Well, I have searched this forum for an answer to my question and I did find some useful information but, I am still not satisfied with my labeling. I am currently using glossy white sticker paper for my laser printer and my results have been acceptable for the last few years, but I feel that I can make them look a bit more professional. I am wondering if anybody out there who has had professional results would like to share their techniques with the rest of us. I have tried water slide decal paper on my ink jet as well as my laser printer and the decal looks great until I place it on the rod. When in place the ink is so transparent it nearly disappears on the blank. I also tried clear adhesive film for my laser printer and had the same problem. Could this be a problem with the type of printer I have (Samsung Color Xpression) or maybe the the paper I purchased (Experts Choice Decal) is of a lesser quality then the industry standard. With the glossy white paper I can blend the background of the sticker to match the blank color and the lettering really stands out, the glossy finish prevents the epoxy from penetrating it so the colors on the sticker will not darken or bleed. Any help or info would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike

I get great results by following this technique for water slide decals.

[www.rodbuildingtutorials.com]

Thanks,
Chad Huderle

Huderle Custom Rods
Prior Lake, MN

Well I never tried to place a decal over a light colored base wrap. Sounds like a good answer to me. I'll try it. Where do I find more of these tutorials?

Thanks.
Mike

There have been 4 articles in RodMaker on making and applying decals and labels. Far too much information to go into here, but almost any of them will solve your problems.

You might also want to check with Decal Connection, Mud Hole or Swampland Tackle. All offer decal services and/or decal products.

..............

Mike please take a look at the links below - when you get to the bottom of the page be sure and click on the View Samples and Details.

Any full color lable requires a white background either with the media or an underlying stark white field normally created with silver metallic underwrap overlaid with a NCP white nylon prior treated with NCPto placement of the decal.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

The products listed are for Inkjet Printers but media for Laser Printers works quite well with the printer you list. Take a look at the link below and click on the Samples and Details listed at the bottom of the page. The results are quite striking.

Please use the Contact Us button on the home page for the Swampland Tackle site for a direct telephone contact..

[www.swamplandtackle.com]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/02/2009 10:53AM by Bill Stevens.

Well I made it through my first try with the water slide decal over the under-wrap and it looked perfect. It gives the illusion that the label is woven onto the rod. This is exactly what I was looking for. It's just to bad that I had to tear it off due to some undesirable creases in the decal paper (that stuff is tough to work with when you have a larger sized label), I guess I need some practice. Thank you for steering me in the right direction.

Mike.

Keep at it...glad to have helped.

Thanks,
Chad Huderle

Huderle Custom Rods
Prior Lake, MN

To help you with the creases, you can wet the underwrap with a tiny bit of water. This will allow you to slide the creases out of the decal. What I do is line up the center of the decal where it needs to be on the rod and slide it forward onto the blank letting the front of the decal just hang with the back still on the backing. Once I have it centered, I roll the top down on the blank and then slide the backing out from the other side rolling the rod. Any small creases can be worked out with a paper towel. If you have any resistance when you try to slide the decal off, stop and soak it a bit longer.

Email me with any questions but you will either need to use my home email address(See my profile) or dave AT emeraldcoastrods.com. Obviously use the @ sign to replace the AT in my email.

I had to change my website name because Cabochonrods was apparently too similar to Cabo rods and Quantum/Zebco was none too happy about it. I haven't got the new site up yet but it will be done in the next week or so.

Dave

Thanks for the tip Dave. I laid out a new label and got it onto the rod with no problems this time. Looks Great. Thanks.

ROD MAKER MAGAZINE HAD A FREE WEB SITE FOR MAKING PAPER LABELS, I LOANED OUT THE MAGAZINE AND CANNOT GET IT BACK (LOST) .
CAN ANYONE TELL ME THE WEB ADDRESS FOR THIS WEBSITE ?