Can I do colors on laserjet waterslide decals?

[powerplayj]

Black obviously works...has anyone used colors over say a silver, white or light colored enclosure?  I also have an enclosure painted navy blue and want to use yellow lettering in leiu of white assuming it will stand out.

[GibsonGM]

Sure you can.
I do it all the time.

[skiraly017]

Here's the short and skinny on white graphics...

Your average printer cannot print white. White is just the absence of color on the paper. The same holds true for the colors. The colors aren't really solid; they're shades of color relying on a background of white paper to "reinforce" them. What do I mean? Print yellow lettering on clear decal paper, apply it to a blue enclosure and see what happens. You will not get yellow letters on a blue background. You will get a hint of transparent yellow (most likely green) that will be all but lost on a blue enclosure.

The only printer capable of truly printing solid colors is an ALPS printer. They are designed to be true photo printers with cartridges that resemble typewriter ribbons. You can Google ALPS printers for more info but new one will run and couple of hundred dollars. Even used older models can be expensive. The low end model was the ALPS MD-1000 (I think). I bought one awhile back off Ebay. The upside...I could now print solid colors. The downside...it was temperamental, the cartridges where not cheap and it only ran off of Windows 98. I had to maintain a separate OS just to run the thing and it was a PITA to use. I think ALPS will factory refurb older models, but at a hefty price.