Hello all,
Finally, finally I have been able to do sucessful test prints for the decals, I did prints with color and with white. Naturally it is impossible to match such small details in two print passes to have white underneath the color, usually a 0,5mm marging can be left, but some details are even smaller than 0,5mm. Despite that, white layer will be included for any specific decal color for which surface on the model isn’t white. Being the thickness of the decal carrier 7 microns, it won’t be an issue having it underneath. I have been told of the several Russian artists who also use this method.
This will represent in a modification needed for all the artworks I’ve done so far, as well as do some further tests for very small decals as I am still checking the settings for best results.
There is one thing that I would like to comment and that is the color of the decal once printed. Naturally, since the backing paper is light blue, decals tend to have a bluish color, but that won’t be the case once placed over white.
For that reason I have printed an extensive color swatch with many tonalities and CMYK color codes so that I am sure that the decals match the real color that I see on the color swatch.
I will not guide myself for the colors I see on the screen as these widely vary from monitor to monitor, instead, I will be selecting codes for what I consider a closest match to the real aircraft colors.
Here is a quick example:
I slided the decal to the right, you can see that from left to right, there is the backing paper, in the middle is the color as seen once printed over the blue backing paper and on the right, the true real color once placed on a white surface, both colors are the exact same decal.
Tonalities can change a lot, so do not be alarmed if the decal colors doesn’t seem right on the blue paper, they will once over white.
Last test on colors was to actually place the decal of the white surface next to the printed color swatch (printed with the same printer) and tone of the decal is 100% the same as in the color swatch, ths will allow me for a better selection of colors while creating artworks.
So far I am pleased with the results, it was about time I could have some… now I will need to rework the decals I have designed so far.
This weekend I may not be able to upload any progress on the two current projects, reason being that I won’t be able to work on these. During this week I have started to prepare more units of the catering and the cargo loader, unfortunately one of the cargo loader molds broke, therefore I need to redo this mold and will also make new ones for the rest of the set.
After having made new molds for the LD3 trolleys, Neo engines, and carts A, I need to reorganize the material and put the molds in a proper place. My space is limited so keeping things in order is a very important aspect.
Will keep working on the projects as soon as I have these things fixed.
Best wishes,
Guillem