Home made ink jet Decal Article

[Bruce Shipp]

Back in the day on the old UHP site, there was an article on printing decals with an ink jet printer.  Does anyone have a link, a copy or a similar article?  Thanks.

Bruce

[bill marvel]

Back in the day on the old UHP site, there was an article on printing decals with an ink jet printer.  Does anyone have a link, a copy or a similar article?  Thanks.

Bruce

Hi, Bruce

Google: ink jet decals

They will tell you everything you every wanted to know.  I think I used Beldecal (not sure that is exactly the right spelling).  The only thing they don't tell you is how to fuel proof the decals but that is pretty easy.  After the decals have come out of your printer, let them dry completely.  I usually give it 24 hours but I am sure that is overkill.  Dust the decal lightly with a spray of Krylon Crystal Clear (Home Depot or Lowe's).  After the decal has dried (about 30 minutes), give it a second coat.  Wait 30 minutes and give it a third coat.  I have never had an ink jet decal fail from fuel contact.

Anything you can draw or scan or any artwork source and text files can be made into a decal.  You can enlarge it, shrink it, change the colors or distort it to your creative heart's content.  Every decal I get in a kit I try to copy into a file in case I need to replace the decal due to an unsuccessful flying session (Ever happen to you?  It happened to me!)

Since an ink jet printer cannot print white, decal papers are supplied in both clear and white.  If you have a decal such as a red, white and blue flag, you will need to use the white background decal paper.  Otherwise, the space that ought to be white will be the color of the place you put the decal.

Decal paper usually costs around $1.00 (US) per 8 1/2 X 11 sheet.  Beldecal and several other decal paper suppliers usually offer a starter pack with both clear and white backgrounds.  The disadvantage of the white is that you must trim the decal much more carefully since any white not trimmed away will show up on your airplane.  Hope this is helpful.

Take care,
bill marvel

[Randy Powell]

Bill is right, you can do pretty much anything. Reds, oranges and yellows can fade if you don't use a UV protectant. And you have to be careful about using too much sealer. Micromark sells a decal application kit with a setting solution and prep solution. You can use these, but you have to go easy with them. I've had decals blur and fade due to using too much of this stuff (in spite of what the directions say).

Here's an example of what you can do. This was done with Microsoft Word's Artfont addon mostly.

[Jim Kraft]

I use Testors decal paper from Hobby Lobby the artsy store, and after the ink has dried, I just brush on clear dope to seal them. After they are on the plane, I add more clear to seal them to the finish. Dope will not effect the ink at all. I think I learned this from Mike Pratt on one of his posts on this.