Laser decal printing help

[slashandburn]

Cheers Mark, no worries! I got there in the end. Dunno how I ended up finding problems where there are none. Yes, it's from crafty computer paper, glad its not just mines that looks discoloured, at least I know it's not all in my head!

Today's non existent problem: Why does my coffee taste different? Could it be down to switching toothpaste brands or do you think there's something in the water?

[bluebunny]

Have you been soaking your decals in your coffee??   

[EBK]

Today's non existent problem: Why does my coffee taste different? Could it be down to switching toothpaste brands or do you think there's something in the water?

[duck_arse]

Today's non existent problem: Why does my coffee taste different? Could it be down to switching toothpaste brands or do you think there's something in the water?

maybe there's nothing in the water.

[davepedals]

I use the decal paper below. I have never had a problem with it, strong, a bit thicker than normal decal paper which I like... prints fantastic.!  I did have a similar problem with some transparency film , if I printed on the side it was designed for I got a frosting effect.  simply reversed the sheet, printed it and no problem.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/181602049227?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[MrStab]

i have a Samsung C430W laser printer and my experience is different: it looks black out of the printer and goes on black. this is also with different brands. i wonder what causes the difference? not that it really matters if it all ends up the same, i suppose.

...just wish the decal paper wouldn't get stuck in my printer half the time, sometimes melting around the drum and burning my fingers as i try to pull it out *sigh*. some brands fare better than others.

[thermionix]

...just wish the decal paper wouldn't get stuck in my printer half the time, sometimes melting around the drum and burning my fingers as i try to pull it out *sigh*. some brands fare better than others.

I just recently acquired a laser printer.  I have reservations about trying decals for this reason.  I don't know how big a pain it would be to get melted stuff cleaned off the innards.  What brands did you have the best luck with?

[slashandburn]

i have a Samsung C430W laser printer and my experience is different: it looks black out of the printer and goes on black. this is also with different brands. i wonder what causes the difference? not that it really matters if it all ends up the same, i suppose.

...just wish the decal paper wouldn't get stuck in my printer half the time, sometimes melting around the drum and burning my fingers as i try to pull it out *sigh*. some brands fare better than others.

This is also a samsung, though the M2027W (iirc).  I've printed a few more since and it seems I can just about get away with it on most colours but on lighter colours it's definitely noticable.  On two dark red boxes it's almost invisible, same on gold and silver painted boxes.   On bright yellow and white boxes its a different story though and there's a sort of light toner mist in the "clear" sections.   I do wonder how much of this is down to the cheap 3rd party toner cartridge i picked up.

Currently still unsloved. But im mostly getting by despite printing imperfect decals.

[EBK]

I just recently experienced the same toner mist problem.  My latest wacky theory is that it stems from the heating and rolling causing the decal to stretch and shift/lift slightly.... (plus some other things).... which results in the mist.
My decal's white areas that are nearby black areas remain mysteriously free of the mist though.

Still, like you, I've been lucky enough with the results:

[slashandburn]

That looks awesome Eric.    Can't see anything wrong with it, though my own photo's tell a similar story!

Maybe I'm simply asking too much from entry level laser printer with 3rd party toner.

My builds could benefit from me being this partcular with my offboard wiring, thats for sure.

[MrStab]

I don't know how big a pain it would be to get melted stuff cleaned off the innards.  What brands did you have the best luck with?

it's quite difficult as it needs to be powered on for the rollers to be hot enough to unstick, but it's painfully hot. fortunately it hasn't got jammed that far since i went with my current brand.

i don't know what the actual brand is, but i've had the most luck with whatever the eBay user "mrdecalpaper" sells www.ebay.co.uk/usr/mrdecalpaper . The seller Craftovator's paper had a much higher rate of failure, as did another brand which i've forgotten (it was in U.S "letter" size instead of A4).

i think this is a problem specific to the C430w tbh, as it sometimes jams with thick photo paper as well (despite the 220 GSM thickness setting being on). that said, i'd imagine any jam in any laser printer with decal paper would be worse news than regular paper.

re. OP: maybe something needs cleaned that the hardware can't clean itself? i have absolutely no idea, just a thought.

[thermionix]

Thanks for the reply, Grant.  I'll check it out.  This printer I got is a Brother color laser printer/scanner/copier.  It was free, but I had to fix it, but that only took about an hour.  I got all excited about the potential pedal applications, then I looked at Small Bear's site, and he mentions that Press-n-Peel doesn't get along with Brother toner too well, and also the risk of melting decal paper.  Huh.  Well at least I can print schematics.