Although I am building the D51 Steam Locomotive there is a need for transfers for the various gauges in the cab/back head.
Some time ago I purchased some Inkjet Water Slide Paper from Crafty Computer Paper, always intending to have a try at printing my own transfers.
You need a computer, a inkjet printer and possibly a scanner. Essentially the process is no different to printing pictures. In many ways thats exactly what you are doing except on the special paper.
However the size of the finished print is of paramount importance because its sized to match the scale. In the case of the gauges the transfers need to fit the gauge faces. These measured 7.8mm, 3.8mm and 4mm in diameter.
In my case I needed a picture or another transfer etc to copy. I found a picture of a gauge. I use Adobe Photoshop software. Many other similar software packages will offer similar abilities.
Taking a picture of the gauge I cut out (electronically speaking) the gauge face. Then I placed this on a white layer. I realise this may sound complicated so please ask questions.
The gauge shape may be distorted (not perfectly round) so the image shape may be adjusted (electronically) until it is round. Obviously this may be irrelevant for other types/shapes of transfers.
Once the gauge image/shape was correct I then flattened it onto the white background. I then resized the image to suit the gauge faces. This sizing was completed at 300 dots per inch which will provide a good quality print.
I then placed the various size gauge face images onto an A4 white background. Since the gauge faces were so small I repeated the placing so quite a few were printed.
Once the images are printed out the paper surface needs to be sealed with a clear lacquer. I used a Tamiya aerosol of clear lacquer which proved fine.
Once the lacquer was dry then the transfers could be cut out. I did provide a fine line around the gauge image which provided a guide when cutting out.
In my case the cutting out proved to be the problem because the transfers are so tiny.
As with any transfer soaking in cold water quickly released the transfer from the paper backing and the transfer could be applied to the gauge face.
Once the transfers were dry I sealed them with some clear lacquer applied by brush which then also resembled the gauge glass lens.
The Water Slide Paper is available as both clear and white. The problem is you cannot print the colour white so you may need to use the white paper depending on the colour/colours being printed. This may also mean cutting out the transfer accurately to avoid the plain white edge showing.
Existing transfers could easily be copied by scanning and then working on the scan on the pc. Its possible that some work may be required on the pc to get the colour accurate often slight colour changes dues to scanning etc need to be corrected.
Because of the pc printing/software aspects this process may seem complicated especially the resizing however in practice it is little different to printing pictures.
Please ask if you need further detail. Finally always ensure you respect any copyright laws.
regards
Dennis