Quality generic and custom paint masks, vinyl decals, and dry rub decal kits for modellers.

	How DecalPRO® work?

Dry-transfer decals work on the principle of "Differential Transfer"

It might look complicated but it's really a very simple process. To make a successful dry-transfer you only need to manipulate two different adhesives - one applied to each side of the graphic. The bottom of the image has the stronger of the two so when the image is rubbed down on the target surface the clear "carrier film" is able to let go of the graphic without damaging the image in the process.

NOTE: If you don't see the "player" below right away, please give our server a few seconds to pre-load from our separate streaming video server. You may not see the first frame of the video clip so just click on "PLAY" to begin.

There are 9 quick steps to make a full-color, dry-transfer, pressure sensitive graphic in under 10 minutes.

1) Remove Moisture

2) Apply Clearcoat

3) Remove Excess

4) Clean Surfaces

5) Bond the Carrier

6) Water Bath

7) Dry the Graphic

8) Apply Adhesive

9) Transfer graphic

With these amazing foils, you can convert any printed graphic or text using any ordinary black-toner laser printer (or copier) into white, grey, black, 2 holographic effects or any of the12 real metallic foil colors. (There is even a "clear" foil for adding a true "sealer" over a full-color imge!) It's actually quite amazing and simple to use. The graphic doesn't even have to be a computer generated image. You could just as easily sign your name on a white piece of paper and using a laser copier, convert the signature to a "toner-reprodudtion", convert it to cobalt metallic blue and make the transfer to a round golfball. The entire process is very simple and extremely versitle!

Take a quick look at the effects of Differential Transfer" on the carrier...

Once the decal touches the target surface, the adhesive under the decal image has a much stronger bond to the new surface than the decal to the mylar carrier with its light "static-cling" bond that was created in the above "STEP 4". This is the "differential" in adhesion that makes the process work so well.

After the image has been rubbed down, the carrier is peeled back and discarded. The spray adhesive under the decal image is stronger than the "static-cling" holding the decal to the mylar sheet, so it will win out and the image has to let go of the carrier.

Notice the frosted sillouette created around the areas where the decal letters used to be on the carrier before it was peeled back. The spray adhesive stays on the clear mylar carrier as it is being peeled back because adhesives always have a stronger bond to what they are applied to first!

You can make all three "types" of images with the DecalPRO system; white, colour and metallic. Use a standard black & white laser printer (or photo-copier) for making all white & metallic decals, and Colour laser printer (or colour copier) for full color decals.

Putting Colour Toner Images on DARK or BLACK Target Surfaces!

Up to this point, we've been showing you colour images that have been put on light coloured surface, as in the video above with the white card, however, this is cheating a little! Colour toner by its very nature must be printed on white paper in order to see vibrant colour. If you were to put a yellow piece of paper into a color printer and print a bright RED square, your result will be a very stunning ORANGE! So it's important to consider the colours you want to apply, and the colour of the substraite (the surface you are applying the decal to).

The reason we see these colour differentials is primarily caused by the way laser printer technology has developed for printing on white paper. Colour laser printers work with 4 colours (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) which are mixed to produce all the colours we see on the paper. This coating is EXTREMELY thin, and because of this, they have no 'body'. Light landing on the image mostly passes between the toner particles, hits the white background, usually the white paper, and is reflected back. As the light passes through the toner for the second time it is tinted by the toner colour and eventually makes it back to your eye.

So, if you need to put an image on a dark or even black background, how do we get vibrant color? Simple... put the same white foil (WhiteTRF) that we've used before to turn black toner white UNDER the toner.One of the more advanced DecalPRO techniques involves putting a full color image on target surface that is not white. In the picture above, we made two identical columns of colored text. The right side is plain toner on the black background, however, the left side has had the "trick" performed. If the background is black as shown above, you can see just how much.

So how do you get access to the bottom of the toner you ask? ... print it in "mirror"! In the DecalPRO starter kit there is a set of full color graphics, half of which have already been printed in reverse so you can practice this technique right out of the box. (Actually, you need to practice the simpler techiques first, but after gaining proficiency, then you'd tackle this technique). As shown above, you see two identical columns of color "words". The right side shows how transparent color toner actually is. The left column was printed in reverse so we could apply the white foil UNDER the toner.

This next video clip shows the complete process for putting a full color logo on a drinking glass. Unless you want a transparent image, full color graphics on glass must also have a white reflector applied to the back of the toner image. The same white foil used to turn black toner white is used here to create a reflector for the back of the color image. (The player below may take a minute for it to show up as it pre-loads the "flash" video clip).

The "starter kit" contains two specially prepared, pre-printed pages on our special transfer paper, ready for you to be able to start practicing with the system straight out of the box. One of the two sheets is shown here on the right.

In the above sample set of images (which are included in the "starter Kit") the bottom half is a duplicate of the top half except they are printed in reverse. This was done so you can practice preparing "reflective" graphics.

When you run this video clip you'll see the reversed (mirrored) Apple logo being used for the demonstration. If you run out of any of these "TEST IMAGES" and want to print extra copies for more practice you can download them from the download page - click here.

If you have Adobe Illustrator or Corel-Draw (illustration type programs) you can download the raw files to be able to change specific colors and sizes without any change in resolution. For people without these software packages you can use the high resolution Adobe Acrobat files.

