Home made decals

[finnfan]

I have had mixed results with home made decals made with inkjet decal paper. The main problem is sealing the image once printed. I have sprayed Microsol decal solution on to seal but still had some bleeding of colours. I have also sprayed with acrylic varnish which works slightly better but results in a rather thick decal. Both methods have resulted in decals which bleed when soaking off the backing paper, even with very short soaking times.

Now I am thinking about alternatives. The subjects I am interested in are usually fairly esoteric, so having a commercially printed set is not economically viable as hardly anyone else is likely to buy the surplus sets. Is there anyone in the UK who will do �one-off� printing?

The latest idea is to buy a colour laser printer (as Alps printers are now out of production), but as it is an expensive option, I would like to know if anyone else has gone down this route and what success they have had.

Any other thoughts on the matter would be most welcome.

[les]

I've made decals with an inkjet printer with good results. I used the decal paper made by Bare Metal Foil. Then I took the printed decal and covered it with the Microscale Liquid Decal Film out of the bottle with a paint brush. Load the brush up and let the solution flow as much as possible. Don't brush much or you'll smear the decal. It helps to make a couple of sets in case you screw one up. Let it dry completely. Overnight is best and you shouldn't have a problem.