When I first wanted to make decals I thought it was some sort of voodoo at work but after researching it (google), it turns out to be pretty simple. Printers don't print white so either avoid white in your decal our you will have to use the white decal paper and match the non white portion to the color of your car. Or you paint the area you want white and conceal the transition with your decal but that makes the colored area look funky. Buy the decal paper for the type of printer your using either ink jet (most common) or laser jet. Buy some decal bonder spray. Most clears will supposedly work as well but I have only used the Testors decal bonder. Lay out your decal sheet in the program of your choice. I use a combination of Paint Shop Pro and MS Paint but I'm sure there are many programs that will work. I save mine as a JPEG file. Print a test sheet. If I am happy with the test sheet I tape the decal paper over the printed area and print it again after changing the settings to other photo paper. A couple of thing to keep in mind: if you print it as a JPEG (I do) then print it from your normal photo viewing/printing program, un-select fit to screen, that can throw off your size. Most drawing programs (word also) have an option for a ruler and a grid, use them. I try to fill up an entire decal sheet every time I print by adding license plates, inspection stickers, under-hood decals, racing decals, gauge panels, pin stripes, etc. Once you've printed your decals let them sit for an hour or 2 for the ink to dry a bit. I've seen people recommend to let it sit longer but an hour works well for me. Give the sheet a couple of mist coats of the decal bonder. After awhile (10 minutes works for me) give it another couple of mist coats. Let dry for at least a few hours, a day would be better. I have used mine within an hour of spraying them but I prefer to wait a day or so. If you can see finger prints in the clear areas of the decal sheet, its not ready yet. Cut close to the decal with good, sharp scissors. Unlike kit decals these will not easily slice with a xacto blade on door gaps so plan accordingly. I have not used micro-sol but I have used the Testors decal setting solution and it works fine. Here is a link with info about the testers kit, I haven't used it so I can't speak for the software. -catalog/testors-brands/testors/tools/decals/ I think the software is in addition to the kit. Next to detailing engines, making decals has become one of my favorite things to do in this hobby. Good luck, and don't forget to post your work, I'm looking forward to seeing it. If you don't have a printer that will work for you, some people make a disk with their decals and go to a print shop and have them printed for them.
Testors sure thing decal maker 11
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Here's a few thoughts... most of us will be making an occasional decal with a inkjet printer. I have been using BMF brand decal paper. It comes in 8.5" x 11" sheets. I have a Canon brand inkjet printer. I build light commercial primarily so I produce company logos and lettering. I will find images on the Internet, photograph images and create simple graphics like lettering. I use Microsoft Word to set up my decal sheets. It's easy to use, and easy to import and resize jpg images. It comes with a large quantity of lettering fonts and you can download more fonts if needed. In Word you can scale your images up and down by exact measurements or you can play if you don't know exactly the size you need. I'll sometimes print a row of the same image, incrementally smaller. I'll then print a copy on paper, cut the images out and place against my model body to get the right look. Then I'll go back and print the images I need at the size I need.
Once you are satisfied, save your project so you don't lose your work. I have a folder with all my old deal sheets in it, so I can go back and print more at any time. I then will do a sample print on regular white paper. Measure off how far down the page your images go, then cut your decal sheet to match this. I typically use a 1/3rd page. Then tape the cut decal sheet to the white paper so that it covers the images. I put one piece of tape across the entire top edge (the edge that feeds first) so that it's attached and will go through the printer smoothly. I don't tape the sides or bottom of the sheet so it can flex with the paper as it prints. As said above, don't touch your newly printed images! I generally put mine aside overnight. The next day I will give it several to many light coats of the "Testors Decal Bonder Spray". Then I'll wait another day to apply the decals.
