Printing and Prepping Your Enclosure Decal:

What I do next is to take that nice finished template graphic and wipe out about 98% of it! Seriously, I make a copy of the full labeled enclosure template and delete/fill in all the hardware shapes until nothing but the graphics remain on the background color:



Next, I just use the MS Paint "fill" tool to convert all the background color back to white (i.e. transparent). This includes background color "trapped" within the graphics and lettering. The last thing I do is change the fine outline around the perimeter of the enclosure graphic from black to light gray. This will become my "cut-out" line when I print the graphic to the decal paper. Here's the finished graphic that will be used for the Fuzz Farm decal print. Take note of the black-to-red dithered colors around the edges of the font characters--that's what smoothes their appearance in the final decal:



I then set up the print job on whatever color printer I'll be using. One absolutely critical item here is that you have to be able to accurately print the graphic to actual size. A program I use for this purpose is a freeware graphics viewer and converter called IrfanView. This nifty program, among many other useful functions, allows you specify the precise size of your printed image, making it a snap to get the correct size the first time. Once I have the print job set up, I initially print it to plain printer paper, not only to check out that the print comes out as expected, but also to check it vs. the actual enclosure. I cut it to size and overlay it on the enclosure to verify that all the graphics are properly positioned and that the overall decal dimensions are correct. If I've made any mistakes or miscalculations (and I almost always catch one or two), this is the time to discover and correct them, before you waste any of that $1-a sheet decal paper!

IMPORTANT: Decal printer paper comes in two main types--for color inkjets and for color lasers. Each has its advantages and disadvantages that I won't go into here. Up until now, I've only used the inkjet stuff with my Epson home printer, but I just bought some laser decal paper from Hemmi Papilio and will be using that on an HP LaserJet here at work for the Fuzz Farm decal job. In any case, be sure you have the right type for the color printer you'll be using, because they're NOT interchangeable!

If everything checks out from your print "dry run", you can go ahead and print your decal at this point. Just be careful to get the decal paper loaded into the printer properly, and set up the print quality as desired. I've read warnings about using the "best quality" setting on laserjets, because some will melt through the decal media, but I won't be able to confirm that until I try it. It varies from printer to printer, so don't be too surprised if you waste a page or two of decal paper in the initial learning phase.

Once printed, allow the decal to dry thoroughly if you used an inkjet, and then you're ready to clearcoat it. DON'T ATTEMPT TO WATER-SOAK AND APPLY THE DECAL BEFORE CLEARCOATING!! Even with non-water soluble inks, you can get the colors running and smearing. Use a clear lacquer, acrylic or enamel spray to coat the decal; I'd recommend just using whatever you plan to use for the final enclosure clearcoat. Start by spraying a light "fog" over the decal surface, let dry for 15 minutes or so, and repeat once or twice. Once you have a good base coat down, you can give it a final "wet" coat to really seal the surface. Let dry overnight, and the decal should be ready to cut, soak and apply by the next day. For that, use the technique described in the first post at the top of this thread. After two or three clearcoats on the finished decaled pedal, let it dry thoroughly and your pedal should be ready to reassemble and use!