My new favorite word: Lazertran

[Altitude]

I have been hearing about this stuff from several sources (including some ppl have used it here) so I decided to give it a whirl.

Well IMHO, this stuff is the best thing since sliced bread.  Simply print at highest possible resolution with inkjet or color laser, let it dry for 30 minutes, cut out, soak in water for 60 sec and you have a  fairly thick, very handling friendly decal.  I was easily able to transfer on a textured, powdercoated aluminum panel.  You finish it with a solvent based clear coat which makes the white background clear. The results are pretty spectacular and the idea of ever getting anything screened again is totally out of the question.

The drawbacks that I can see is that there is no white in most printers, but the white backing can remain opaque by using a water based clear coat and I guess you could do a combination of both is  u mask out whatever you want to have white in it.

at 16$ for a 10 pack of A size, this stuff is worth checking out

[Wisefire]

what i was wondering with this stuff.. if you spray it with solvent laquer so it becomes clear, would you still see the lines where youve cut it out or only the image itself.. in other words how transparant does it become..

[Altitude]

it turns clear. u can see the cutlines under close inspection but I would do is just cover the whole panel with it and trim it off at the panels edge so there are non.  They make this stuff in 24"x60' rolls and making a big one is pretty easy and managable.

[Wisefire]

i could only order a4 and a3.. also the stuff is not very cheap so i would want to use up most of the space for different things instead of covering my frontpanel with clear lazertran

[stryd_one]

Maybe try layer up coats of the laquer until it's higher up than the lazertran. Works for plastic models ;)

____________________________________________

    laquer            ,---------------,        laquer

______________/____ Decal _____\______________

                              Surface

[DavidBanner]

excellent news - I have some Lazertran that I've ordered but haven't had a chance to experiment with, glad it's as good as they claim.

I'm planning you use a "liquid glass" coating called Vitrail which is used for Glass and Cermamics as well as usable on metal.

[Altitude]

I'm planning you use a "liquid glass" coating called Vitrail which is used for Glass and Cermamics as well as usable on metal.

Bear in mind that they recommend you use a spirit based clear coat (Polyurathane is one) water based ones will leave the backing white.  I'm really happy with the results and cant wait to start on the FP for my 4xSID.

[DavidBanner]

yup - that's why I chose vitrail.

I can't wait to start experimenting...

btw: have you got any pics you can post?

[Altitude]

So far i have done only a coffee cup (turned out great) and a some test text on the back of an enclosure that was close in color to the panel I am working on.  I unfortunately sprayed the panel with not clear but tsn so it didnt turn out that well.  I will post my real results when i get the artwork done.

search the forums, there are a couple of ppl which have posted their results

[rambinator]

hi!

i am also planing to use lazertran for a big frontpanel of a mbox LC. i am still not sure how this thing will work when you have to spread the design over several sheets.

what i read on the diy synth page is:

Each sheet is soaked in cold water..then you can slide off the  decal after 1 minute.

This is then placed on the top panel in reverse (ie toner side down)..thus producing a correctly oriented image of your artwork. Do this for all remaining sheets of the artwork and carefully register them to form a seemless final image on the frontpanel.

that sounds quite difficult for me if you first slide it off and then place it on the panel. i cant imagine sliding  a whole a4 sheet off the carrier and all the all the way onto the panel especially with wholes and cuts in the panel.

do you have to cut out the faderslots and holes from the decal before you apply it? or later with a scalpel?

how difficult is it to align several sheets without seeing too much of the line? do you print alignment marks on your sheet?

[audiocommander]

that sounds quite difficult for me

oh, c'mon!

have you never applied tatoo-stickers when you were a kid?

(to be honest I'm still doing it sometimes today ;D ...if I find some evil motivs without pluffy doggybabies ;D )

this sounds like fun ;)

ac

[rambinator]

of course i did :)

but with the tatoos it works like putting it upside down on the target area, rubbing it on and then removing the carrier. same applies to those decals used for aircraftmodels.

this lazertran guide sounds like you have to remove the decal from the carrier first and then bring it to the target. i guess that can produce crinkles when you try to handle something as big as a4.

i would find it easier to place the decal with the carrier upside down on the panel and then somehow remove the carrier

[DavidBanner]

not having used Lazertran yet (have some at home ready), these comments are based on 2nd hand info, but as far as I know the Lazertran is pretty strong so breaking it is not that much of an issue, and you can reposition on the front panel in b4 it's dried.

[Altitude]

yes it is very thick.  You should have no problem moving it around into position when its wet.  It really does not fix its position until it all water has been pressed out from underneath and the decal has dried

[stryd_one]

same applies to those decals used for aircraftmodels.

OT, but most of the time you have to float them off the backing and place them with a razor... They're far too thin for rubbing!

[Altitude]

Ok,

I did some testing with the lazertran:

I used some flat model clear coat first to set the decal followed by a flat acrylic clear coat.  Initially, the edges were visible but with some modest sanding with 800 grit, they were easily sanded away.  Obviously, a high res printer would have given me better results but I have to say that this is impressive and definitely my plan for doing front panel graphics

[rambinator]

i still didn't get a reply yet if you have to cut out the holes and slots in the lazertran before you apply it. or if you do it after it is set onto the panel. which tool do you use?

[Altitude]

sorry, must have missed your question.

if you have to cut out the holes and slots in the lazertran before you apply it

I dont know yet.  I'm doing another trail to find that out this week since my panel will come with holes in it already

[rambinator]

cool. please report your experiences. i got my panel lasercut and it has all the holes and slots in it. i did a panel design in coreldraw that i want to apply with lazertran.

maybe you could use a very sharp modelling-knife. i have no idea what consistency the dry decal has. maybe theres danger that the surounding area gets cracks or something when you cut out a hole after it has been applied

[DavidBanner]

if you've got the lazertran why not experiment?

use a small bit of the material you are going to use for the face plate and try it both ways, that way you'll know which gives the best effect...

plus u can then experiment with the top coats, sanding etc and find what you like best before doing your panel

[rambinator]

i dont have the lazertran yet. still have to order it from the uk. i think i'll have the time to work on the box in october. just wanted to get informet about some aspects thet popped to my head

[rambinator]

btw... do you think the toner transfer system from http://www.pulsar.gs/ that is discussed in the 15min pcb thread would be an equil substitute or alternative for lazertran when you want to do panel-art?

[Mr modnaR]

it's very difficult to do multiple colours with that stuff, because each time you go over the panel with the iron, the toner melts again, and either moves, or sticks to the new colour. you could cut out multiple pieces of different colours and arrange them i guess, but it'd be a lot of work. for one colour though, it's fine.

[Altitude]

Ok, I did some more testing and the way to go is just to cut the holes out after it has been applied but before clear coat.  Its a snap to do with a xacto knife, i would post pics but the clear coat i used made a mess so i wont bother.

Next up, clear coat tests..

[rambinator]

what exactly went wrong with the clearcoat?