Making Decals and needing a new printer

[ARKOUDAKI]

Hi all,

Well I have put it off long enough but my trusty Lexmark X9575 is clearly dying, as the driver is having problems and the ink cartridges just tend to dry up (as well as being expensive!).

So having resurrected my search for the 'perfect printer', I am still torn by the choice of either a color laser or color inkjet. Each obviously has their own pros and cons but the real question is what is really good out there for doing decals?

I want a versatile printer that can make good decals - great resolution down to fine graphics for 1:72-1:56 scales.

So please do share your own personal experiences, as well as any printer recommendations (as well as ones to avoid). 

Thanks in advance.

[Daeothar]

I've been printing my own decal for many years and there's a couple of things I can share about this.

I used to have a venerable HP PSC2350 All-In-One printer, and that thing was an absolute beast. It would print anything on everything, and was versatile as heck. Then I upgraded my OS, and it was no longer being supported by HP, meaning I could no longer use the scanner.

And since I had cartridges drying up on me every now and then, I decided to splurge and got myself a Brother All-In-One colour laster printer.

It... worked.

But that's about the extent of it. I was never really satisfied with its performance. Inks/toners did indeed not dry out, but the colour fidelity was all screwed up. I could print a certain picture, then print it again the next day and there would be a very noticeable difference in colour! And the resolution was not great.

Also; it was very picky about the paper I fed it, and more often than not, it would not accept the thicker decal paper and jam. A lot.

So I got rid of it and bought a Canon All-In-One. Basically because it was recommended as being good with colours, and also because the cartridges were separate. So no longer throwing away a cardridge still full with magenta and cyan, just because I had to print a lot of yellow before.

This printer is still in the house; my wife uses it, but it did not fit into my cabinet when I made the move with my hobby room downstairs.

So I took a gamble and sought and found the exact same HP printer I started this story with (2nd-hand obviously), because I had at least been very satisfied with that printer's performance.

But the HP software will not work under Win10, or any compatibility mode and obviously, the scanner still won't work (but I knew that already). However; this particular one is not at all as versatile as my original one. It jams regularly, does not work well with different formats of paper, will not take 3rd party cartridges etc. In the end, just a bit of a disappointment and it makes me miss that original printer even more; it probably was one that sat way right on the quality normal distribution...

So I'm now contemplating buying yet another printer, but since I've predominantly using it for hobby work, and then mostly decals, I want one geared towards exactly that, maybe even one that can print white. This would be very helpful, as I won't have to be as creative with backgrounds and different types of decals (white or transparent), and colours will be more vibrant too.

I'm pretty sure those printers are more expensive to buy and run though, and I have not done any research into them yet, but I hear that at least the resolution is great on those machines.

So; when I'm going forward and start looking for one, this is most likely the route I'll be taking

[Tactalvanic]

wow - rabbit hole!

Most recent purchase printer-wise for me

Epson ET-2810 - fussy about card but at least most of the types of thick card I use do fit without Jamming so - ok

Still  don't like it anymore than the previous cannon one but was utterly sick of cartridges running out/not but had and etc etc, grr printers.

But this was an interesting distraction http://www.alps-printer.com/index.php

and https://www.ghost-white-toner.com/

who would have thought printing white on decals was so difficult!

[ARKOUDAKI]

Sounds like we all have similar experiences! 

As for printing white, yes, I am familiar with ghost printer cartridges and have talked to a few people that use them (mostly for N and OO gauge train decals) and while they like them do admit they are (1) way too expensive and (2) not that easy to work with as you have to print once and then put the same paper back in while you swap out the black cartridge for the white....with the inevitable registration issues happening. So I will pass on this for now and wait for something else to come around. I tend to print using clear decal film on a white background, as that make the decal colors pop better.

So are there any good printers out there?

My current searches have lead to these being possible contenders:

Canon PIXMA iX6850

Canon i-SENSYS LBP633Cdw

Lexmark C3326DW COLOR Laser

Any thoughts on the above, or other options, most welcomed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 

[Captain Harlock]

Sounds like we all have similar experiences! 

As for printing white, yes, I am familiar with ghost printer cartridges and have talked to a few people that use them (mostly for N and OO gauge train decals) and while they like them do admit they are (1) way too expensive and (2) not that easy to work with as you have to print once and then put the same paper back in while you swap out the black cartridge for the white....with the inevitable registration issues happening. So I will pass on this for now and wait for something else to come around. I tend to print using clear decal film on a white background, as that make the decal colors pop better.

So are there any good printers out there?

My current searches have lead to these being possible contenders:

Canon PIXMA iX6850

Canon i-SENSYS LBP633Cdw

Lexmark C3326DW COLOR Laser

Any thoughts on the above, or other options, most welcomed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 

Hey Αρκουδάκι

The general thumb of rule is that laser printers have pretty bad color fidelity and the colors are quite expensive. If you are not so picky with the color fidelity they will save you an extra step since the color is ''baked on'' the decal paper and will be waterproof.
Inkjets are by far more affordable and can achieve pretty good color fidelity if they are calibrated to work with your screen. Imo stay away from anything Canon. I had to ''bury'' 2 machines due to planned obsolescence. Every Canon printer has a sponge that is supposed to suck the extra ink from the printing process. Depending on the frequency of the use, that bloody thing will fill sooner or later and then the chip gives the signal and the printer is dead. Just like that. Even if you decide to go through the process of replacing it (its quite difficult and the company charges as much as a new printer) the printer will soon be dead again. Yes the photographic Canon models have high color fidelity BUT that comes at the cost of those shady practices that only GW can match and the cartridges are quite expensive (you are provided only with half cartridges when you buy it).
I personally have an Epson Ecotank and Im not going back. Im printing with the same ink set for 2 years now and the ink bottles are dirt cheap and without those nasty chips that tells you that the cartridge is empty when its not. There are several models with that technology (basically the printer draws ink from a built in reservoir). The color fidelity is quite decent even in the cheap models. Imo its the best solution for a home printer.

The ''home'' printers able to print a 5th color (metallics or white) are a unicorn nowdays. You can find them only used for stupid prices and dont respond to modern OS.
The ''actual'' decals are silk screen prints. The problem is that those are affordable only in high volumes. You cant go and silk screen print just an A4 size. There is the solution of digital printing on some specific printers that can print white. I think its a Roland model cant remember which one now. These are professional machines with huge costs so you have to find a printing service able to do decals in small volumes.