# Homemade Dry Transfers



## Stimpson J. Cat (Nov 11, 2003)

Has anyone else seen this dry transfer system? It looks like it might be a nice alternative to decals made in a printer. I think it's interesting that it can make markings in metallics and white.
http://www.pulsar.gs/DECALS/a_Pages/1_MENU/1b_Overview/Overview.html


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

*yeah...*

I actually posted this site to this board over a year ago, but they weren't shipping yet... has anybody used these yet? I'm itching to buy in!

EDIT... I just ordered the stater kit... what the heck... I'll give it a shot and report back!


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## Stimpson J. Cat (Nov 11, 2003)

Ooooh a review! Goody


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## Tyboy4umodels (Apr 26, 2005)

Well I clicked on the link and it took me to an order page for this.Here is the page it took me to:

http://www.pulsar.gs/DECALS/a_Pages/6_Products_and_Store/_Store.html

I hope this works for ya!


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## Krako (Jun 6, 2003)

Hmmm... I wonder if this could help with our quest for dry transfer decals for the Refit...


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## Arronax (Apr 6, 1999)

If if does work, this is the answer to ALPS-less printing.

It does seem a tad expensive to get started ($99.95) and I'd like to hear a review before I order.

drewid142 - the world is waiting on your comments.

Jim


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## capt Locknar (Dec 29, 2002)

Not if you consider what a used Alps would cost ya. Seems fairly reasonable to me considering what ya get in the starter package. 

I mean a used alps could run you up to a grand on ebay, sometimes more sometimes less.


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

*Experience and inexperience*

I'm the guy that went ahead and ordered the starter kit. I'm quite experienced at digital art, but have no frame of reference to judge the quality of the dry transfer. I propose that I make a test decal and send it to one of you that can judge the quality and report back to us. Who among you is best to judge the quality of a dry transfer?


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

I dunno, I browsed the directions for the metallic decals and "easy" wasn't the word that came to mind. Anybody ever try the foil process they talk about?


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## capt Locknar (Dec 29, 2002)

Well me and my dad used to use the Letraset decals all the time when we were younger. In fact dad still has a bunch of the letraset rub ons in one of his file cabinets. Mostly the old english fonts and so forth. The fancy stuff is what he liked. 

If needed I could judge the rub ons quite well for ya.


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

drewid142 said:


> Who among you is best to judge the quality of a dry transfer?


You should be able to judge, drewid142, after you rub it onto a clean, smooth test surface and burnish it on with whatever paper they recommend. We used to use the backing paper from the transfer sheets. The transfer should be clean and flat, with no bare patches or wrinkles, and it should look painted on, with no carrier film. The artwork will have its own satin sheen, if I recall. 

(Don't forget, you can't reposition dry transfers. Once they stick, they're stuck.)

Hope that helps ...


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

OK... I'll do the test then... 

I'll check back when it arrives!

Drew


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

*Starter kit arrived today!*

My dry transfer starter kit arrived today. I'm going to buy a color laser writer tomorrow and I'll make a test this weekend and report back! The system requires toner-based laser printing rather than ink jet. I'm thinking about getting the Konica magicolor 2430DL Color Laser Printer... any experts out there with any advice on which color laser printer to get?


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## frontline (May 4, 2005)

I am extremly happy with my Oki 5150 (since replaced by the 5200 model) color lasere printer. For business graphics its great because the colors tend to be glossy, even on plain (24 lb) paper. My best advice it to check out the PC Magazine web site and see their reviews. I know the 5200 rated pretty high


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Any progress?


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

*small delay...*

I've got family things to deal with over the weekend... so I'll have to buy my color laser printer on Monday and do the test next week. I've started a high-rez photoshop file for the test. It has various groupings of 1, 2, and 3 pixel lines, some nose art 40's chicks, and some azteking panels at 600 dpi.


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

*working on it*

CompUSA and Best Buy both had poopy for in-stock selection on color laser writers today... I'll have to order it on-line... so I'll be at least a few more days before posting any results from testing out the Dry Transfers... but I'm having some insane visions of how I could use them if they work out well.

