Re: [CR]Decals - DIY.

(Example: Framebuilders)

From: "henox" <henox@icycle.net>
To: "David Peace" <david.peace@dsl.pipex.com>, <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
References: <002601c70e3d$8f8c9ee0$9badd255@cardmodels>
Subject: Re: [CR]Decals - DIY.
Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2006 12:26:40 -0800


Subject: [CR]Decals - DIY.

David asked:
> Anyone know of a economic way of producing durable decals economically
> either by sending the images to a specialist printing firm or, for
> example, by laser.

Rather than use an inkjet or a laser, I'd suggest printing using an Alps resin transfer printer. Many Alps printers are capable of printing a white base color for other colors to be printed over (needed for colors to be really vibrant) and many will print metallic colors which are often needed for reproduction decals. The resin printing holds up pretty well against UV (but not as well as screen print inks).

One of my restoration customers, a graphic artist, would send me frames to paint, then produce decal art using a wide variety of sources, converting to line art by using Streamline and Illustrator, produce the decals on his Alps printer, pick up the painted frames from me, apply the decals himself, then bring back to frames to me for clear coats. The results were stunning.

Another approach is to find and work with a firm that is still producing custom rub down graphics (also often called color proofing or comping) which are produced by an expose/develop/print method that effectively prints one color at a time like silkscreen (I would need a page to fully describe the process and that would bore most readers). The problem is that a lot of the little shops that produced dry transfers have been rendered largely obsolete by the sophisticated inkjet printers out there.

Bottom line, inkjets and lasers are not currently promising for this application (this may change) but resin transfer printers and dry transfer methods can work very well.right now.

Hugh Enox