Waterslide decal for laserjet printer HELP!

[jojokeo]

I made a couple of laserjet waterslide decals for laserjet printers but it's not working for me!? The special paper keeps getting shrunken and consequently gets stuck in the printer rollers by the heating element used to "burn" in the toner. I had an office guy in Kinkos do this for me on their high-end equipment also. Then he suggested to use the "second side" option setting since if you print on the reverse side of the same page, the heating element gets turned off or is greatly reduced to prevent "overburning" during the normal printing process. This didn't work either! HELP! Why the heck is there laserjet waterslide decal paper made and it doesn't work in a laserjet printer?

I compare it to trying to use heat shrink material as a dinner plate, and then putting hot food on it or cooking something on it in the microwave! It just doesn't seem to make any sense that this stuff ever works in a laserjet printer.

Does anyone have any succesful experiences that may be of help or something else to use or try (in sticking with the waterslide decal useage)? I may be relegated to having to use inkjet decal paper w/an inkjet printer?

I just hate inkjet anything since the inks are expensive, need a lot of cleaning & alignments, are unreliable, have to use clear coats on printouts after printing, etc. Damn this label making stuff!

[tubenit]

I don't know about laser printers and decals.  So, I apologize for not answering your question and offering another consideration instead. 

I will offer you my latest idea that I used on this pedal.

I did as Geezer does using ModgePodge,  ......................  BUT  I sealed it will the clear contact sheets that one uses over photographs. You have to use a make shift squeezhie  (sp?) to get it down smooth.  I think it will be reasonably durable.

It worked quite well. 

With respect, Tubenit

[FYL]

You need fresh decal paper and a compatible printer - ask the paper manufacturer. Set the printer for manual feed and short path. Play with printer settings (some papers work fine in economy mode and stick in high quality, etc.).

[jojokeo]

I ended up using a different color laserjet printer and it worked beautifully. Kinkos' must be too indurstrial or something making it run too hot? Thanks for suggestions FYL.

Thank you tubenit for the great looking work and idea. I read and saw your and geezer's stuff in another thread and it looks terrific! However, I have invested time in learning the inkscape program with the idea of using the waterslide decal stock - which I also had purchased, so I wanted to see this through initially. The main reason also is that besides the decal being super easy to apply (I did my first one last night) I also want to use the same technique on my amplifier faceplates. NONE of my amps at this time have any kind of labeling on them! But now, that's all about the change. Inkscape is a terrific free program. There's a bit of learning curve but it's so versitile for many uses I'm glad I've started using it. Scale-able graphics do not pixillate like bitmap images, and it can be used for logos, business cards, websites, etc... and once the initial hard work is done creating something, it is super easy to modify or re-use for other things. The clear decal allows the underneath painting or graphics to show through but without the air bubbles you might otherwise get using typical label makers (great with my hammertone paints I like to use). There's a white decal stock also and once these are applied, the decals slide around so easily you can position them exactly where you want making application very precise with a professional look. You still have to protect with clear coats but that's it. The process ends up being only a couple of steps and very fast in the end.

I have watched various tutorial vids which is what got me started on this path. I also have seen a few etching vids which uses some of the same graphics and that option looks like a fun thing to try in the future as well. Simply print out on different stock, iron onto enclosure, and etch away.