Bubblejet Printer Decal sheets

By Mark Powley
(Feb 2001, Sapmail)

Up until recently most of us have been reliant on the decal sheets that were included with whatever kit we bought or was available on the aftermarket. The last couple of years has seen some quiet changes to that situation. First was the ability to photocopy onto clear decal sheet (ableit not without some danger - sometimes sheets could melt onto the rollers inside the photocopier causing a large mess). Then the release (in the US, anyway) of ALPS printers opened the way for home printing colour decals. ALPS printers melt coloured wax particles onto the decal sheet. They are, however, fairly rare even in the US and expensive to refill. Most of us have bubble jet printers which are incompatible with most clear decal paper as the ink beads on the decal sheet.

Now, two companies have released sheets of decal film that is compatible for use with bubblejet printers. They are:

Micromark
340 Snyder Avenue
Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922-1595
www.micromark.com

Micro Format Inc.
830-3 Seton Court
Wheeling, IL 60090
www.paper-paper.com

They both sell clear and white sheets of decal paper and the necessary cans of fixative spray to coat over the printed image.

Prices vary somewhat. Micromark sell various quantities of sheet but for 5 clear sheets the price is $US14.95, 5 white it is $US16.95 and for the 4.5oz Fixative spray can $US7.25. They also have a TryIt pack of 1 clear + 1 white + 1 can for $US12.95.

Micro Format sell the fixative in a 4 oz can for $US8.00, 5 clear + 5 white for $US20.

Different size packages makes direct comparison rather difficult so the prices I've given above are a rough guide only. I don't know of any local stockists or distributors at all.

Using them sounds fairly easy. After creating the required images on a computer (that's the hard bit) the printer is set to maximum resolution and the images are printed onto the decal paper. Once the ink dries the sheet is sprayed evenly with the fixative until the sheet has a shine and is left for 30 to 60 minutes to dry. Then the image can be cut from the sheet and used as a normal decal.

They sound like an interesting opportunity for modellers to make their own decals and not to be bound by what is available just on the market. How good they are is unclear. The few reports I have seen of their use indicates that the bubblejet ink is somewhat translucent, but that if used on light/white backgrounds they work well. The possibilities are intriguing anyway. |

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