Steve H Posted October 20, 2023 Posted October 20, 2023 Hi all, I am looking to have some custom decals made for a few different projects. I do not have a good enough printer , so hoping some of you could share any information on who makes good quality custom decals for 1/25 scale cars. Preferably someone you have experience dealing with. Thanks in advance for your input.
peteski Posted October 20, 2023 Posted October 20, 2023 Here are some custom decal manufacturers who should be able to work with you to produce the artwork, and print the decals. http://www.circusdecals.com/ https://fsdecals.com/ (this is the one used by a member of Model Cars Magazine forum and he was happy with the results.) https://www.pdc.ca/rr/custom_decals/ (this one was used by a member of a model RR forum I frequent and he was happy with the results) Some comments about Fusion Decals are in http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/114760-custom-decal-printing-who-still-does-it/#comment-2673726 Read the comments after that one, as they mention few other decal manufacturers.
Leica007 Posted October 20, 2023 Posted October 20, 2023 I used this one, easy to work with and very nice decals: https://stsdecals.com/ 1
Can-Con Posted October 20, 2023 Posted October 20, 2023 16 hours ago, Steve H said: Hi all, I am looking to have some custom decals made for a few different projects. I do not have a good enough printer , so hoping some of you could share any information on who makes good quality custom decals for 1/25 scale cars. Preferably someone you have experience dealing with. Thanks in advance for your input. Steve, I also recommend STS. I had them do up some Porsche 911 rocker stripes with the lettering a few months ago and they came out great. Didn't cost near what I thought it would either. 1
Fat Brian Posted October 20, 2023 Posted October 20, 2023 Do any of these places use an Alps printer? I need something with white printed.
peteski Posted October 21, 2023 Posted October 21, 2023 Most (or all) of the decal makers mentioned above use printers which print white ink. Not specifically the Alps printers either. There are other printers which print white, but they are expensive, so average hobbyist cannot afford them. But companies dedicated to printing decals can.
Classicgas Posted October 21, 2023 Posted October 21, 2023 Once he recovers from his stroke Speedway Decals at least used to do custom work.
papajohn97 Posted October 21, 2023 Posted October 21, 2023 Joe Curtis of Fremont Racing Specialties, a decal and resin body supplier who sells on eBay (paintinjoe) made custom decals for me for two 1/25 scale sixties A/FX Mustangs a few years ago that he was also able to sell to others on eBay. His quality is EXCELLENT and his prices are reasonable. I’m not sure if Joe is still taking on other custom jobs but you can inquire through his eBay store. John 1
Can-Con Posted October 21, 2023 Posted October 21, 2023 15 hours ago, Fat Brian said: Do any of these places use an Alps printer? I need something with white printed. One of the sets of strips not shown in my pic is white. They did some white, black and aqua strips for me also but on another sheet not shown in my pic above.
Steve H Posted October 23, 2023 Author Posted October 23, 2023 Thank you VERY MUCH for the information guys, much appreciated!! I will do some digging and see which way I go. Always good to have input from people that have purchased products from the company they recommend. Good service is also a factor for me so I appreciate hearing that as well. Thanks again, Steve
OldNYJim Posted October 23, 2023 Posted October 23, 2023 On 10/19/2023 at 10:46 PM, peteski said: https://fsdecals.com/ (this is the one used by a member of Model Cars Magazine forum and he was happy with the results.) Not sure if I’m the person Peteski is thinking of, but I used these guys and was very happy with the quality AND service. Fast turn-around, great quality and a fair price. Highly recommended. 1
Steve H Posted October 25, 2023 Author Posted October 25, 2023 On 10/22/2023 at 8:06 PM, CabDriver said: Not sure if I’m the person Peteski is thinking of, but I used these guys and was very happy with the quality AND service. Fast turn-around, great quality and a fair price. Highly recommended. Yes sir, it was you Jim! Thanks for the input. Pretty sure I will try them first. Thank you ?
peteski Posted October 25, 2023 Posted October 25, 2023 IIRC, CabDriver provided the decal artwork in a vector graphics format. I believe most decal manufacturers prefer that graphic format. Steve, are you planning on providing your own artwork, or have the decal manufacturer doing the artwork for you. If they have to do the artwork, or you do not provide vector graphic, then the cost will be higher since they have to spend time on creating the print-ready artwork.
Steve H Posted October 25, 2023 Author Posted October 25, 2023 2 minutes ago, peteski said: IIRC, CabDriver provided the decal artwork in a vector graphics format. I believe most decal manufacturers prefer that graphic format. Steve, are you planning on providing your own artwork, or have the decal manufacturer doing the artwork for you. If they have to do the artwork, or you do not provide vector graphic, then the cost will be higher since they have to spend time on creating the print-ready artwork. Hi Peter, I intend on providing the artwork. Having said that, I’m hoping they can use a photo for the artwork for one of the decals. I also have some other ideas I would need to send in the correct format. I’m not tech savvy, but I believe I can ask one of my local model club friends for help with that. I will do a “deeper dive” into their website in the next couple of days, at a glance it looked like they had fairly specific information which is always useful. Your input has been very helpful and much appreciated. Thanks, Steve
OldNYJim Posted October 25, 2023 Posted October 25, 2023 27 minutes ago, peteski said: IIRC, CabDriver provided the decal artwork in a vector graphics format. I believe most decal manufacturers prefer that graphic format. Steve, are you planning on providing your own artwork, or have the decal manufacturer doing the artwork for you. If they have to do the artwork, or you do not provide vector graphic, then the cost will be higher since they have to spend time on creating the print-ready artwork. Correct - MOST of the art on the one sheet I had printed was Vector (that is, artwork drawn with editable lines, for anyone unfamiliar, as opposed to a regular jpeg image like a regular photo or graphic that you’d normally see online). That said, part of what I had them print WAS just a regular old downloaded image, and they had no issues printing that for me too…the printers and software they use can handle it, it’s just not the IDEAL way to go…
Bills72sj Posted October 25, 2023 Posted October 25, 2023 If you are willing to put forth the effort, you could just make and print your own. Here are some examples of my home made decals.
Classicgas Posted October 25, 2023 Posted October 25, 2023 These stripes, stars and upholstery decals were done by speedway.
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