DIY labeling question- anyone - lazer decal paper-links?

[jimbob]

I have aquired a lazer printer for a week! So its time to do what ive never done or been able to do which is print decals and make pcb's for my pnp blue.

Question- I assume this is how you do it- Im going to come up w a list of labels i need like "Tube screamer", or "gain, Volume, ect..

and print it out-ill then cut it out and lay on pedal and add that special disolving liquid? I bought the lazer decal paper from steve and the solution.
Or any links to doing this>

[mojotron]

I have aquired a lazer printer for a week! So its time to do what ive never done or been able to do which is print decals and make pcb's for my pnp blue.

Question- I assume this is how you do it- Im going to come up w a list of labels i need like "Tube screamer", or "gain, Volume, ect..

and print it out-ill then cut it out and lay on pedal and add that special disolving liquid? I bought the lazer decal paper from steve and the solution.
Or any links to doing this>

The liquid I use is called SOL, and I use the clear laser decals from Steve.

I just posted this in another thread, so I'll just cut an paist it here. The following method takes a bit of practice, but is really simple after some practice.

I use the SOL decal softener after I put the decals on. This is what I do - using laser printer water slide decals:

My method of aplying decals and clearcoating:
1) print the lables to a blank paper page
2) cover that area with a piece of laser decal paper cut to size and tape down
3) print so that the laser decal paper now has the fuser in the right spot.
4) put a med-heavy coat of spray laquer clear coat on the decal paper before cutting it up
5) Finish the under coats on the enclosure, then spray 1 good coat of laquer clear and let it dry for a day or so.
6) cut the decals up using oval shapes - not rectangles.
7) put a few drops of water on the area for a decal to lay
eight) put the decal under water in a small bowl for 20-25 seconds - keeping the decal still loosely attached to the backing
9) pick the decal up out of the water with my right index finger under the right edge of the decal backing
10) put the decal in place - with the backing still on - holding the decal with my right index finger under the decal backing and my right thumb loosely holding it with the index finger.
11) then, I aply a tiny amount of presure to the left top side of the decal - in place on the box - and gently slide the backing to the right while controlling the path of the decal to sit right where I want it to as the backing is pulled away. This is a 1 shot thing really, you can start over with a new decal, but re-using a failed attempt is going to have a lower probability of working out.
12) while keeping my left index finger on the decal - holding it in place - I use a q-tip to gently push the water out from under the decal so that the hydrogen bonding of the decal to the laquer clear coat is optimized - you want a very thin layer of water under the decal.
13) let it sit and dry when you have all of the decals in place
14) when just about all of the water has dried, aply one coat of SOL around all of the decal edges, then aply one coat to the top of all of the decals, then aply a second application of SOL to the edges of the decals.
15) when it dries, if you want, repeat the previous step to reduce the edges a bit more. More applications of SOL will reduce the edges, but not eliminate them.

If you get really experinced you can reduce or eliminate the need to clear coat the decals before cutting them up, but it's really tough to work with decals unless you coat them with a clear coat first - but this reduces the effectivness of the SOL decal softener. It's a compromise.

16) when everything is completely dry, clear coat with laquer twice, let dry for 48 hours (longer may be better), then clear coat with a good coat of Future floor wax

17) Let it dry for 48 hours (longer may be better)

Now, if you used self etching primer, this should give you a tough finish with decals that have extreemly faint edges.

Hope this helps  

[markr04]

May I ask if that process has ever gummed up your printer? I just bought an expensive color laser printer and don't want to void my warranty (they look for any little excuse, you know). I read on internet sites that it can damage laser printers because of what the heat does to the tape, but those damaged printers could've had a dozen other things wrong with them before hand. Yours sounds like a success with the process, but I'd like to know of any downside anyway.

[jimbob]

thanks. I had just seen the post after i finished and posted. Great work!

[mojotron]

May I ask if that process has ever gummed up your printer? I just bought an expensive color laser printer and don't want to void my warranty (they look for any little excuse, you know). I read on internet sites that it can damage laser printers because of what the heat does to the tape, but those damaged printers could've had a dozen other things wrong with them before hand. Yours sounds like a success with the process, but I'd like to know of any downside anyway.

Ya, I think where there is smoke there is fire - so perhaps the potential exists. I would have to say that I have used tape for hundreds of decals and PNP blue and never had an issue. BUT, I have - more or less - a DIY printer; I bought an old HP and rebuilt the thing inside out for a $100. I wanted a printer that would print perfectly, but I could also fix myself - just to do boards, decals and spill coffee on.

When I used more expensive printers (which at some point mine was), I used to queue up a lot of decal or PNP work, then use a whole sheet at a time. The expense is the same, but you have to plan way ahead to do this. You don't have to use tape on the outside either - I'm sure there is a way to adhere the decal to the paper transport, but this has always worked for me.

I have to say that I should have mentioned that this method assumes that you know all the risks... Thanks for pointing that out.

[mojotron]

thanks. I had just seen the post after i finished and posted. Great work!

Thanks, it's a process that although there are a lot of steps, once I'm ready to lay down decals I can get the whole enclosure done in a few minutes. Pictures would describe this better I think.

Let me know if you have any questions, there are others here that use these decals that might have a better process as well.