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open 6 and 9 date overlays and wheels


Ephry73

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I should get the new batch of decal stock in next week and hopefully the surface is more to my printer's liking. I had used ink jet paper in preliminary tests and the graphics were somewhat "blotchy" under magnification so I ordered some laser decal paper. Hopefully it will be smoother then everything should be razor sharp.

I have not tried the laser-jet water-slide decal paper. I was told by the manufacturer I've been using that the laser-jet is not as crisp as ink-jet. I don't know, so I'll be waiting for your results. My first ink-jet prints were done at 2400dpi, and came out very good, not blotchy, using a HP pretty basic printer. I bought a new printer last March, a Canon that prints up to 9000 dpi. More is better, right? Nope! Using the highest resolution, 'best quality' setting, high end photo paper setting, the reds all came out blotchy, the ink almost 'puddled'! The other colors were better, but not great. I tried all sorts of combination settings, and settled on 5000dpi on 'glossy photo paper' setting to get a solid and crisp print. I think that means quality will vary by printer and printer settings. Also, the decal paper manufacturer recommends using 'Krylon Crystal Clear' to seal the decal. I had used the decal spray but experienced ink bleeding. It would take 10 days+ for the ink to dry and not bleed. With the Krylon I have no bleeding after 2 hours of the print. It comes in gloss, satin and matte, and the big can is under $4 at my local Walmart. I did my date wheel in gloss, and it doesn't look right. I'd suggest satin. For dials, gloss or satin, depending on what the gen was, works well.

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Does anyone here have a Dye Sublimation Printer? That might be a better choice for printing, and the cool thing is, the print is ever so slightly raised so it comes really close to looking like a silk screen instead of just a standard print. Plus it is instantly dry and the process used does not have that "dithering" or shifting effect that ink jet has (where the ink drops never "quite" land in the same place twice)

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Does anyone here have a Dye Sublimation Printer? That might be a better choice for printing, and the cool thing is, the print is ever so slightly raised so it comes really close to looking like a silk screen instead of just a standard print. Plus it is instantly dry and the process used does not have that "dithering" or shifting effect that ink jet has (where the ink drops never "quite" land in the same place twice)

I don't, but when using the inkjet it does give a 'raised' print. It looks absolutely great. But then upon drying and sealing, that raised looks is diminished. If there is a way to get that to stay, it'd be super.

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That is the other unfortunate issue with ink jets, the ink will eventually soak into what ever it's printed on and it looses that effect. That is why the Dye Sublimation Transfer process is so perfect for this situation (at least that is my theory). Its a totally dry process so the dye will not soak in or sink.

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My Alps printer can print in dye sub mode but nothing is raised. The only "mode" that uses dye sublimation is photo quality with special ribbons. This is the printer I use to print white on black...

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I have had discussions with several folks who have done a lot of research and/or I consider to be unimpeachable experts and there are conflicting views on the font. It may be that some models (GMT with roulette DW for example) have all sixes open while other models have the "6" in 26 closed. It will be a simple process to accommodate both camps as when it comes to vintage Rolex there seem to be few absolutes!

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Hey, I just got a sample of a brushed metal printable paper....if someone can send me a good pdf of a datewheel, I'll be happy to print a page of these datewheels up on my inkjet printer to see how they are. I've compared the paper to my original 1675 silver datewheel and its not half bad. My question would be what exact size to print the datewheel out at and then any ideas as to how to "cut" them out? Maybe with an exacto blade and then just use spray adhesive to attach them to the existing datewheel.

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They are for the Rolex style "widescreen" date window. I just received the new decal stock, have printed a sheet of overlay decals, and from what I can tell they look perfect! I have printed red, black, and "roulette" style...

Here's a shot of the finished decals...

post-24124-0-07469000-1313427843.jpg

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