Sorry for the delays.

Drew

Did anyone else order the starter kit?


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## spe130 (Apr 13, 2004)

If they work well, you're gonna be flooded with orders for Refit dry transfers... :tongue:


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

*not me...*

I'm just a user that bought the starter kit to see if it was any good... folks that want decals will have to buy the decal kit themselves or some other user will go into biz making and selling the decals.


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## ThomasModels (Mar 8, 2000)

That isn't going to happen. I spoke with the owner several weeks back and he was very excited about his product. I told him of my intentions and he indicated that would be very difficult. While the product is excellant for the end user, the printed sheets are extremely fragile. They would not survive shipping. They have a shelf life once printed and should be used soon after printing them.

Making commercial saleable product from the setup is not practical, unless they are soft padded with no chances of any surface contact or scratches, placed in a box container and shipped that way.


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## spe130 (Apr 13, 2004)

D'oh! Hmm...$99 for the kit, god knows how much for a color laser printer... :freak:


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## sbaxter (Jan 8, 2002)

So, the laser printer has to use actual toner, then? I guess that means the "solid-ink" (i.e., wax)-based Xerox/Tektronix Phaser I can use is out? Oh well.

Qapla'

SSB


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## Krako (Jun 6, 2003)

I wonder if Kinko's has color laser printers...


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## spe130 (Apr 13, 2004)

Krako, I'm pretty sure they do.

How durable are these things when applied? I'm starting to consider getting one of these for a bunch of projects, but that price tag is making me twitch.


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

I just carried my new HP 2600n Color LaserJet Printer up to my office! I'm almost $600 invested in these dry transfers now... I've got the Dry Transfers starter kit and everything I need to try them out... I hope to heck they don't suck! I'll get my test done as soon as I can... sorry for the delays!


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

Sorry?!? No worries, mate ... thanks for taking the risk, such as it is. :thumbsup:


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

well... I've had a lot of personal stuff going on but I won't bore anyone with it. I bought the HP LaserJet 2600n and I'm not at all happy with the results I'm getting from the printer. I might return the damned thing, but I'll do a test of the dry transfer decal stuff tomorrow and post my amateurish review. I'm getting washed out prints with streaking and such on the printer... perhaps just a bum cartridge, but if I buy new cartridges and that doesn't fix it then I'm out even more money and still not happy... so I'll just get in and do a test of the decal kit. If it does a good job transferring the print to decal, then it's not the decal kits fault that the print is poor. I'll try a few different papers. Right now I'm working with HP glossy laser paper, so you'd think it would be a perfect match.... right?


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## capt Locknar (Dec 29, 2002)

That does sound bad. Most Laser Printers the print should be bright and Sharp.


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

Have you called tech support? My Lexmark color laser had little bits of colour on the edges (I know, different symptom), and it was caused by a bum photo cartridge or something, not toner. So they sent me a new cartridge for free. 

Good luck ...


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

I'm doing deep breathing exercises to muster up the patience for a call to tech support... "Please press 7 if you are..."


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## swhite228 (Dec 31, 2003)

drewid142 said:


> I'm doing deep breathing exercises to muster up the patience for a call to tech support... "Please press 7 if you are..."


Good luck with tech support! My last call to HP tech support went to the call center in India, where a very nice man told me the reason our HP printer/fax/scanner put a black line down the middle of whatever it scanned or faxed out was because of a bad paper holder. Funny thing is the paper holder is the metal wire that holds the paper AFTER it is scanned.  

Took 3 calls and 1 replacement which was dead out of the box before I could talked to HP's corperate office where I was told to lift up on a small plate ane gently remove the thread of hot melt glue that went over the scanning port.
A problem HP was having with that model of printer.


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## star-art (Jul 5, 2000)

Glossy laser paper??? This is news to me. Laser printers typically take straight 20 lb "copy bond" paper which has a matte finish. In fact, you can ruin some laser printers by putting inkjet paper in them (the color laser we had at work had a big warning label -- "DO NOT USE INKJET PAPER or damage to the printer could result.")


