Printing Your Own Decals Using Testors Decal Paper

While I pride myself in writing and photographing my own articles, I will say that I borrowed heavily from another blog on this one. I was looking for a pre-done decal template for some Testors Decal paper that is my weapon of choice for printing my own decals. There are probably better decal paper manufacturers out there, but none as readily available. To be fair to Testors, they do have a sample software download on their site. This is primarily full of sample images and does not allow you to import your own photos, gifs, art or text. You have to pay to download their full version. I did pay for their off the shelf software, but lost the rights when my computer died many years ago. Since then, after printing numerous things using MS Word such as business cards etc, I decided to use MS Word to print my decals.

While searching I found this article: Rebel Scale Decals Finishing Page

And although I would have gladly posted my own instructions, the page has already done the heavy lifting for me in the form of screen shots of MS Word, which I don't have the full tech know-how to pull off.

Here are the instructions for MS Word 2007 for setting up the decal template from the site above, I also have used Word 2010 and have found very few differences:

 Creating and Printing

There are many image editors available, as well as decal software, but I find that I can get the best results by using MS Word. I have Microsoft Office 2007, so this will refer to that version of Word. The following is based on the Testors Decal paper 5.5” x 8.5”. Other decal paper will require different settings. I would highly recommend testing the layout by printing the images on basic printer paper to ensure that the images are not cut-off.

1. Click on the Page Layout tab. Click on the Margins box and then on Custom Margins. Top/Bottom margins of .2” and Left/Right margins of .25” will insure that any image flush with those margins will print accurately. Anything less my cut-off the edges of the image.
2. Click on the Size box and create a custom paper size that is 5.5” x 8.5”. In the picture, I saved the specifications as “Decal Sheet”.
3. Click on the Align box and select Grid Settings. Untick the option to “snap objects to grid”. This will allow more freedom in moving the images around.
4. Now you can import images using the Insert tab and Picture box. This will create a new tab at the top (Picture Tools/Format). From here, you can change the size of the picture using the options within the Size section.
5. Alternatively, you can click on the down arrow box in the Size section to access the Format Picture menu, which will give you more options. Be sure that the “Relative to original picture size” box is ticked or the resize may skew the picture.
6. Now return back to the Page Layout tab and reselect the image. Click on the Position box and under the Text Wrapping section, select the “Behind text” option. This will allow you to move the image around anywhere you want without hindering other images or text.
7. Finally, click on the Align box and use “Align” options to move images to edges of the margins (make sure that “Align to Margin” is selected). Don’t manually move images to the edge without using these options, as the image may be cut off.

Please note that steps 4 – 7 require that an image be selected. Also, you will have to redo those steps for each image you import.

For printing, it’s best to use the standard settings. Don’t print in picture/best DPI mode, as too much ink will ruin the decal. Lastly, let it dry thoroughly before clear-coating it.

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

The author of the original article uses Krylon Clear Sealer, but I have used the Testors decal sealer that came in the original starter kit, and I have also used Testors Gloss Cote in VERY thin passes, with no more than 3 coats. Letting the decals dry between coats is also critical, and will save your images from running.

Other things you need to ensure is that you use great care when using the white decal paper. Obviously there is no white inkjet ink, so this is remedied by using white paper, and printing designs over it. The decals on the white paper sometimes come out with a "pinkish" tint if your not careful. In addition, the white in the decal is not as opaque as you would like, therefore you may have to undercoat the area with the decal in white prior to application. Here are a few pictures of a Game Workshop Space Marines Tank with the underlying paint put on (sorry about the image quality!):

Note the dot on the left door placed prior to decal.

All decals were home-made, and although they were slightly pinkish, I was able to mask it with a bit of weathering. Note the decal above on the same model after finishing with paint underneath.

Good Luck with your projects!