Guide to guitarbuilding (bèta)

Tutorial: Making decals using a laser printer

2011-02-19 18:02:47 guitarbuild

Heres a method Ive worked out which makes great decals without having to go to a printing house to get it
made.
All you need is:

access to a Laser Printer
some self adhesive label backing paper(the waxed paper stuff that is left over once you have removed

the labels, stiffie disk labels work great)

some clear adhesive tape (scotch tape, sello tape etc).

The following is basically a minor modification to using the label backing to make printed circuit boards.

Step 1

Design your logo and print it out onto paper on the laser printer. Before printing mark a corner of the page
you will be printing on so that you can reinsert the page into the printer with the same orientation.

Step 2

Cut a piece of label backing big enough to cover the printed logo on the paper. Allow a decent margin
around the edge.

Step 3

Using one of the paper labels, cut a strip and stick the label backing onto your printed paper page making
sure that the waxy part is up and the paper label doesnt cover any part of the logo. DO NOT use the clear
cellophane tape it WILL jam your printer. The paper labels and glue are designed to go through laser
printers. Make sure the end of the label backing you have stuck down is the leading edge as it moves
through the printer.

Step 4

Place the page. with the stuck on label backing back into the printer making sure it is orientated as per
your original mark you made before the first print.

Step 5

Print your logo again. This time it will be printed onto the waxy surface of the label backing.

Step 6

Take a piece of the clear self adhesive tape and stick it down over the newly printed logo. Rub it down with
a blunt object ,like the back of a pencil, making sure all the all the printing is covered.

Step 7

Carefully pull the tape off the backing and you should have one neatly printed logo on the tape which you
can now stick wherever you like, preferably on your guitar, and then finish over the top of it. I find it is best
to do one or two coats of finish, make sure the label area is nice and flat (no bumps, etc), stick down the
decal and then finish the rest of the clear coats. This way the label is nicely embedded in the finish and
can be wet sanded over without ripping up the nicely printed decal.

Just be aware that the solvents in your finish might disolve the ink or the the clear film you have used, so
try it first on your test piece you used before starting on your guitar. This will only work with a LASER
printer. Dont bother trying it with an ink jet. Laser printer toner is basically plastic powder which is melted
onto the paper by heat rollers. Ink jet is just that, ink which is sprayed on and absorbed by the paper, it will
not print properly on to the peice of label backing paper.

original tutorial by: Keith Howell