I have seen over the past few months on message boards the question “How to make your own decals?” One of our members was looking for help and this got me thinking. About a year or so ago, I decided to look into printing my own decals. After some research and many test runs, I got it down (I think). So here goes. The image can be made using any graphics program, or the image may be imported from a scanner.

There are three types of printer one can use: inkjet, laser or an Alps printer. Most of us have inkjet or laser printers. (Professionals use a silk screening process.) Inkjet printers are inexpensive and can produce a good quality decal. They print using transparent colors. Keep this in mind, if the decal is going to go over a dark surface color. Some inkjets use special inks for “photo quality” that do not fade and are somewhat water resistant.

There are two types of decal paper: clear or white. If your image has white in it or is going over a dark color, use the white decal paper. The problem with using the white paper is that you need to trim around the image carefully so that it will not have a white border. (This is a real PITA in 1/700th) White lettering can be achieved as well. Clear paper can be used with less trimming, but you will not be able to see the white in the image and the colors will be a bit transparent. Once you have decided on what paper to use, setup your printer as follows: Resolution = Best, Paper = Photo Gloss. Then print on the glossy side of the ink jet decal paper.

Next, spray your printed sheet evenly with Krylon Acrylic Crystal Clear High Gloss spray until the sheet has a shine (2-3 coats). This product is available at any craft or hardware store such as Loews, Home Depot, Ace Hardware, Walmart, etc. Any acrylic clear coat spray will work. Allow 30 to 60 minutes for the clear coat to dry and set.

The laser printing process uses toners to apply color, so laser images are more opaque than inkjet images. Like inkjet printers, laser printers cannot print the color white Follow the same directions for the inkjet prints, except for the last step of spraying the paper. Laser toner seems to be water resistant, so just let the print set for about 15 minutes. Laser printers are more expensive than inkjets but they produce higher quality results with less work. You can take the image to a printing center and use a color copier to copy it to Laser Decal Paper. Some libraries have them now as well.

Alps printers are a special breed. This printer can print the color white. Alps printers can be found on eBay, but prepare to pay some big bucks for a used, out-of-production printer. They use a layering technique in printing. This takes some work in graphic programs and can be tricky. (As I recall, there was an article in Fine Scale Modeler a number of years ago that dealt with using an ALPS printer for printing decals. CW)

After your decals are dried and trimmed, use them just as if you were going to use the manufacture’s decals. For some great tips on applying decals, take a look at “Decaling 101” by Pierre Salazar