DECALS

[cbeckett]

I've had half a pack of this for donkeys years, never thought to use it modelling. Bought to make some labels for my wife's' jars of home-made jam! Drat....hope it is still good, 10 years later!

 

[cbeckett]

Penny has just dropped - do you recall the DIY trend -60/70s? for using sticky vinyl - all colours and "textures" (woodgrain, marble etc) that folks used to put on window-sills, larder cupboard shelves. You could get plain white - dirt cheap, and I saw some in a hardware store recently. Can't remember the trade name...recall it wasn't too good in high UV environment such we have in Oz outdoors, but I might give that a try as a cheapo alternative....

 

[beavercreek]

The vinyl material may be UV proof but unless you have an inkjet printer that uses UV stable ink then your images/lettering will fade if left in bright or sunlight for sometime.

Epson do pigment inks for some of their printers (the 'R' ultrachrome series) which are photo stable (I use one of their 4800 A2+ jobbies for printing gallery photos etc).
But even these would need a few coats of UV varnish to protect them for building signs or rolling stock etc printed o the vinyl. that are to be continually in the open.

You can try to put the vinyl printing paper through a lazer printer but, according to the conversation that I had with the owner of 'Printer Paper Direct' (PPD), the paper itself should be okay but the self-adhesive glue could well be affected by the printers heat roller (fuser) and separate causing the printer to.........end its life.
Some lazers have cooler fuser rollers and might well be okay but...you takes your chances......

 

[cbeckett]

Well - using plain white or clear "fablon (thanks) might be worth a try - I do an experiment this week.

I got a spare inkjet printer for $29 (£15-ish) this week (K-mart) so not a lot lost if the fablon fouls up the printer.

Following up the leads on UV-stable inks - I must admit that has been a problem in the past..(fading, running)

Up to now, I've just replaced the decals each year, as it is so cheap to do...just a pain in the a**e...

 

[GAP]

Here in the UK think the name was FABLON.

Thicker than the sticker vinyl we want to use. Run that stuff thro a machine could knack it!!
Incorrect stuff can be expensive!....................
The PPP product I mentioned above is UV proof apparently.... but the spray should also be used as a sealer.............

I see no reason why old vinyl stock should not work. I have used decal paper which is 20 years old...still good.
It's how you store stuff that matters.

In Australia it was called "contact"