Printing Waterslide decals

[iborg]

I would like to print waterslide decals. Because these will be applied to substrates that are not white I need fairly opaque inks. I also need a white ink so that white can form a foundation for the colors. I've searched for inks that could work but haven't had any success. Any suggestions? I will gladly buy a new printer if required.

Thanks,

Mike

 

[on30trainman]

I print decals for model railroad equipment and find that the only suitable printers are the ALPS - which are not easy to find or available for a reasonable price. I have an ALPS MD-1000 which I baby along - only prints decals. There are two forums for ALPS printers on the Yahoo Groups forum - you may want to check there. Color decals can be done with inkjets on special decal paper, but I have no experience with them myself. Pigments inks are probably better than dye inks. But for WHITE and Metallics the ALPS is pretty much the only game in town. Years ago I tried making decals with a color laser printer (for large scale train cars) but the decal was prone to cracking especially over rivets and raised details. The printed surface didn't stretch like the ALPS printed decals do.

Steve W.

 

[iborg]

I have an Alps 1000 with the dreaded banding issue. As you know Alps has once again pulled support on the Alps which leaves me with trying to find an alternative. I've thought about a Roland but that is just too pricey for me to consider. I know the inkjet process can produce the desired results. All that is lacking is a sufficient inkset.

Mike