Maybe it's just the paper you are using? If so, that's the easy fix. You might try standard copy-bond paper which is specifically labeled for laser printers and copiers.

Then again, that might be so obvious it was stupid of me to even bring it up. But just in case. Hope that helps!


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

*It says Laser...*

It's an HP LaserJet Printer, and the paper I bought is HP Photo Paper and it says on the package... Laser and Glossy.

I managed to get a good print out of my test decal, but I'm out of time and have to go out for the evening. I'll stop buy and get some conventional Laser paper for doing tests on in the morning. I'll try both.


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## spe130 (Apr 13, 2004)

Any more news on this stuff?


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

Thanks for prodding me spe130! I had problems with the printer, then I had problems with my network... I got frustrated and basically just stopped screwing with it. I saw your inquiry... and got off my duff! I've got the print done and I'm warming up the little laminator thingy to do the test! I'll check back in a little while with results.


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

OUCH

First test was a major flop. The decal pretty much stuck to the transfer paper and only transferred enough decal to the model surface to leave me with the annoying task of cleaning it. I haven't given up yet, though! I'm going to try it again and this time I'll be even more careful to follow the instructions precisely.

Observations so far...

It's very cool. The transfer mylar is very flimsy and difficult to handle, but I'm thinking it needs to be that thin for technical reasons I don't understand, and to allow applying decals to surfaces that may have some raised details and such. The image transferred very well from the paper to the mylar and looked great! The colors were bright, and the image was very very thin. I just hope I can get this to work... I'll check back after the next test!


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

Waiting with bated breath ....


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

drewid142 said:


> OUCH
> 
> First test was a major flop. The decal pretty much stuck to the transfer paper and only transferred enough decal to the model surface to leave me with the annoying task of cleaning it. I haven't given up yet, though! I'm going to try it again and this time I'll be even more careful to follow the instructions precisely.
> 
> ...


Does temperature effect the transfer process?


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

Second test is a total flop as well. The tech support hours are 9 to 5 east coast time, so I'll call tomorrow. Everything looks totally cool and the image quality looks very very good... but my "decals" are sticking to the transfer mylar, not the model. The transfer from the paper to the transfer Mylar is very easy and works well. I'm sure they have a trick or two for me to try... so it is what it is. I'm still very excited about it, but the process if obviously very sensitive.

Temperature? Humidity? All play a role according to their site. But I'm in a controlled environment here so I don't think that's the problem. I'll talk to them tomorrow and try again!


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

You would have to do it in small small pieces, but I was thinking that after you get the paper in place on the model precisely you might want to try a blow dryer on the non-sticky side.

That should heat the glue on the bottom of the decals and the fluid holding it to the transfer paper as well.


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

Thanks for the suggestion... but I'm out of patience for the evening. I'll try again tomorrow. I'll run the blow dryer approach by their tech support person. Darn! There's so much potential here! I hope they can troubleshoot me back into happy land.


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

I'd wait to talk to tech support, but as a suggestion, I had a similiar problem getting Shabo Dry Transfer tire markings to stick to the curved soft vinyl tires on a car I built, some of the little white lettering wanted to remain on the transfer sheet again and again. Shabo recommended heating the transfer with a hair dryer before applying, this worked better, but would still leave a letter or two on the transfer sheet. The solution I found was to _very lightly_ mist the sidewalls of the tires with photomount first, this made the dry transfers stick perfectly to the tires instead of the transfer sheet. You also don't have to rub the transfer on nearly as hard with the photomount. You can clean off any excess photomount with a q-tip and alcohol.

You can see the results on the _Mad Max_ Interceptor in my gallery.


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

I'll give these a try, but I'm going to talk to the Pulsar folks first. I'm out of patience for the night. On a brighter note... the images transferred to the carrier looked great! I still think there's a lot of potential here!


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

Thanks for doing the testing, drewid142!


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## Stimpson J. Cat (Nov 11, 2003)

Yes thank you. I can't wait to see your findings.


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Yes, if I didn't say so earlier I should have. Thanks for sharing your research drewid142. 

