Decal paper comes as A4 sheets you print your own markings on at home. It behaves exactly like any waterslide decal: soak it, and the thin printed film releases from its backing and transfers onto the model. Versions are stocked for laser and for inkjet printers, with clear or white backing, in packs of one or ten sheets.
It is the answer when the insignia, serial, warning plate, instrument dial or number you need exists in no decal sheet made, and the only way to get it is to draw it and print it yourself.
Waterslide Decals - Inkjet White
9.16 €
Waterslide Decals - Inkjet Transparent
9.16 €
Waterslide Decals - Laser White
9.16 €
Blue waterslide decal paper for laser printer (5 pcs. A4)
17.16 €
LASER Clear Decal paper x 10 sheets (210mm x 297mm)
17.56 €
INKJET White Decal paper x 10 sheets (210mm x 297mm)
17.56 €
The sheet carries a thin film that releases from the paper backing after a few tens of seconds in water. So you print the artwork, let it dry, seal it with clear varnish, cut or trim out the item you want, soak it and apply it exactly as you would a decal from a kit. Nothing about the application differs from normal decal work; only the artwork is yours.
Each sheet is made for one printer type and the two are not interchangeable. The laser coating withstands fusing heat and the print is water-resistant straight away, but a laser printer cannot lay down white. Inkjet handles finer gradients and is the more widely available option, though the print must be sealed with varnish before soaking or the ink will dissolve.
On clear paper everything you did not print stays transparent, which is ideal for dark lettering and insignia going onto a light surface. Use white paper where the artwork itself is light, or where it sits on a dark colour, since without a white underlay the base colour shows through. White backing does need trimming precisely to the outline.
Always fix the print with a thin coat of gloss clear in several passes rather than one heavy one. The varnish binds the ink layer together and stops it running in water. Once the decal is on the model, decal setting solutions will soften the film and pull it down into the panel lines.
Custom decals are usually printed for one specific airframe and its codes, so the ready-made sheets that cover the rest are in aircraft model accessories.
