Hi, I'm having a hard time trying to find small fonts to use for N scale decals. I have created decals in HO Scale and the smallest font available for MS Word, Paint and my Decal-Maker software is font size 6. This size is still large for N Scale. Just wondering if any N Scalers have solved this problem. 2slim
I personally dont make decals as I am not that computer sauve. However, I do have a friend that makes decals and he has made several sets for me. Are you wanting to do the decals yourself or are you looking for someone to do the work for you?
ALPS does not seem to manufacture or sell printers any longer. All my searches are for used stuff, mostly on eBay. And even there the cost is prohobitive. TX for the info, nonetheless.
MS Office offers size 6 as the smallest--- but that does not mean it won't go smaller. Instead of using the drop down menue which only offers 6, you must actually enter a number manually in the box. I use size 4 all the time when trying to get something to line up just the way I want. I don't know if 3, 2, or 1 will work since I never tried. Personally, I use Corel Draw and you can make the fon't so small the printer can't resolve them. I personally drew this tiny decal. A friend printed it on his Alps printer. Whatever size this is- it was just barely at the clarity mark of the printer. I had several of these made (used the best on this loco) and some were not this good.
As Ron mentioned, you really need to get away from word processing software. Find a vector based graphics program and learn it. I also use CorelDraw. The wonderfull thing is, once you draw something, you can scale it to whatever you want. I typically draw in 1:1 scale then shrink it to what I need using scale conversion. I've done N scale 2" letters that are fairly legible with pretty good success.
If your MS Word is part of the MS Office suite, check into using PowerPoint. Like Publisher it has an "insert wordart" fuction (the tilted 'A' at the bottom of the PP screen view) that allows typing in any font you have as a vector that can be easily manipulated, stretched, colored, scaled etc. Size can be specified down to .01" or <2 N inches (remember to omit the outlines with small lettering!). Play around with the menus and you'll find just what you need eventually. If all else fails you can build your own lettering in PP by tracing a photo image. CorelDraw is similar. Another option is to convert the word doc with 6 point font to an image, such as from an enlargement screen capture, then scaling it down, but this will produce a fuzzy result. Eric Cox
2slim, For number boards I have been using Microsoft Excel. Font for UP locos is "Trebuchet", size I use is 20pt. I cut the decal film into 4" x 6" pieces and print this on my HP C5380 as 4 x 6 photo without borders. This makes the little HP printer use the much denser photo black ink. The most important part is to scale the printing output to 17%. These come our perfect for N scale. One point that a lot of people overlook is that all of the fonts in Excel are vector images. When you select another size the fonts just stay perfect. Gary
Just for fun I printed a test in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. With my printer you can still almost read 1 but 2 is definitely legible.
Thanks for the memory jog about vector graphics. guys. I have and use AutoCAD so. I can make text and save as a jpg and then paste into my decal maker software. I did try the 'type the size you want' trick with MS word, turns out my inkjet won't print smaller than 4 legibly. Going to try the VG route next, thanks again. 2slim
with the alps printer driver you can reduce printing size down to 25%. an font with size 4 will actually be printed at 1.
I thought my inkjet was not capable of printing small fonts legibly, but it turned out to be a paper compatibility. With the Testor's paper, text and images were "grainy". Since switching to another brand, it now prints just fine. Matching inkjets to the decal paper is an important part of the process. Bill
I've attached a photo of some CN custom decals I just finished. I use a Canon injet and theses are on clear paper. They haven't been solvaset yet so are still shiny around the edges. I tend to make the size a little bigger than scale for legibility. Somewhat similar to selective compression only in reverse. Bill
Completely agree! These days, with even a $40 HP printer, it's the paper or media that determines the resolution, not the printer. I also found Testor's decal paper to be grainy (and very expensive). I still use my seven year old Epson printer with the six cartridge Ultrachrome pigments, as it prints more densely than my other two newer HP printers. That old printer is also much cheaper when it comes to ink. I no longer print small photos (smaller than 8 x 10) as it is much cheaper to have Walgreen's do them. A good test for resolution and color fidelity is to print on premium glossy photo paper, such as Epson. If you can read it on the photo print, you should be able to read it on the decal paper--if not, swith decal paper supplier. Because I have a digital colorimeter (from my previous career), I can print on white paper, which eliminates the need for an Alps printer. I just print the background color and leave the white. This requires a close tuning of monitor and printer. I've found Apple and Epson work together very well. It also requires some close trimming of the decals, where good sewing scissors are handy. If you don't have a digital colorimeter, most paint departments do, and will probably give you a RGB value for free (and don't trust the published values for a nanosecond). Matching the RGB values read by the instrument to your monitor can be a challenge, and then matching the monitor's RGB values to a printer's CYMK values is another challenge. It can be done--but most folk would probably be better off just paying someone to print their decals. I managed to do it, but then I'm a stubborn and sometimes perpetually dense person. At about $35 an 8 x 11.5 sheet, you can get an awful lot of decals.
Bryan, I did not list a brand as I think you have to experiment a little bit, but the brand I ended up settling on is called EXPERTS-CHOICE™ DECAL FILM SHEETS from a company called Bare Metal Foil www.bare-metal.com. There are many others out there if you google water slide decals. I like the larger 8 1/2 by 11 sheets as it simplifies the formatting for printing. I print my decals in a horizontal strip along the top edge, then cut them off and use the remainder of the paper again. You can get a lot of mileage out of a single sheet this way. Injet paper comes in white and clear backgrounds. You can experiment with both. To print white text you must use the white background as mentioned above and try and match the background of the model. Good luck, Bill
