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Making Custom Decals

Supplies
There are really only two main supplies.

The first, most important item is clear decal film. SuperScale, JNJ Decals, ScaleMaster, and other manufactures all make this. It is basically a decal sheet with no printed markings on it. I get my paper from "Tango Papa". I do not know who the actual manufacture of the paper is, but it works very well. Meteor Productions also market decal paper that appears to be the same stuff as is available from "Tango Papa", but at a substantially higher price.

The other thing I also use is a product from SuperScale called "SuperFilm". This is liquid decal film in a bottle. It is sold at most hobby shops, right next to the SuperScale decal solvents ("red stuff" and "blue stuff"). SuperScale markets this product as an alternative for saving old decals that are cracking and disintegrating when you wet them. By applying the SuperFilm over the old decals, it holds them together, keeping them useable. For the purposes in making my own decals, SuperFilm acts to seal the printed designs so they are less likely to crack and peel off the decal film when being wetted and applied to the model. A good clear gloss paint, like Floquil's Crystal Coat, can also be used for this purpose, but I find that SuperFilm works better.

Other supplies I need are dependent on my printing methods. These include printer ribbons and cartridges that are specific to the printers I use to print my decals.