets, using as high res graphics as I can find for the premade stuff and a lot of patience for my custom stuff.

I print them on decal paper made by Bare Metal Foil.  I then use Microscale liquid decal film (a few coats) to stabilize the decals before cutting and applying.

They turn out pretty good for the most part.  Only problems are when I get impatient and don't do enough liquid decal film.

I've got the Testors decal kit, but those are some small sheets, and I the Bare Metal Foil stuff is relatively cheap, and I can almost always fill up a sheet.  They come in white back and clear.  The clear lends itself to low-vis.  I found that using the white background stuff is ok, but applying the same decal on clear background over the white background one really works well.
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Weaver

Pretty much what everybody else has said but one refinement:

I design decals as large as possible in Paint and then transfer them to a Word document to re-size and repeat. Why? Because you can't change the size of a circle in Paint whilst guaranteeing to maintain the aspect ratio, i.e. keep it "round" rather than "oval". You can do this in Word and easily copy the result, so I use that to produce multiple images (insurace against application mistakes) in several different sizes (in case I judged the size wrong).
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sequoiaranger

That white-glue-like small window-maker stuff made by Microscale does work to prevent "silvering" when applied under decals (see a few posts down), BUT....I found out the hard way that "KK" should be used only under decals that will illustrate a gloss-finished model. I used this method under decals that I later sprayed flat coat over, and there is a very definite different "cast" to the decal-ed section. Flat-finish tends to "lighten" the colors underneath. The area of the decal is slightly darker and obvious under certain light and angles. I am speculating here, but think this is because there is a "piece of glass" behind the decal, so saturates the color slightly more than the surrounding area.

I don't think I will use that Krystal Kleer again like that, but might experiment on some old plastic with putting several gloss coats over such treated decals and see if it will make any difference in the long run. I just HATE IT when the decals are obviously decals.

Any other suggestions/comments would be welcome.
My mind is like a compost heap: both "fertile" and "rotten"!