Using a photo quality printer for decals
An edited version of a post on the Model Railroader forum on December 1, 2005
There was an original question about using an ink jet printer to print decal paper.
Not having used decal paper myself at this point, but since I do a lot of professional photo printing, a few points
1.The thinner the pigment or dye, in the end the better the picture. The latest generation of photo printers are actually advertising how tiny the print heads are.
2. Combne the tiny print head with the greatest possible dots per inch and that is how you get detail. (There are actually long debates on photo forums on what a maxium dpi is necessary -won't go into it here).
3. Experiment with paper settings and print speed. The problem described sounds rather like what happens when I use a plain paper setting as a test print.. It appears grainy and transpaent. A photo quality print setting at low speed is best. (Others on the forum recommended the glossy paper setting on Epson printers)
4. If you can afford it (starting at $500 US) get a pigment based photo printer rather than a consumer level dye printer. The pigment based print inks are designed to last longer than dye, aiming at the quality of an old dark room print. Also pigment photo printers have a cartridge for each colour which is expensive up front but cheaper in the long run because you don't have to throw out the entire cartridge if you run out of one colour.
5. Experiment with the advanced printing options in the software supplied by the manufacturer (I use Epson photo printers) by printing on plain paper. That can affect the actual colour of the out put. There are in fact a large number of books available on this subject so again I won't go into details. On the advanced options on an Epson printer you have a number of different choices not on the main menu.
(I do plan to get into making custom decals for myself in a month or so...right now I am experimenting with making a backdrop)
Robin
There was an original question about using an ink jet printer to print decal paper.
Not having used decal paper myself at this point, but since I do a lot of professional photo printing, a few points
1.The thinner the pigment or dye, in the end the better the picture. The latest generation of photo printers are actually advertising how tiny the print heads are.
2. Combne the tiny print head with the greatest possible dots per inch and that is how you get detail. (There are actually long debates on photo forums on what a maxium dpi is necessary -won't go into it here).
3. Experiment with paper settings and print speed. The problem described sounds rather like what happens when I use a plain paper setting as a test print.. It appears grainy and transpaent. A photo quality print setting at low speed is best. (Others on the forum recommended the glossy paper setting on Epson printers)
4. If you can afford it (starting at $500 US) get a pigment based photo printer rather than a consumer level dye printer. The pigment based print inks are designed to last longer than dye, aiming at the quality of an old dark room print. Also pigment photo printers have a cartridge for each colour which is expensive up front but cheaper in the long run because you don't have to throw out the entire cartridge if you run out of one colour.
5. Experiment with the advanced printing options in the software supplied by the manufacturer (I use Epson photo printers) by printing on plain paper. That can affect the actual colour of the out put. There are in fact a large number of books available on this subject so again I won't go into details. On the advanced options on an Epson printer you have a number of different choices not on the main menu.
(I do plan to get into making custom decals for myself in a month or so...right now I am experimenting with making a backdrop)
Robin
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