While at my LHS a few weeks back, I noticed that they had Testors custom decal design and print kit so since I am and pennypinching college student, I figured it would be cheaper than paying a pro to make them for me. Once I downloaded the software, the computer went bezirk so I uninstalled and tried again without issue. When I got to the design part, the tools were surprisingly limited and difficult to use. When downloading I noticed that the software was from 2003 from Surething so I figure some easer to use software has come out since then. Does anyone have experience with the Testors product that would be able to give me some tips and pointers and using it? Also are there easier to use design software that is free or inexpensive that I could try?
The Sea Witch model by Lindberg that I am working on was purchased many years ago at a yard sale. I am only now beginning to work on it and fortunately all the parts are there. When I attempted to remove the decals from the backing paper by soaking them in water, there was no loosening from the paper. I suspect they have been around too long. If that is the case, does anyone have a suggestion? Can something be added to the water to encourage separation or is it a lost cause?
Unfortunately i have no English or American source for that but i am sure u will find. If you manage to separate your decals from the paper i can advice to stick them on parts that you have sprayed with glossy clear varnish before and after to avoid the glitter effects of the edges of the decals. Hope i could help
you could use dry transfers........I haven't used them too much, so I don't have much experience with them. I have been using a decal maker put out by 'Sure Thing' sold by Testor's. they have what is called the 'decal it decal maker' program standard edition. they have an updated program for it......I need to get it still, but it has worked well for me.
The first thing to keep in mind here is there is no "magic" software that will produce decals. If one were to look at this kit for what it contains it probably is an OK deal. Although I have never seen one of these kits I think I know what it contains...a couple of sheets of decal paper for inkjet printers, a bottle of clear sealer and a software package.
Decal paper is available from several sources. A qick internet search will turn up several sites that sell inkjet compatible paper. The next item is easier. Several sites I researched years ago indicate that Krlon Cristalkote (sp) is the best clear to use. The last item is the software. I have seen decals made on Microsoft paint program that look very good. There are several free imaging programs out there that will do an acceptable job. The last item that is needed to make these decals is not included with this kit. It is the talent to draw and manipulate the image you need to make the decal. Simple things like reporting marks and weight data is easy to make using a word processing program. Logos are a bit more dificult and this is where the talent comes in. As a decal producer I full well know what goes into producing a quality decal. I use Adobe Illustrator to do all of my artwork. This program is not needed for the casual modeler making one or two decals/year. I use it because I need the ability to scale up or down without losing resolution.
I didn't buy the kit, but I bought the paper and fixative, which is sold as "refills.". I printed a photo on the decal paper from the photo program (I have an HP Photosmart printer), and it came out sharp and clear. I let the ink dry overnight and sealed it with the fixative, again allowing an overnight drying time. It went on like any other thin film decal. Most computers come with a photo program, a word processor (road names and reporting marks), and some even have Photoshop or drawing programs. Note that most word processors will allow you to import/insert graphics and pictures. I'm not sure what you'd need another program to do for you.
Thanks! I think some,including the military modelers, may be missing something with this kit. It is a kit for making decals, period. It comes with a mini CD that has some minor designs, such as flames for cars, etc. It wasn't intended to be a supply of all possible decals ever wanted/needed. As has been said and shown, there are many free graphic programs out there, and certainly any military insignia, logo, or whatever can probably be found on the 'Net. Just copy it an put it into your graphic program, size as needed, and make the decals. What do they expect for ten bucks anyway????
there are a few thing you can get away with though. Jack's right about the paint, but I've found on most flat enamel surfaces, the decal can be a bit finicky and not adhere properly. I've heard folks using floor finishing products with good results. flat lacquers works well too. I hardly use the decal setting solutions with these decals. the bonder makes the existing film more elastic, so they lay down fairly well. have you experimented with the importing part of the program. go online and look at images......I did shamrocks. I saved them to my computer and imported them into the decal maker...very nice
I do it that way as well, although I believe you can change the font in the decal maker. I just thumb through them till I saw one I likes. the cool thing is that the font can be bent to a half round or slant, and can be manipulated any way you want. make sure the DPI is adjusted all the way up before you proceed. 2ff7e9595c
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