Waterslide decals on transparent plastics

[Sulla]

I was thinking of playing around with ink jet printable waterslide decals. The way I understand it, the decals are printed on decal paper. Then after the ink dries the printed graphic is sprayed with an aerosol sealer. Once that is cured, the graphic works pretty much like a standard waterslide decal.


My question: If I made some waterslide decals for use on clear and clear/colored plexi, and had some “windows” in the graphics where the clear plexi would show through, what kind of distortion would I get on the plexi surface? I liken it to the idea of putting packing tape over glass.


Anyone ever tried something like this?

 

[roguepink]

First, understand that your printed colors will not be opaque. Even a dark gray, printed on a 4 color device, will not look as it does on white paper. If this is not a limitation, the answer to the first part of your question is YES, inkjet printed decals work as expected if you follow directions.

Now decals on transparent, this also can work well. Most transparent material is well polished, thus making it clear like glass. The decals will adhere well to such a surface. I have had good results in any case. Once applied, I sprayed the entire part in a gloss lacquer though I imagine coating it in Future would also look great and be nicer to work with. The point of the lacquer or Future is to blend down the decal, in effect, 'polish' the surface so that it is glass clear when dry.

 

[Sulla]

First, understand that your printed colors will not be opaque. Even a dark gray, printed on a 4 color device, will not look as it does on white paper. If this is not a limitation, the answer to the first part of your question is YES, inkjet printed decals work as expected if you follow directions.

Now decals on transparent, this also can work well. Most transparent material is well polished, thus making it clear like glass. The decals will adhere well to such a surface. I have had good results in any case. Once applied, I sprayed the entire part in a gloss lacquer though I imagine coating it in Future would also look great and be nicer to work with. The point of the lacquer or Future is to blend down the decal, in effect, 'polish' the surface so that it is glass clear when dry.

Thank you, that answers all my questions. And no I am not in need of perfectly opaque graphics on my smooth plexi surfaces, and I will be printing from a 6 color 5100 HP printer.

I have thought of a new question: Do the printable ink jet water slide decal kits mention in their directions which gloss lacquers to use to finish the piece off?

 

[SingleSeat]

...but keep in mind that before you hit your sheet with the coating spray, pin it or tape it down so that it is perfectly flat. Then let it dry while perfectly flat. Don't let it curl up, lay on a slope, or sit upright. This will allow you to avoid or minimize any of the colors in the ink running away (dripping) from the graphics you printed. You might see this like a translucent pink flowing away from the graphic and the colors within your graphics might get displaced too.

 

[Sulla]

Thank you for the tip SingleSeat.

 

[roguepink]

...but keep in mind that before you hit your sheet with the coating spray, pin it or tape it down so that it is perfectly flat. Then let it dry while perfectly flat. Don't let it curl up, lay on a slope, or sit upright. This will allow you to avoid or minimize any of the colors in the ink running away (dripping) from the graphics you printed. You might see this like a translucent pink flowing away from the graphic and the colors within your graphics might get displaced too.

Hmm.. That's what happened to me the last time I tried inkjet printed decals. I used to have access to an ALPS and did a lot of my own decal work. Then the economy did its thing and I moved away. Now, no more ALPS. But let me tell you, that was a dream to work with.

Okay, back to the topic.

The 6 color system is good too, but if you intend to have any light colors represented, nothing you do will make them at all visible once away from a white paper backing unless you paint the area behind them white... and if you go that far, you might as well just paint the part and be done with it.

You can also use white decal film but that, obviously, won't work over clear parts.

May we know specifically what it is you're trying to do?

 

[Sulla]

... The 6 color system is good too, but if you intend to have any light colors represented, nothing you do will make them at all visible once away from a white paper backing unless you paint the area behind them white... and if you go that far, you might as well just paint the part and be done with it.

You can also use white decal film but that, obviously, won't work over clear parts.

May we know specifically what it is you're trying to do?

Perhaps this medium will not work for me then. I was hoping for mostly white or light gray (to show up almost like a sand blasted image) and some gold/brown and silver/gray on some amber, light blue, and yellow clear plexi 18/" thick sheet. I am making a variety of Trek Iso Chips. I wanted a cheaper alternative to screen printing and etching.

I would also like to use it on those Trek models that have been sitting on my self for ever - Defiant, Steamrunner, and Voyager...

 

[Sulla]

I also thought of using the white decal paper backing, but cutting out some of those spaces on the ISO graphics (some are 1/64" wide) seems impractical to my goal of finding a cheaper and none-too labor intensive process.

I thought it'd be great to print the graphics on clear paper and lay the whole thing down in one piece - a nice clean set of graphics with the clear bits staying clear.

 

[roguepink]

I have used inkjet printed decals on Star Trek ships before. If you are putting down over a white or light gray, you will have good results. Although on a light gray, all the decal colors will dull, most noticeably on yellows.

No, I think what you want to do will work! Just be aware that none of your printed colors will be opaque and will be colored by whatever substrate you put them on. Light colors will tend to disappear but, otherwise, you may be on the right track.

The obvious problem of light colors on clear or on a dark background is that conventional printed colors depend on the reflection of the white paper underneath. Commercially printed decals use a white back print to hold the colors over dark surfaces.