Houdini Posted January 30, 2005 Report Share Posted January 30, 2005 This is my first post on the forum and would like to say that I have really learned a lot from all of the great information posted here. As for my question, I purchased some waterslide decal paper for laser printers from DecalPaper.com to use for headstock decals. In their instructions, they say all you need to do is print out your decal on a laser printer and then spray over it with an acrylic finish to protect it. I had my logos printed at Kinkos copy shop assuming that they would have good quality printers and then sprayed krylon acrylic over the image. When I did this, the ink ran and ruined the image (same with polyurethane). I came across a post in this forum (on page 28 labled "body decal") where decalshopmike talked about having to use a thermal laser printer in order to keep the ink from running as well as applying a specialist sealer. Does anyone know what type of copiers/printers are considered thermal printers and are suited for decal printing? Also what is a good specialist sealer to use so that the ink will not run when the headstock is finished with nitro or poly. I appreciate any help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAI6 Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 If the print was desolved by the clear, my guess is that you had the image facing up, and not down. You need to have your logo printed mirrored, so when you apply it (right reading) the ink is down, away from the clear... Or maybe there are other issues I'm not aware of? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houdini Posted January 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 No, the paper is designed to be printed on top of. It is supposed to hold the ink without it being dissolved by the solvent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 I've only done this once, so I'm no expert, but I simply dusted 4 or 5 very dry coats of the clear (acrylic(?) Krylon rattlecan clear) over the water slide and let each dry before ever wetting out the surface. It didn't give me any problems, even when they sprayed auto poly clear over the whole neck ( well, not the fingerboard, but you know what I mean). Maybe I just got lucky? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyykko Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 As for my question, I purchased some waterslide decal paper for laser printers from DecalPaper.com to use for headstock decals. In their instructions, they say all you need to do is print out your decal on a laser printer and then spray over it with an acrylic finish to protect it. I had my logos printed at Kinkos copy shop assuming that they would have good quality printers and then sprayed krylon acrylic over the image. When I did this, the ink ran and ruined the image (same with polyurethane). I came across a post in this forum (on page 28 labled "body decal") where decalshopmike talked about having to use a thermal laser printer in order to keep the ink from running as well as applying a specialist sealer. Does anyone know what type of copiers/printers are considered thermal printers and are suited for decal printing? I've also done this only once, so i'm not an expert neither. I used Bare Metal Foil's clear laser decal sheet, printed with normal color laser printer and added one thin coat of clear laquer on top before applying the decal to the headstock (because the decal was so darn thin, i just couldn't apply it without it getting wrinkled). The thermal printers probably refer to ALPS thermal transfer printers. These are great gadgets especially when working with decals because they can print white (and gold and silver). The availability of printers is very limited because they are no longer manufactured, but you can still find these on E-Bay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houdini Posted February 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 Thanks for the info, I will try again with dry coats of lacquer and see what happens. Hopefully it will work out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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