Custom water-slide decals

[TK1536]

I'm working on a replica prop that I plan to fabricate multiples of, but the original had white letters on it, like 'Volume' and 'FM/AM', that kind of stuff.

I was thinking you could just buy water-slide decal paper and print your own, except I have to print white! Any ideas?

I'm pretty sure that screen-printing is out of the question.

 

[Rhett J Martin]

Pick some white decal paper, you can go from there fairly easy. I use the stuff alll the time!

 

[Contec]

Pick some white decal paper, you can go from there fairly easy. I use the stuff alll the time!

Been wondering this myself. Do you need to have a special printer or how do it know what sort of decal i want to print.

 

[TK1536]

Interesting! But like he said, how does it know how to print white letters? I understand the paper is already white but you would think it would have to remove excess area or something.

 

[sawduster]

PM sent

 

[Mr. Nagata]

If the graphic is white lettering on some easy to cut-out, other colored background (not the color of the prop itself), then yes, I would suggest white decal paper. However, if your just talking about white lettering directly on the prop, cutting out the individual letters from white decal paper would be a nightmare.

I have two suggestions. It the lettering is a common font, like Helvetica, you can get Letraset dry transfers and just rub the white letters on. They come in several common fonts and sizes.

However, if it's something more custom, you can get custom decals made. Usually they're printed with ALPS technology (which is no longer made, but the cartridges are still around on eBay and many decal makers still use it). You can print in white, or silver, or gold even. And many other non-metallic colors as well. I got some custom decals made for some 1/6 WWII crates and ammo I was doing. The yellow and white text are 100% opaque and come on a clear carrier sheet, so they can be applied to any surface.

I got them from this place: http://www.bedlamcreations.com/waterslidedecals/rfq/index.htm

I cost about $40 for one sheet of decals. You have to supply your own artwork. Bedlam is cool because you can do small quantities. I only ordered one sheet. A lot of places will only do large quantities.

 

[Rhett J Martin]

Ahh, sorry . . .use your base color as the surrounding area of the white section. I use them all the time on Ghostsbuter builds. I use the surrounding black of the pack or wand to bring out the white or red lettering.

If the ink/laser printing matches well, you can hide it using the usual gloss coated paint, decal, then finishing coat to get you proper finish.

 

[moffeaton]

Contact JT-Graphics:

http://jt-graphics.com/

He can do custom work from vector-based files, and they are AMAZING. Best out there.

 

[dbhs]

The decals I received from Bedlam appear to be unsealed. Has anyone had problems sealing these with enamel or lacquer based clear coats? Thanks.

 

[star-art]

Wouldn't the highest quality results come from using dry transfers? They are more expensive than custom decals, but there is no film around the decal so it looks printed on.