Anyone tried printing a full-face water slide decal?

Jayco · January 17, 2006, 03:14:40 PM

Hey gang,

I just ordered some laser printer water slide decals from Steve at Small Bear and had a thought...

I've seen guys do some really nice labels where they printed a full face label on a regular sticker, but has anyone tried doing something similar with the water slide decals?

I know it would waste material, but I'm looking at doing two 1590B size boxes and want to make sure everything is straight and level. My though was I could just run the whole face as a water slide decal and go from there.

Is this stupid and would be impossible to get clean (remove all the bubbles etc)?

I've got a nice color laser printer, so I'm anxious to see what I can do with these.

Also, I went to my local hobby store (they only carry ink-jet labels) and saw that they had Walthers Solvaset, which is a decal softening/setting solution. Anyone used that with any success?

Thanks,
Jim

D Wagner · January 17, 2006, 03:23:03 PM

Jim,

If the surface of your box is smooth, you should have no problem with the full face decal. I have done it a few times, and the only problem that I have had is when an edge folds under. It is nearly impossible to get it unstuck. With some careful preparation, you should not have a problem. Also, a damp paper towel is good for removing the bubbles. I have read that a small rubber squeege is ideal for this, but I have not used one.

Check out the decal on this box that I built for a synth project. http://www.destructpedals.com/main/pedals/x-generator/View3.htm This is a decal applied over a white box. I even wrapped it onto the front and back of the box.

Good luck.

Derek

Jayco · January 17, 2006, 03:33:58 PM

Derek,

Wow... very cool. I assume the box is white and the print and aqua color is part of the label?

[Edit] Nevermind... I re-read your message... the part where you SAID it was a white box... duh.

[/Edit]

Jim

skiraly017 · January 17, 2006, 03:39:35 PM

This was done with a LaserJet waterslide plus MicroSol decal softner to remove the edges. I find cutting the decal as closely to size as possible and using the MicroSol to be the best solution. Full face may or may not work. If it gets dinged, it could start the peeling process for the whole decal.

D Wagner · January 18, 2006, 07:12:34 AM

Quote from: skiraly017 on January 17, 2006, 03:39:35 PM
This was done with a LaserJet waterslide plus MicroSol decal softner to remove the edges. I find cutting the decal as closely to size as possible and using the MicroSol to be the best solution. Full face may or may not work. If it gets dinged, it could start the peeling process for the whole decal.

Skiraly,

I haven't used the MicroSol before. Does it do anything to the printed area of your decal, or do you try to avoid that area all together? I am assuming that it only works over a painted surface. Your lettering looks very clean, almost silkscreened. I may have to try a bottle of that with my next SB order.

Derek

skiraly017 · January 18, 2006, 09:22:15 AM

So far the MicroSol has not done anything to the decals and I've used it liberally while applying. I've never tried it over bare metal so I'm not sure what effect it would have.

jimmy54 · January 18, 2006, 01:45:15 PM

I did a full-face water slide decal for the first a few days ago on a BYOC Phaser. Here's a pic. It was quite tough and I think it's a 'get it right first time' kind of deal or you'll be jiggered. There was some air bubbles but it doesn't show that much against white.
I'm just about to do another on a ross compressor. I'll have to try some of the suggestions in this thread (squeegy etc.)

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e310/billymill54/Phaser.jpg

Jayco · January 18, 2006, 02:27:30 PM

Looks nice Jimmy.

What made you want to use full-face instead of individual decals for the various parts?

Jim

jimmy54 · January 18, 2006, 03:33:51 PM

I don't really know Jayco. For my previous pedals i used individual decals. For the phaser I had plans to make the decal far more complicated (i.e. more coverage of the pedal) than I did, but then decided to keep it simpler for this one. But I did want to try a full face decal just to see if it would work OK so went for it.

skiraly017 · January 19, 2006, 02:03:52 PM

I would think that the full face decal wouldbe more of a hassle. You would have to do the layout ahead of time, making sure everything lined up prior to printing and the whole bubble issue. I don't think waterslide decals are strong enough to handle any sort of squeegee action with anything other than a damp paper towel. With individual decals you can position them accordingly with little trouble. Just my two pennies.

Jayco · January 19, 2006, 02:11:32 PM

Well.. I actually have the face layouts done. I was planning on using sticker sheets, but couldn't find any locally that were actually transparent (they were all frosted).

I figured if I was going to order something, I might as well order the water decals from Steve (which I did).

My big question is how do you line up the decals to make sure they are level/square with each other and with the jacks etc? With a full face label, its pretty easy, but it seems like it would be very difficult with water slide decals other than just eyeballing their position.

Thanks,
Jim

Paul Marossy · January 19, 2006, 07:10:14 PM

QuoteI was planning on using sticker sheets, but couldn't find any locally that were actually transparent (they were all frosted).

The stuff that I use (Rayven "stickyback") has a matte finish to it. But that becomes a glossy finish when I put some clearcoat on it...

News:

Anyone tried printing a full-face water slide decal?