Decals

Decals are a big problem for truck model makers. They generally have to be sourced professionally and this is very expensive. Unfortunately there is no other way of doing it.

You would think in this modern day and age that you would be able to buy some clear decal paper and print designs off on your home computer. And you can! However it doesn't work.

The problem is that modern printers work with translucent inks which is fine on white paper, but as soon as you put them onto a dark background, the decals disappear into the background.

There is an old type of printer called a micro-dry printer which has the ability to print in white which saves the day as the decal can be printed onto a white background. Why modern day printers do not do this I do not know

However these micro-dry printers are the 'betamax' of the printer world and are few and far between and sell for silly amounts of money. Imagine suddenly finding out in the 21st century that a betamax video recorder did something you wanted which a VHS one doesn't. And then trying to find one.

Generally the owners of such machines are already at bay from modellers wanting decals made for them and it still doesn't come cheap.

So we are back to the professional printers. A bespoke set of decals that includes some graphics and more than one colour can easily double the entire model price. However until someone thinks up a new method, we're stuck with it