Printing Decals

One word: Alps.

Ink Jet printers use transparent inks. They don't do white. There is no white ink in the print cartridge, right? So, It can't print something it doesn't have. Sorry.

I'm not sure what you mean by "dark" white. Gray?

In this type of situation, some people use white decal paper then print everything around the white lettering in the same color as the airplane. So, when you trim and apply the decal it will blend in with the airplane while the white lettering will be visible.

As you can see, making a decent decal is not as easy as just finding and printing an image. There are extra steps (like cleaning up the image) to be done first.

Peteski

White is using no ink at all for an ordinary printer but there is a white decal paper about for standard printers.

I just did a Google search on 'white decal paper';

Richard.

What type of printer? Inkjets do not print white, only background. Dye subs or ribbon wax printers CAN print white, but you need to put in the white ribbon or dye stick.

It's an Inkjet. I had no idea they didn't print white.

Of course Alps is the best way to go but I thought that the original poster was using a standard deskjet or laser using the usual cyan/magenta/yellow and black inks setup.

The special invisible white cartridge lasts for ages though! ;-)

Richard.

Heh.

Really??? Which ones and how much do they cost?

If you logically think about it - it makes sense. The print media is already white. And if you ever printed an inkjet transparency, you would notice that the ink is also transparent.

And have you ever tried printing something on black colored paper?

But I suppose that this is one of these things that people normally just don't think of...

Peteski

It's always in hindsight, isn't it!

I should have added 'and when it does eventually run out, simply turn the printer upside down, remove the screws in the base, take the lid off and simply cut the stepper motor band to allow release of said cartridge.'

Richard.

Could it be this misunderstanding ? ;-)

I feel a Stevie Wonder & Paul McCartney song coming on!

Richard.

I don't have an Alps, so when I need white decals, I change background color in design to background color I am painting model. I then cut out the decal as close to lettering or whatever white area there is. Results depend on how well I match background but so far it has worked pretty well. I always keep in stock both clear and white paper.

Now, that woudl be very silly.

Black & White printer *DOESN'T* imply that it actually prints using white ink!

Duh! :-)

Peteski

Well, April 1st *IS* reported to be happening this year by chance.

Richard.

Yeah, it makes sense. But what if the print media is black or some other color besides white? Does print media come in any other color besides white? I never paid attention, I always get plain white paper.

On Fri, 3 Feb 2006 14:21:12 -0600, Von Fourche wrote (in article ):

Then you'll get black text on black paper; at best it might be a slightly darker or lighter black.

On colored papers, the ink colors will be distorted. For example, if you have a photo of white clouds in a blue sky and print it on yellow paper, you'll get yellow clouds in a green sky. On red paper, it'll become red clouds in a purplish sky.

Yes, paper comes in hundreds of colors, textures, and pre-printed background & border designs: creams, browns, greys, pastels, neons, clouds, granites, award certificates, colored parchments, etc. You can find them at stationery and office supply stores.