I just ordered a $100 set of Aztec waterslide decals. I'll likewise let you know about their quality when they arrive.

They are being mailed today or tommorrow so I should have them in about two weeks or so.


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

Chuck... the waterslide decals... refit, NX... ?


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

I spent A LOT of money on this test. I bought the starter kit and I bought a Color Laser writer even though I already have a nice color ink jet printer. I did two tests last night... both flopped. I talked to Pulsar today and did what they said... tonights test also flopped. The "decal" stuck to the transfer mylar, not the model.

Tech support today had me the run image throught the heated laminator with mylar once, then peel off the mylar, leaving a smooth surface on the toner. Then do the mylar bonding again.

Transfer of image to mylar seems to work just fine, but for some reason the image is too well bonded to the mylar and does not come off onto the model surface. 

I'm frustrated... but I go away on my annual ski trip to Tahoe tomorrow. I'll be back in about a week and I'll call Pulsar and try again... but it's not looking like I can give any encouragement to those of you wanting to give it a try.

If anyone out there wants to try it out... I'd be happy to send the kit to you and let you have at it. I'll want it back, of course... although I'm not sure why.


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

drewid142 said:


> Chuck... the waterslide decals... refit, NX... ?


Sorry, should have been more specific. They're of the 1/350th Enterprise Refit.
15 pages of decals total.

They should have gone out via USPS priority mail today, so I'll get them in about 10-14 days.


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

drewid142 said:


> I spent A LOT of money on this test. I bought the starter kit and I bought a Color Laser writer even though I already have a nice color ink jet printer. I did two tests last night... both flopped. I talked to Pulsar today and did what they said... tonights test also flopped. The "decal" stuck to the transfer mylar, not the model.
> 
> Tech support today had me the run image throught the heated laminator with mylar once, then peel off the mylar, leaving a smooth surface on the toner. Then do the mylar bonding again.
> 
> ...


Maybe you got a bad batch?

I'm a little confused as to how the printed on image sticks to the model.

I can envision the transfer paper with light light adhesive that you print onto.

But what makes the printed image stick to the model? 

Wouldn't it just be plain old toner from the printer?


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

I think the spray adhesive makes it stick to the model?
http://www.pulsar.gs/DECALS/a_Pages/2_Decal_Pro/2a_How_It_Works/How_It_Works.html


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

Step One - Print the image onto the special paper provided. Use blow dryer to dry out any moisture content in the paper.

Step Two - Cover image with thin Mylar provided... and run through the Heated laminator... 

Step two-a - Peel back mylar... leaving smoothed surface on toner image... reapply new mylar... run through the laminator again... then submerge in water bath for about a minute... the mylar simply falls off the paper with the image transferred to it... this part works great and the transferred image looks swell!

Step three - dry off, and spray with adhesive... allow to dry about a minute...

Step Four - this is where the problem is... apply decal to model... the adhesive should form bond with model surface, and the image should simply peel off from the paper and stick to the model surface... it doesn't in my tests. 

I was careful to follow instructions.

I say again... anyone out there want to give it a try? I'll pack up the kit and send it to you! I really want this to work so I'd be thrilled if someone could trouble shoot it. I will try again when I get back from my ski trip.


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

OK... I'm trying one more test tonight... this time, when I dry the transferred image after the water bath I'll be extremely gentle not to apply any pressure that could form bond between image and mylar causing it to stick... if this fails... then I'm at my wits end.


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

Last test... Flop. No Better. I'm feeling duped.


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## star-art (Jul 5, 2000)

What if you try sticking the transfer on something else? Is it possible the surface of your model is not being conducive to the spray adhesive? Maybe try spraying the adhesive and then sticking the transfer to another surface (a sheet of paper or something) that you know for sure will stick to the adhesive.


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

Interesting suggestion star-art... I'll give it a try.

...but I don't need decals to go on things other than models. I suppose I could put some aircraft nose art on the refridgerator or make decals for kids to stick all over the place... comforted by the fact that even if they try, they won't be able to stick them on my models!

oops... I started to vent... that's actually a really good suggestion... at least I could see a transferred image. I'm packing for my ski trip. I'll be back in a week and a half and I'll pick it up again then.


