Can someone please please tell me how to transfer white decals onto my props?

Lunsfuhd

New Member
I'm currently finishing up a Halo ODST helmet and I'm trying to figure out a way to transfer white lettering onto the prop. Someone on Reddit told me I need to buy a printer and Waterslide transfer paper, so that's what I did.

Well, that super didn't work because I can't print white lettering/decals.

Does anyone know of a way to get white text on plastic/ABS?

Is there a custom waterslide decal place online?

I'm located in LA but I can't find any leads on printing places that can offer this kind of service.

Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi.
 
Alps printers are pretty much the only printers that do white and they stopped making them along ago.
You could probably get them screen printed or try it yourself.

If the lettering is large enough you could just get it vinyl cut at a sign shop or find someone with a cricut.
 
It's tricky because as you noted, you can't print white.
A few options are:
- use white decal paper or vinyl and carefully cut out the white parts of the decal (this is tough for very small areas and you may need a Cricut or laser cutter - though note that laser cutting vinyl releases toxic gas so research what materials you're using)
- use clear decal paper, print the surrounding areas on the paper and leave the area to be white blank, then paint the area of the model underneath white so it shows through (this is tough because you kind of need to match the colour of the rest of the prop and print that out on the decal)
- cut out a stencil instead of using a decal and spray/paint white (again tricky for small areas of white - Cricut or Laser helpful)
- you can buy Printers that use a white cartridge - they're expensive and fairly specialised though
- professional printing places can print white as a unique colour but it might be expensive, especially for small runs
- if you need this specifically for lettering, maybe do some searching online and see if you can find pre-printed white lettering decals in a matching font? MIlitary model places often sell sheets of white decal lettering in common military fonts so you may be lucky enough to find a matching one
 
Not sure how big of an area you are doing but you could use cut vinyl as a mask and paint the white portions. It's pretty easy to do if you or a friend has a vinyl cutter.
 
Not sure how big of an area you are doing but you could use cut vinyl as a mask and paint the white portions. It's pretty easy to do if you or a friend has a vinyl cutter.
I have a vinyl cutter actually, that's actually a great idea. I was trying to figure out how to cut the tiny letters out but yeah I think cutting the negative would be better.
 

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