What's the best decal paper to use for custom decals?

[ABC Auto Industry]

Hi, I'm slowly getting back into model building, and I'd like to print up some custom decals for my models. However, I'm clueless as to what the best brand of decal paper is, so if anyone could give me some suggestions, that would be great.

[Perspective Customs]

Good question and I'd be interested to see the responses. Years ago I bought some decal paper, I'll have to dig it out and see what brand, and used it once for the plaid seat inserts for the ZZ Top Ford.

The challenge I had is that at home I have inkjet printers. You have to spray the paper with flat or semi gloss clear, let dry, print the decal, let dry, then spray again with mist coats of clear. That stops the ink from running when you dip the paper in water to release the decal. That's quite a bit of work for someone like me with a short attention span.

Another problem I ran into with the inkjet is that printing small decals resulted in more dots than a clear image. I believe with a laser printer these are not an issue.

[Perspective Customs]

This thread may be helpful:

 

 

[ABC Auto Industry]

Yes, I found that quite helpful, thank you.

[yh70]

i think it has a lot to do with your printer & settings and not the paper. Ive ran HP printers for years and used decal paper from Micro Mart to eBay and it all comes out the same..