help needed...custom decals

CorelDraw - will let you do almost anything in creating or copying text, you can import bitmaps (.BMPs or .JPGs from scans) and edit them, over lay text on them, etc.
But software is not the big problem - there are several packages that will let you create text and manipulate bitmaps, but the critical item that you really need is a dry ink printer. The Alps micro-dry printers have been the standard for years, but they are no longer sold in the US - maybe in Europe or Asia. Perhaps the new Xerox printers will do. The problem with ink jets is the ink doesn't mix well with water when applying decals, and they don't have white ink - Alps had a special ribbon for white. That would be a thing to check out from Xerox, as well as is there any decal film compatible with their inks.

current...I'am One fellow got around the water/ink problem, He uses the T-Shirt transfer paper. Simply get your page ready for print and then reverse it. Print it on the T-Shirt paper and use a warm soldering iron with a large flat blade to apply the transfer.

Have you seen how well the product does on the small lettering? And, the biggest problem of all, with tShirts too, is no white ink.
Epson makes cartridges for some of its ink jets that are supposedly more permanent colors and also water resistant. But no white.

for white decals: more at with these, you can use an inkjet printer for printing your decals.
Dirk

Pretty slick! The problem is you can do _only_ white. Not a problem for lettering, but not useful for logos, but for those I suppose we could just slip white decal paper underneath the color layer.
Jay Americans have the best legislature money can buy. Unfortunately it's corporate money.

You can do white background or clear background. The problem is you cannot PRINT white with inkjets (the old Alps printer could do white, but it is out of production).
Caution with these inkjet decals: my experience is that most inkjet ink runs when wet and even with the protective overspray, I've not had great success. If you put the overspray on to heavily, it protects the ink, but the decal is thick; too thin, and water gets through. Decal setting solutions like solvaset et al seem to dissolve the protective layer and result in a mess.
Some of the newer Epsons have durabright and "ultrachrome" inks which are supposed to be more water resistant; you might try those. My HP 970 runs like a sprinter ;)
Ed
in article snipped-for-privacy@mb-m04.aol.com, JCunington at snipped-for-privacy@aol.comjkelm wrote on 7/5/04 11:34 AM:

Very easy way around that, paint the area under the decal white, print the decal in reverse, a solid color with clear letters, once the decal is in place, the letters become white.

Alps printers are no longer sold by manufacturers - true. Citizen and OKI used to sell rebadged Alps printers too.
In either case, Alps is alive and well on eBay. Dozens of them are available every week.
Supplies are also quite plentiful on eBay and from regular web retailers.
As far as I know, Alps will still be manufacturing consumables for quite a while.
I also heard a rumor that Alps might be producing a new version of their printer (same MicroDry technnology) as an OEM manufacturer for a big company to be sold under their name.
So, Alps is still one of the best ways of printing decals. That includes using white and metallic inks.
There are couple of Yahoo groups dedicated to Alps: Alps and alpsdecal.
And not just decals, you can print stuff on your model building windows. So, you can have great looking storefronts and curtains in the residential buildings. Alps can print directly on 0.005 or 0.010" styrene. You can design an object, print it on styrene, cut it out and assemble it ! Possibilities are endless... :-)
Peteski

Alps printers are no longer sold by manufacturers - true. Citizen and OKI used to sell rebadged Alps printers too.
In either case, Alps is alive and well on eBay. Dozens of them are available every week.
Supplies are also quite plentiful on eBay and from regular web retailers.
As far as I know, Alps will still be manufacturing consumables for quite a while.
I also heard a rumor that Alps might be producing a new version of their printer (same MicroDry technnology) as an OEM manufacturer for a big company to be sold under their name.
So, Alps is still one of the best ways of printing decals. That includes using white and metallic inks.
There are couple of Yahoo groups dedicated to Alps: Alps and alpsdecal.
And not just decals, you can print stuff on your model building windows. So, you can have great looking storefronts and curtains in the residential buildings. Alps can print directly on 0.005 or 0.010" styrene. You can design an object, print it on styrene, cut it out and assemble it ! Possibilities are endless... :-)
Peteski

Depends on the size and shape of the area involved, and matching the car color to the decal color. Naaahhh - show me an example doing the small data on a single sheathed boxcar . . .