So what would happen if I used “inkjet paper” in a laser printer? Specifically, decal paper.
I know laser printers use heat to fuse the ink to the page, so for things like sticker paper, I can make an educated guess that the gum used for the sticker backing (on laser sheets) is less likely to melt in the printer.
But I want to print custom decals for models, and the only paper I can get is inkjet paper. What would happen if I ran this through a laser printer?
Are you talking about transparent plastic sticker sheets, or self-adhesive sheets made of actual paper?
Any plastic sheets not explicitly designed for a laser printer could easily be fatal to the fuser and outfeed rollers (I speak from experience of trying to fix a laser printer in which someone tried to print onto a transparent sheet they had cut from the cover of a project folder.
Self-adhesive paper laser labels (like these are quite commonly available.
Not labels, decals…like for models. You design your decals in Illustrator (or whatever your preference) and then print them out. Then you cut them out, soak them in water and they slide off the paper and onto your model.
They’re not really plastic, they’re paper with a fine decal coating on it.
I guess my underlying question is:
Which one is specially formulated, Inkjet or Laser paper? Meaning, I recall reading that one can of the papers can be used in either type of printer, so can I use laser inkjet paper in a lser printer with no problems, or is it Laser paper you can use in an Inkjet if you have to.
I’m inclined to agree with the latter because (first and foremost it’s what I want to do -and) the Inkjet paper is treated to absorb the ink, whereas the Laser kind is more like normal paper because it doesn’t have to absorb and hold the ink.
Inkjet paper is generally OK to use in a laser printer, but this isn’t always true when there are plastics or adhesives involved - I think decals are based on celluloid or something similar and the decal layer of an inkjet-safe paper might well melt or warp so badly as to cause a nasty paper jam if used in a laser printer.
With regular paper, you can safely switch (in either direction) between inkjet and laserjet paper (and plain old “copier paper,” too), and the only difference is usually the quality of the printing. I’d be very wary about using inkjet decal paper in a laser printer, however, just because if it’s not properly resistant to heat, it could make a hell of mess inside your laser printer.
There are decal papers that are made specifically for laser printers, which would be the safe choice. Here’s one place you can get it.
I’ve read much on this topic on different modeling newsgroups, and the consenus is that home-printed decals just don’t look as sharp or good as professional-printed ones (meaning - they kinda suck). Also the ‘Saviour’ of home printing, the Alps printer, is no longer made, and cartridges are getting a bit hard to find (not to mention parts to repair the printer, when it has a problem).
If you want to try, Tango Papa is a recognized leading brand of decal paper:
Best of luck, but do not be surprised if the results are not up to your expections
Why risk it when you can get the real thing?
Here is a store that has laser decal paper:
http://www.decalpaper.com/laser.html
Thanks, SirRay, but I WAG the poor quality probably comes from the process of making the decal.
For example, I’m creating my decals in Illustrator from original vector designs, not a poor-resolution scan in MS Paint, as I suspect many modeller’s would do.
The paper print-outs are absolutely spectacular, which is why I want to print on the Laser; to preserve the fine detail in some of the smaller decals. The Inkjet I find fuzzes the edges a bit, which doesn’t happen in on the Laser.
Oh, and I should mention that I could order the laser paper, but
A) I’m in Canada and shipping usually sucks.
B) The hobby store in my area sells Inkjet
C) I was hoping to finish these sooner than the 3 oe 4 weeks shipping could take.
I suppose I’ll have to suck it up and get the proper laser paper.
Once again, handy comes to the rescue, posting a link that someone else posted (me, in this case!) 90 minutes earlier. Whatever would we do without him?