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Ye Olde Decal Project


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Guys, I must be doing something awfully wrong here but I'm trying to use the knee squad markings for Blood Angels 2nd company and they come out way too large. Printing as A5 as indicated in Dracul's sheet (or twice within the same A4 as suggested) but they're nowhere near what they should be. Has anyone tried the knee markings for the Blood Angels with better luck than me? Are they meant to be used out of the box or is it assumed I'll be making necessary size adjustments?

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Well, based on Tubal's template, they look to be sized correctly - but if you're printing them at 100% and they're too large, then obviously there's an issue. And taking the sheet into Photoshop, it looks like they are too large: 6mm vs the 5mm they should be.

 

Wish I could get on this quicker for you, but I've got a number of commissions on my plate at the moment. One of those I can bump (my calendar has a slot I set aside for my commission for myself), but it could be a couple weeks or more till I can get to this.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...

Fallout Hobbies did a Kickstarter for custom decals. They have some generic decal sheets but can be sent art or even an idea and turn it into a custom sheet. I backed them so I will let everyone know how the sheets turn out when I get them. http://www.fallouthobbies.com

 

I backed them specifically as a test for their service, with a couple sheets I'd designed. I've already added them to the decal printing section of the Forges of Mars thread.

 

As of their update from the past 24 hrs, the bulk of the decals-only orders below $75 have been shipped. The ones with stencils are delayed (they had a few days worth of issues with the decal cutter they'd ordered), but with luck, I may be seeing my order by end of Sept.

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  • 3 months later...

I'm working on a set of Raven Guard decals which I'll be printing at home. I need to get an acrylic sealant for them to use after printing, and wondered what product people are using here?

 

I need to get some Testors Dullcote for general varnishing. Would that be a bad idea for decal sealing? From what I've read everyone seems to use gloss varnish.

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The general order of operations for decals is:

  • Gloss base coat (clear if your base color isn't gloss)
  • Decal setting solution (for example, Micro Set)
  • Decal
  • Decal setting solution (using previous example, Micro Sol)
  • Decal setting solution (yes, at least a second coat)
  • Clear gloss coat (this will help fill in any edges on the decal, blending it into the surface of the model)
  • Flat coat as desired (example, Testors Dullcote)

My personal favorite tutorial, with information on the reasons for each of the steps above*, is by a guy who goes by Winterdyne.

 

*Well, it has been a while since I reread the tutorial, but I'm fairly certain the reason for each step is covered.

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The general order of operations for decals is:

 

I should have been a bit clearer with my last post: I'm all set with the fluids I need to add the transfer to the model. What I'm confused about is what product to use to seal the ink to the transfer after printing, so it doesn't run when I put it in the water.

 

Would Testors Dullcote work for that, or do I need a separate acrylic sealer?

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The general order of operations for decals is:

I should have been a bit clearer with my last post: I'm all set with the fluids I need to add the transfer to the model. What I'm confused about is what product to use to seal the ink to the transfer after printing, so it doesn't run when I put it in the water.

 

Would Testors Dullcote work for that, or do I need a separate acrylic sealer?

 

Do not use Dullcote or any other clear matte paint to seal decals - it will significantly increase the tendency for them to frost. Instead, use a glossy clear acrylic paint - any spray paint will do, but clear and glossy are a must. Also note that, if you printed on a laser printer, clear sealing is not necessary - laser toner does not run once it's been through the printing process.

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  • 3 months later...

I see the awesome list of papers on the front but my question is are they all equal? Prior to finding this thread i got some from a hobby store in my area and it seems too thick for miniatures. Which ones are your guys' go to?

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Honestly, I get mine cheap off eBay. What you need to remember is decal paper is a roughly 100 lb. card stock with a layer of decal material on it. What truly matters with selecting decal paper is 1) the right type paper for your printer (inkjet vs laser) and 2) the right opacity for the job (clear vs white). Running the wrong type paper through your printer will produce bad results.

With the opacity, your job will be the deciding factor. If using clear paper, you want to stick to black/very dark decals or decals that will be going on a white surface. Even with a layer of ink/toner on it, clear decals will stay clear, and any color underneath them will show through (so clear paper/blue decal/yellow background will produce a green decal). You can get an under printing printer, which will put down an opaque white layer under your image, but the two main types are either no longer supported (ALPS printers) or too expensive for home use (Fallout Hobbies ran a Kickstarter to fund an OKI C711WT under printing laser printer, which has a base cost of $3,995 USD). You can get around the bleed through issue (using BKZero's banner tutorial) by painting a bit of white where your clear decal will lie.

White paper. on the other hand, gets around the issue with the background color bleeding through your decal. Unfortunately, it does so by having your decal on an opaque white material. Means your decal will need to be very closely trimmed if you want no white showing. One way to get around this, however, is to print your decal with a background color close to your model's background. When you trim the decal out, you'll have a slim white edge, but then you can touch up the decal with your background paint to blend them together. (For example, the yellow Raptor on the below Deredeo's missile launcher was a yellow logo on a green background printed on white paper. After Micro Sol/Set, a touch up of green paint, and a clear coat, you have to look very closely to see there's a decal there at all.)

gallery_80588_10505_247855.jpg

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Thanks! I used inkjet paper, I'm wondering if i sealed it too thickly after printing and drying or bad ink (old printer). I may reach out to some print centers to see if they'll let me go the laser route.

 

Edit: Are there any settings I should use for going the laser route and is there any credence to the paper mucking up a system?

Edited by FearPeteySodes
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Since I've only used laser printers/paper, I can only go via other peoples reports. In either case, laser printers use heat to set the toner, and with both paper types, the decal medium will melt. With laser paper, it takes more heat to melt it, but if you run more than 2-3 sheets through a laser printer, it will gum up the works.

 

Also, each decal medium is designed to accept a different type of printing medium - ink is absorbed by inkjet paper, and toner will fuse with the surface of laser paper. A laser printer will melt the inkjet medium, and a sheet of laser paper will have unabsorbed ink on the surface when run through an inkjet. 

 

Also pt 2, with laser paper run through a laser printer, you do not seal the sheet - the toner will not wash away when you put the decal in water.

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  • 2 months later...

I'm wondering if I should be using something else to seal the ink on my decals? I've been using Winsor & Newton Professional Gloss Varnish from an aerosol. Even with three light coats, the ink has a tendency to run on some transfers.

 

Also it's coming up very glossy (unsurprisingly). Will some Lahmian Medium knock that back?

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  • 2 months later...

Im not sure if this is the right spot for a decal request, but how about a collection of the decals already out combined into a Deathwatch collection for a single printable page filled with various chapter badges.

 

I suppose I could look through a tutorial on how to make the image to print and get to cutting and pasting myself, but I'm never good at this stuff and Ill waste a lot of ink and paper trying it.

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