"TOP-10" Features & Capabilities

1. COLOUR TONER ON BLACK BACKGOUNDS

A very simple process to be able to actually apply a white reflective pigment foil underneath the colour toner if the image allowing the thin colour toner image to maintain total colour vibrancy as if it were printed on white paper!

2. COLOURISE BLACK TONER

Easily convert regular old black toner into any true metallic shade, pure white, gray, super-black with one quick step thanks to 19 very special foils for doing special effects on your graphic image, albeit text or graphics - whatever your laser printer or copier can print out.

3. REAL "DRY TRANSFER"

Rub down your custom made decal to just about any surface. You can even make a decal transfer perfectly to a Teflon coated frying pan!

4. NO CARRIER

No visible means for securing the transferred image. This is what separates our process for ALL water-slide types of decals. Graphics made with our "DecalPRO®" system do not have any sort of permanent, visible "carrier" to remain with the image. Once applied, anyone viewing your work will not be able to tell how it was done... it's that good of a result.

5. NO RESIDUE

No signs of residual adhesive around the decal. Even though we are working with a spray adhesive, the technique is setup in such a way as to prevent any residual adhesive from transferring to the 'target' location. If by chance some did, which can happen on some surfaces, it can easily be removed with plain old denatured alcohol without damaging the transferred image.

6. RESILIANCE TO SCRATCHES

Extremely thin decal images with good resistance to scratching. Another feature of using DecalPRO. We're talking about a graphic that is the thickness of the toner plus a micro-thin foil "top coat" and an equally thin amount of adhesive. It's so thin that you are hard pressed to be able to run your fingers over the image and barely detect its presence.

7. REMOVABLE

Denatured alcohol will remove a decal that was accidentally put in the wrong location without harming delicate plastics. This is part of the beauty of the system, to use an adhesive that can be removed by a chemical that won't harm any surfaces. Naturally you should check the compatibility of other surfaces to be sure it's safe to use before use!

8. FAST

Average time from start to finish, under 10 minutes. Granted, your first attempts will take a few minutes longer only because there is a bit of a learning curve since this process is quite unique, however, after a little practice it will be a simple routine for you. Even the most difficult technique of applying a white foil UNDER a colour toner image, only takes about 6 minutes to do.

9. LOW START-UP COSTS

Startup costs are generally considered quite low. Even though the kit is not expensive at £59.80, you will need a few other "support" items, namely a good laminator, paper cutter and a hot-air gun. Some customers already have one of the laminators that will work with this system. If not, you are looking at about £50 for a good "pouch laminator". We sell what we feel is the best laminator for the money from GBC called the "Personal" model but there are others out there what will also work fine. The paper cutter is another item needed. All you need is any 9" model from Staples, Office Depot, Office Max or look on the web for great private deals on eBay.

10. TOTAL CUSTOMER SUPPORT

We maintain product support with our customers should they encounter any difficulties along the way. We can be contacted by phone or from our online contact page - Click here.

You should contact me in the UK as your first port of call, but there is also the web site for the US based company in Florida USA:

Pulsar Pro fx. http://www.pulsarprofx.com

Are there any Limitations for DecalPro?

Well unfortunately there are, but then again doesn't everything!

#1: No INKJET or WAX printers!

his process requires the use of either a laser printer or a photo-static copier. Both use "toner" which is imperative because of the plastic property of toner and the fact that it is also waterproof! If you only have an ink-jet printer, you use it in an indirect manner only. By that we mean you would make your black & white or colour printout on regular white paper as a "master" print out then make a duplicate on the blue TTS transfer paper using a photo-copier. (Don't confuse the new 'breed' of scanner/ink-jet printer "combo units" to be the same as a conventional "toner-based" copier. Yes they are copiers - they they are NOT "toner-based" which makes all the difference! When ever we speak of a "copier" we are referring to the conventional, toner-based "photo-static" type of device that uses powdered toner.

#2: Maximum Image Size:

The maximum decal size is about 190mm x 254mm (7½" x 10"). Even though the paper is 216mm x 279mm (8½" x 11" US letter-size), your actual maximum printable area by your printer is about 12mm (½") less all around giving you a maximum printing area of about 203mm x 267mm (8" x 10½"). Since there must be a 6mm (¼") wide temporary master border all around the graphic image, your usable size comes down another 12mm (½") to 190mm x 254mm (10" x 7½"). This example is for making one very large graphic, of course, you can make a lot of smaller ones and still keep just one master border around all smaller graphics that can be cut away and transferred separately at a later time.

#3: Multiple layers of decals:

It is not possible to directly apply a second decal directly over an existing decal without the risk of "pulling" some of the first decal off during the removal of the carrier film. While this is a problem it can be resolved by applying thin overcote lacquer cotes between applications. This permits several layers to be applied in one area to "build up the image".

#4: Mixing white with multi coloured decals:

Because the white colour is produced by applying a foil, it is not possible to include white with other colours in one application. There are ways around this naturally. The first is to separate the decal into 2 parts, the colour element and the white element. Then apply them to the surfface separately using a varnish coat between the colours (as in #3 above).

Alternatively white paint can be applied to the surface with a paint mask in the relevant area and allowed to dry before the top colour is provided by the DecalPRO® transfer.

Depending on the image you are producing will determine the method you use and the order in which the colours are applied to create the decal.

DecalPRO® is the registered trademark of PULSAR • 21 Carriage Drive, Crawfordville, FL • 32327-2496, USA.

Flightline Graphics is the approved distributor in the UK for this product.

All images and artwork contained on this web site © 2008 Flightline Graphics