Printing stickers

[Nikko85]

I know there are options like MCI, but has anyone had luck printing thier own stickers/decals from sheet?

I can buy sheets on amazon that seem to suggest I could make own, if you don't mind a solid background colour.

Anyone tried these? It is for a 1/16 bigfoot, all the images are freely available, but can't find any decals to scale, and would rather not pay custom prices for what's meant to be a cheap project.

[Ray_ve]

I used these vinyl sticker sheets that can be printed with an inkjet printer:

https://www.amazon.nl/PPD-Stickerfolie-Zelfklevend-Microporeuze-Fotokwaliteit/dp/B00PFW4K7C/ref=rtpb_d_sccl_2/257-4560549-5873712?pd_rd_w=sqU2h&content-id=amzn1.sym.edc82bac-6827-4092-8693-526f4aca1c90&pf_rd_p=edc82bac-6827-4092-8693-526f4aca1c90&pf_rd_r=5480XD6JSKPK6HARRTRM&pd_rd_wg=fCv4W&pd_rd_r=ce0f27bc-4f56-4c48-85f3-fa4f5beffa6f&pd_rd_i=B00PFW4K7C&th=1

These sheets will give you a solid white background, on which the printer can print any color. I also tried translucent sheets, but unless you apply those to a white body the results were not OK for my taste.

 

All the decals on the Duke Nukem Mighty Foot truck are made this way. Note that due to the inktjet ink, the decals are NOT waterproof.

[BuggyDad]

I did some waterside decals. They printed and went on OK but I think they'd need coating with something else for a runner, they're fragile. I think (but not sure) I oversprayed with some clear. They were on a transparent background so were also limited by my home office laser printer which of course precludes white, but actually the print quality wasn't too bad. 

 

[bRIBEGuy]

Printing stickers is easy.  Printing good/professional level stickers is HARD.  The equipment used for proper stickers is NOT comparable to a home setup, and is big $$$. 

There are lots of options for printable vinyl (etc...), but as @Rey_ve noted, they will not be waterproof.  There are clear sheets you can "laminate" over them afterwards to make them more durable (and in some cases waterproof), but it adds another level of complexity, and makes an already thick sticker even thicker.

At the end of the day, it's all a balance of what you want to put in vs get out.

[alvinlwh]

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[Mad Ax]

I've printed a lot of decals over the years.  Here's my experience:

Inkjet is cheapest but as mentioned above, inkjet ink is not waterproof, so you will need to proof it if you want to run outdoors.  You can either apply clearcoat on top of the decals after they've been applied, or you can buy a rattlecan of special inkjet print waterproofer to apply before you cut and stick.  You can print on clear, but again as mentioned, you need to stick it on a light background - ideally white or silver, as the ink just doesn't have enough pop to hold its colour over other backing colours.  Or you can print on white, but you need to trim carefully, and due to the thickness of the vinyl, you will always see a white line around the edge.

Laser prints are waterproof and more durable.  You can get adhesive laser paper, which gives a very good quality print, but a) it is white (there is no transparent option) and b) being paper, it isn't waterproof.  Also, I noticed the edges would fray no matter how carefully I cut it, using either a fresh scalpel blade or a sharp pair of scissors.  So once fitted it never looked right.

You can get laser vinyl, but be warned - not all laser printers can print on vinyl.  I bought a discounted colour later from Xerox back during the first lockdown, but found out after several failed prints that it isn't compatible with vinyl media.  The black toner actually works very well on vinyl, but colours often don't stick or wash out or appear patchy and grainy.

I print a lot of black onto clear, and it works well on white, silver, gold and even Tamiya red.  I wish I'd been more choosy and got something that would print colour onto clear, but that's my experience.

 

[Nikko85]

Thanks all. I am planning to print the decals onto a background that matches the colour of the truck so I can just cut out as a square. Lots of information  here, I will see what printers we have at work too.