A couple months ago I posted about problems with my new Canon printer, its inability to print high resolution images/text onto Papilio's white waterproof matte inkjet media, my favorite for rod decals. It appeared that the ink from the new printer was so thin it wicked onto the paper before it dried, leaving a "soft" edge. I had used Papilio's white waterproof gloss media before, but it was borderline too thick. I'm glad to report I just received Papilio's Inkjet Glossy White Waterproof Vinyl, item # GWVF8511G, and it works with my printer very well, yielding bright, high res images. What's more, it is only 2 mils thick which makes it very easy to apply to the rod, and it has what appears to be zero memory which means it doesn't tend to come loose from the rod like the stiffer medias do.

There are a couple tips that should come in handy if your experience is anything like mine. First, since it is so thin, and has a really thin backing, it may be too flimsy for your printer to feed properly. With my printer I have to tape it (along the leading edge) to a relatively stiff sheet of photo paper to give it enough body to feed properly. Use the glossy photo paper printer settings, coat it after drying with a fixative (matte, gloss, doesn't matter, just get the clear fast drying stuff - Papilio offers theirs which I know works well)

I am not sure it is still necessary, but until I do some experiments, I'm going to put a light application of CP around the decals to prevent the epoxy from attacking the edge.

That's good news Michael. I've tried the older version of the paper and wasn't totally pleased with the results either.

I want to pass along a tip to help your paper go further.

1) Set your printer to draft mode and regular paper.
2) Print the image on the regular paper.
3) Now cut a piece of vinyl paper that is 1/2" larger on each side than the image you just printed on regular paper.
4) Place the your vinyl paper over the image you just printed and tape down the edges with masking tape. The blue painters tape works great. Really press the tape down securely so the tape doesn't interfere with the printer's print heads.
5) Set your printer to whatever settings are needed for the vinyl paper.
6) Feed the regular paper with the vinyl paper taped to it back into the printer.
7) The printer should print the image on the exact same location but now it'll be on the vinyl paper.

I'll have to give the new vinyl a try.

Thanks,
Chad Huderle

Huderle Custom Rods
Prior Lake, MN

Thanks for the tip! I gave up on small text with the matte waterproof paper and my Canon. I could never get a sharp print. Hopefully a sponsor or two is stocking this new stuff?

_________________________________________
"Angling is extremely time consuming.
That's sort of the whole point." - Thomas McGuane



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/14/2013 12:34PM by Chuck Mills.

have you tried to contact Decal Connection

Bill - willierods.com

Bill, I've dealt with Decal Connection and they were very good at what they do. But I'm a hobby builder with almost every label specific. It is tough to justify the set-up fees for one of a kind decals. Some of my decals are what Don Morse calls "tatoos", with photo images, specific graphics for charities, etc. There is no doubt that Decal Connection can do things I cannot, like metallics, bright clear decals, and some other things. They definitely have their strengths.