hi, what do i need for printing m y own decals?HAS anyone done this before?

Hi LordQ,

You need an ALPS printer. Unfortunately, ALPS quit selling to the general public a couple of years ago. Apparently they were deluged by hobbyists asking for tech help.

You can still find them, and the all important ribbons, on eBay, etc.

Now, if you DO NOT want to spend hundreds of Guilders/Francs/Euros, then buy some of the decals paper for computers. http://www.decalpaper.com/]Decals paper Micro-Mark, Squadron, no doubt Hannants, carries this. It is usually clear or white film and you can print it with your PC printer. You have to seal it with their sealant spray or your ink will wash away.

With this you can make decals that are are fine as your printer's dpi and your graphics programs can allow.

Some pretty impressive results can be attained. Recently in Model railroader http://www.trains.com/content/dynamic/articles/000/000/004/723uxldp.asp a man photographed a heavily weathered and graffittied caboose. He loaded the image into PhotoShop and printed the entire image as a decal, and applied it to his model. Rust areas, scuffs, paint fades, graffiti, it all came out. Simply amazing!

I make my own decals all the time using the decal paper for computer printers. It is really simple and the result is great. The key is having the right paper for your printer and the project. There are different papers for inkjet and laserjet printers, they are not interchangeable. Secondly, the right paper for your project. Regular computer printers don't print white, no need, the paper is already white. In order to get white in your decal, you have to start with white decal paper and trim around your image or print the same color as your model as a background to blend the image in with the rest of the model. It is really quite easy.

You should give it a try.