What printer would you suggest for decals?

[Jamafore]

I'm looking at buying a printer for school stuff, but I'd also like to print decals. I tried a while ago with an old printer I had but when I tried to apply the decal the ink wouldn't stick to the decal sheet.

 

So what printer would you guys suggest?

[TheOneTrueZon]

Laser is the best, but those get expensive really, really fast. 

 

Inkjet printers work with most decal papers (they usually tell you what kind of printer to use, either laser or inkjet), however you're going to find that the big limitation for BOTH is not being able to print white. Most printers use the paper to emulate the white tone in an image. High end decals can print white by using either screen print or dye-sublimation to lay the ink on top of the substrate that slides off the backing for water slide decals. High end laser printers can do it too but they usually start somewhere in the 3-5,000 dollar bracket for a good one! There is also white decal paper, but then you need to be extra precise with cutting your decals out. If they're intricate it's kind of a deal-breaker. I use a laser printer at my work and will paint the area white where I'm going to put a color decal and clean up the edges afterwards. 

 

Hope this helps!

[Quixus]

I haven't used decals yet, but you can print intricate designs on white decal paper by making the background in the colour of your model.

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

If you want decals with white in them, I think it would be cheaper and/or much less of a headache to get them custom made by a business that already has all the expensive equipment to do so. Otherwise, I have seen home printed decals that look as good as professional stuff done with an inkjet if the work is put into them. 

[Carlson793]

Another option for white in decals is create two versions on the sheet: one how you want it to look, and the second an outline of the first. Place the outline version on your model, as you would for any other decal. Then use white paint to fill in the outline. Now use normal decal application to place your full color version on top of the white-filled version. (BKZer0 did a great tutorial on this technique.)

 

As for printer: I highly suggest laser printers for decals, especially if you can get/afford a color printer. The way the toner is fused to the sheet, you don't have the issues of running colors.

 

As far as running ink from inkjet-printed decals, you have to remember to give the sheet 2-3 thin coats of spray clear gloss paint after printing the sheet. Print, allow to dry/set for a day*, apply the spray gloss, let that dry for a day*, apply second gloss coat, dry a day*, ready to use. (Duncan Rhodes moment here) Multiple thin coats of the gloss is key. If you put it on too thick, it will be the same thing as using the sheet without sealing it - the inks will run. 

(*though a half hour to hour is probably sufficient)