is there anywhere i can get plain decal paper,that i can print decals off my computer? also do you need any software, because my 'puter will only print one item on one piece of paper,but i'd like to print the same thing out as many times as will fit on the sheet to avoid waste. now don't blow a gasket fellas, but i also would like to print paper stickers for another project i'm working on,so can you get paper sticker sheets usable on a computer, and as above can you print a lot of the same image (like wallpaper ) to avoid being wastful? =

I have some soft ware from Testors which is very basic and really was designed for autos but I have been able to make some multiple decals with pretty good results. I buy my decal paper from Micro Mark, My local Hobby Town and from Testors.com. They all sell clear and white decal paper along with the clear fixer to seal the ink jet ink. I am also looking for some better software that will allow one to make more detailed decals.

Would Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro work for designing the decals?

You can get decal paper at most full line hobby stores. There's one brand that's pourous enough to accept inkjet ink, but i understand it's expensive. If you get clear paper, which is commonly availble, you'll need to do a white painted background.
Now, as to making multiples:
Get the image you want, downloaded, scanned, home made, whatever into your photo editing software. Clean it up and edit it as you se fit and need. Save the image where you can find it as a .jpg.
Open your word processor program and insert the image as you would any clip art. (With MS Word, it's InsertPicturefrom file and chose the picture you want.
Once in the document, resize as needed. When you're happpy with the size, right click it and chose copy, then use the paste command to make as many copies as you want.
Save the "decal sheet" document to a floppy or cd and take this to a local office store that has a color laser printer and have them print a copy of the document onto your decal sheet. That should cost about a dollar.
To be safe, seal it with MicroScale decal film and apply as you would any other decal.

Cant really improve on what AJ had to say b/c he said it best, and said it all

I can however recommend a supplier -
I have used and enjoy this companies service.
http://www.tangopapadecals.com/page2.html
Tango Papa Decals

Good luck

don't know much about paint shop pro, or photoshop are these things easy to use? especially for someone who is'nt too clever with computers

Almonkey
Hannants http://www.hannants.co.uk/
stock blank decal paper in clear and coloured sheets. I've used it myself, but you will need some form of photoediting software otherwise you have no way of cleaning up an image. I use Paintshop-pro, and then Microsoft Powerpoint to reproduce the image as many times as I want on a page.

thats all very helpful fellas,thanx!

One more thing that should be pointed out, if you are printing out your decals on your OWN printer, it is best to set the printer to a setting for "photo paper". Photo paper isn't porous like regular paper and takes less ink to print on it. It's non-porous qualities match that of decal paper much more closely.
H2H
Cuhail

Just throwing in a couple pennies worth here... Given the choice between PaintShop and PhotoShop... Go with PhotoShop, even if you get the affordable PhotoShop Elements version... You can do so much with PhotoShop... For your modeling work or just family photos... In the long run you will appreciate Photo Shop more...

I use 2 printers, Alps MD-1300 and Canon F-80 inkjet, both print exellent decals. But I like to use the Alps because you can print in White, Silver, Gold and othe odd colors and it allows you to apply a clear film on top of the decals, it's not an ink jet or laser, it uses dye sublimation ink. It's unfortunate that it's out production but I think you can still find it.

I use Adobe Photohsop, Illustrator and Publisher, but you can also use Paint and other software. :-) :-) :-)

Best.

T. Chouman

very imformative guys...

i just want to ask one question...
as far as i know, i have to cut along the desing on the home made decal...not like the one supplied with the kit where each design will seperated it self ...

Can we do this on home made decals??

Silantra,
I don't know of any way of making 'seperate' decals at home. The paper that you can buy is coated as a sheet. No problem, sharp knife, steel ruler. If you check out my gallery both the Hurricane and Dodge Radio truck have home-made decals.

THANKS FOR REPLYING

I GUESS THERE'S NO WAY WE CAN DO IT AT HOME

SO ANY INFO ON HOW THE KIT DECAL IS MADE LIKE THAT??

The kit decals are screen printed in layers. The backing film is printed first, and then the colours are printed individually the same as a magazine or newspaper, from combinations of just red, yellow and blue. The machines use registration marks ( you sometimes see these in the corners of decal sheets etc.) to make sure that each layer is corrctly positioned on the one underneath. You end up with seperate decals. It isn't so hard to cut each one out from a sheet, most of us cut close to the edge when using a manufacturers sheet anyway to make sure that we have as little backing film as possible.