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

Yeah, wouldn't that be great ... sticks to everything but the models. :freak: 

Thanks again for this ...


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## frontline (May 4, 2005)

Chuck_P.R. said:


> Yes, if I didn't say so earlier I should have. Thanks for sharing your research drewid142.
> 
> I just ordered a $100 set of Aztec waterslide decals. I'll likewise let you know about their quality when they arrive.
> 
> They are being mailed today or tommorrow so I should have them in about two weeks or so.


$100 waterslides? Did I miss something? Can you elaborate?


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

I still think you ought to try lightly misting the surface of the model with spray can photomount, it should "grab" onto the dry transfer enough to encourage it off the mylar.


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

frontline said:


> $100 waterslides? Did I miss something? Can you elaborate?


Sure, they are a set of 15 pages of decals that include virtually the entire surface of the Polar Lights 1/350th scale Enterprise Refit kit and include aztecing to a very detailed level, especially on the secondary hull.

You can read the three page thread in which they are discussed here:

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=135725&page=1

Be forewarned that I have not received my set yet, the guy who sells them is difficult to get in touch with(it took him four days AFTER I had sent a fully paid Paypal order to acknowledge the order - I had been trying to get in touch with him 5 days prior to that...

My set supposedly went out yesterday but because mail to New Orleans is so slow(priority mail takes 10-14 days to get!) it will probably be a couple of weeks or so until I can give you more info.

Until I have them in my hands I can't really recommend them or the guy selling them yet. I don't trust website pics as a guarantee of what the shipped product will look like or whether or not they ever arrive. Especially considering the hard to contact seller  .

I had sent three emails before placing the order requesting Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation, and have sent three emails since I got a short short note saying that "if what I had ordered was decals they were to be shipped Thursday"

So though I asked for clarification of the shipping method about a half dozen times because of the fact that the majority of packages sent to New Orleans since Katrina without a tracking number disappears, I'm really just guessing he's sending it Priority Mail  .

But if all goes well you guys will be the first to know.

They look incredible(assuming I get my order), though I think the aztecing in some spots is a bit too intensely colored(nothing that can't be fixed).


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

I'm back. I don't have time to climb and try things out right now... but I'll get to it in a few days and I'll call the Pulsar folks and see if we can't figure out what's gone wrong.

Has anybody else gotten these and tried them out?


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## omnimodel (Oct 9, 2004)

Drewid
I haven't tried this system out, but I do a lot of Gundam models which use dry transfer decals. Here's what I've found over the years... maybe there will be some tips that will help with your situation:
1)The surface of the model is of utmost importance. I've occasionally been able to get them to stick to bare plastic, but the best results always come on top of a painted surface. The difference between dry transfer and waterslide is this: where waterslides work best on a glossy surface, I've found that dry tansfers do best on a flat surface. I use Tamiya or MM flat acrylics... but I'd suspect a lacquer or enamel surface might do okay. I've never used any type of adhesive... the paint seems to do well enough.

2) Once the decal is in the desired position, heat and pressure is used to transfer the image from the mylar to the model. I usually press down with my thumb for about a minute so the decal will 'tack' to the model. Then, I use the end of an Xacto knife to burnish the decal in place. If you look at the mylar, you should see a slight change in color after this process, which indicates the image is adhered to the model.

3) Finally, go slow removing the mylar. Keep it locked in place with your thumb while you peel up one corner. If the image hasn't transferred completely, lay the corner back down and burnish again. Repeat until the transfer is complete.

4) If the transfers are white, use the least aggressive sealer you can find. The coats should be as thin as possible. (I once had all of my transfers turn pink because I tried to seal them with a coat of spray lacquer)

Please let me know if any of these tips help with your system.


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

*Thanks For The Tips*

When I get back to it I'll give your tips a try. I'm quite discouraged, though. My next test will be to see if I can get a simple test decal to adhere to a paperplate.


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