Re: Custom Decals - or printable decal material ?

[Werehatrack]

On Wed, 08 Sep 2004 01:05:26 GMT, Bob
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Anyone know where to find a custom decal maker

In the Yellow Pages, look for places that do custom signs and banners;
at least one will do "die cut vinyl signs", and that's one possible
solution.

>or perhaps some sort
>of material that can be used in an inkjet

Regular inkjet ink does not dry on a weatherproof substrate. You
would need dye sublimation ink, and an additional heat-setting step,
to achieve success. On the other hand, Fargo made a non-inkjet
printer which would produce a reasonably weatherproof image on vinyl,
and with the companion coating spray it was fully weatherproof, but
that's not a common unit...and it's out of production.

>or perhaps hand painted
>and then applied as a decal ?

If you're going to hand-paint, why not do it on the bike?
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

 

[Jim Smith]

Werehatrack <[email protected]> writes:

> On Wed, 08 Sep 2004 01:05:26 GMT, Bob
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >Anyone know where to find a custom decal maker
>
> In the Yellow Pages, look for places that do custom signs and banners;
> at least one will do "die cut vinyl signs", and that's one possible
> solution.
>
> >or perhaps some sort
> >of material that can be used in an inkjet
>
> Regular inkjet ink does not dry on a weatherproof substrate. You
> would need dye sublimation ink, and an additional heat-setting step,
> to achieve success. On the other hand, Fargo made a non-inkjet
> printer which would produce a reasonably weatherproof image on vinyl,
> and with the companion coating spray it was fully weatherproof, but
> that's not a common unit...and it's out of production.
>
> >or perhaps hand painted
> >and then applied as a decal ?
>
> If you're going to hand-paint, why not do it on the bike?

I would like to make some decals too. I just googled for "water slide
decal" and got a bunch of hits advertising "inkjet water slide decal
paper." Seems that there are a bunch of companies making this stuff.
Has anyone tried any of these? heard any rumors?

 

[Terry Cooke]

I have used these on model rockets. They can be made water proof by spraying
on a clear coat after printing. Two problems with them are that the ink is
not opaque and you can't print white. http://www.micromark.com sells the
paper for both ink jet and laser jet/copier. The laser jet version does
better as far as the toner as more opaque than the ink jet ink is. The best
process to use is the ALPS printer, which sadly is no longer in production.
There are a few people that make custom decals using this process still.

"Jim Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I would like to make some decals too. I just googled for "water slide
> decal" and got a bunch of hits advertising "inkjet water slide decal
> paper." Seems that there are a bunch of companies making this stuff.
> Has anyone tried any of these? heard any rumors?

 

[Werehatrack]

On Wed, 08 Sep 2004 04:43:08 GMT, "Terry Cooke"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>I have used these on model rockets. They can be made water proof by spraying
>on a clear coat after printing. Two problems with them are that the ink is
>not opaque and you can't print white. http://www.micromark.com sells the
>paper for both ink jet and laser jet/copier. The laser jet version does
>better as far as the toner as more opaque than the ink jet ink is. The best
>process to use is the ALPS printer, which sadly is no longer in production.
>There are a few people that make custom decals using this process still.

Not only is the ALPS out of production, but the ribbon cartridges are
getting scarce. I know someone who has one; he has discontinued doing
custom one-off bumper stickers with it so that he can continue to use
it for prototype stickers for as long as the supplies last.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

 

[Mark Hickey]

Werehatrack <[email protected]> wrote:

>Not only is the ALPS out of production, but the ribbon cartridges are
>getting scarce. I know someone who has one; he has discontinued doing
>custom one-off bumper stickers with it so that he can continue to use
>it for prototype stickers for as long as the supplies last.

I had an ALPS printer, and ordered a LOT of cartriges (though not for
doing decals - I liked the print qualities). I ended up selling it on
Ebay (with all the cartridges) and was amazed that I got nearly new
price for it (even though the printer had a very well-documented
problem). Now I know why.

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame

 

[Donald Gillies]

Werehatrack <[email protected]> writes:

>On Wed, 08 Sep 2004 01:05:26 GMT, Bob
><[email protected]> wrote:

>>Anyone know where to find a custom decal maker

One of the problems with e.g. Raleigh decals is that they are
virtually 100% not printable on CMY subtractive printers, such as
inkjet printers. You need a CMYK+ printer for these decals. You also
need a printing process that is durable under UV light, and inkjets
are not.

Raleigh decals are loaded with "white", which no inkjet can print on a
clear mylar (inkjets are specialized for paper that starts out as
white, and inkjets do not work with non-white media).

Some people get by with white decals and the struggle for hours to
print a background to match their frame color, but these backgrounds
will probably fade quickly as the decal degrades in sunlight.

Raleigh decals also include colors such as "gold" and "silver" which
have metallic sparkles that cannot be created with a dye-based inkjet
printer.

One solution was an "ALPS" printer (1300, 2100, 4000, 5000) that have
ribbons and a dye-sublimation mode for white, gold, and silver. While
these printers are available on ebay, they have been out of production
for several years now and I believe that ALPS is just about to, or has
discontinued making cartridges for these printers.

It's very difficult to make vintage decals affordably, on your own.

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA