SUPERCAL DECAL VERIFICATION

Once you've printed on the sheet, you then need to use a sealant. The products that are out that let you use inkjet printers to make decals basically use a semi-permeable non-water-soluble layer over the varnish on the decal, giving the inkjet's ink something to saturate into. * The inks used in inkjet printers are mostly water-soluble, which means that unless you can seal the printing very well with another layer of varnish or some other sealer, the ink stands a high chance of running when you soak the decal to remove the adhesive and float it off the backing paper. Since the ink can't penetrate the varnish, it can't really stick to it as it would plain paper. * The decal stock is a varnish layer that resists penetration by water, applied over a layer of adhesive that's designed to dissolve in water, applied to the paper carrier sheet. The major practical problems with using inkjet printers to print decals are two: This way, there is some control over the dot gain (the amount that the dot grows as the ink seeps into the paper) and there is some control over printing quality. By having a pretty good idea of the characteristics of the paper most of us use, the manufacturers can work out the amount of ink that the printer should dispense for each dot and design their print heads and formulate the ink accordingly. Inkjet printers operate by placing droplets of water-based ink onto a paper which is supposed to soak up the ink to fix it into place. Most if not all offer a starter kit of both clear and white sheets of their paper and their version of a topcoat sealing spray.Īfter spending a couple of years trying to get good results using an inkjet printer, I decided that for my purposes, inkjet printers are the wrong technology for decal making, if I wanted to get results approaching those of the better custom decal manufacturers. And the LifeLike website also advertises decal paper. Also, only the VERY expensive lasers print in colour.Īccording to the Walthers catalogue, Microscale and Vitachrome Graphics also sell decal paper. So I'm going to try a couple of other manufacturers to see if this is a common problem.Īs for laser printers, I believe they 'burn' the toner into the paper, creating the lettering/designs. This has caused water to seep into the design, which is not good. I have found that the printed decal sheet dries out after about a month, resulting in the decal coating separating from the paper when I cut the decals out. paper without any problems in printing my decals. The reason I've emphasized VERY LIGHT is 'cause I laid on the topcoat a little too much and although the decals turned out fine, they were a little thick - subject to curling when applied.Īs for paper, I've used Bel Inc. Once this topcoat dries, you can cut out and apply the decals. A couple of VERY LIGHT coats should do the trick. After you print them on an inkjet printer, they have to be oversprayed with an acrylic topcoat to seal the decals (I've used 'Krylon Crystal Clear' with success). The coating on decal paper won't allow the ink to absorb into the paper, which is why they won't dry. However, these returns are subject to a 25% restocking fee.Having discovered the art of decal-making. Restocking FeeĮven though every mural is custom printed to order, we do allow murals to be returned during the first 60 days even if the customer simply changed their mind. All returns must be received within 60 days. If the product is deemed defective or the return is a direct result of a Cool Walls error, Cool Walls will provide a shipping expense credit.

SUPERCAL DECAL VERIFICATION

Make sure that whatever ship method you use (USPS, UPS, Fedex, etc.), that you get a tracking number as verification that the product has been sent.

Ship back all products you are seeking to return to Cool Walls and for which you received a Return Authorization (RA) number. You can call us at 41 or e mail us to get your RA number. Cool Walls will not accept returns without an RA number.

South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands (CAD $)īefore returning a product, you MUST first contact Cool Walls customer service to obtain a Return Authorization (RA) number before the end of the 60-day return period.

Supercal decal