For my models I use Micro Set to apply water slide decals. For uneven surfaces and/or for a painted on look I use Micro Sol. I haven't ever used Sunnyscopa decal paper but might at least be worth a try. It would be great if you tried it out and gave your subscribers a video on what you find out. A other thing that helps me sometimes with very stubborn applications is to paint the surface with matte clear paint before decal application. When I want the final product to be glossy what I do is use matte clear as a base. Apply the decal. Then I finish off with clear gloss.
I did a lot of experimenting with this a few months ago using the same paper, and another brand. I had similar results as you, it came out and looked 90% but always had some little piece that didn’t adhere. I also found that sometimes I would get a bit of a sheen left on the surface (using distilled water helped with that). I eventually gave up though, because as promising as it was, I never had one that was 100%. There’s probably a way to get there, but as you know, when building a watch you spend so much of your time looking at it under magnification that even the smallest of imperfections can bother you (at least me). I also wondered (but did not test) how it might react to Rodico, it would suck to get to that final cleaning stage before you case the movement, remove a little spec of dust with Rodico and accidentally remove part of the print. Anyway, I really wanted it to work, and tried hard, but in the end gave up. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that you have more success than I did :)
Great context. I plan to do a follow-up video to show some more info about my further testing. For example, I was curious how a painted dial would deal with the glue...well, it helped adhere the toner and so I'm getting complete transfer! But sometimes there is some residue that can be an issue, and I've tried a couple ways to clean it, with some partial success. I have also tested with Rodico as part of removing residue and the ink has remained so far. So keep watching...definitely another video on this coming this summer.
Hi, You might've forgotten about me but I'm the guy that makes dial graphics... Some year ago or so you were interested in seeing my work But I couldn't find a way to contact you /host some concept photos... Anyway I made a Facebook account for my RUclips channel so if you want to I can send you some dial concepts
Super video. Thanks so much for sharing. I do have a query on the temperature effects on the dial lume. Typically, printer toner melts at 110°C-130°C (230°F - 266°F). So heat treatment is generally required for the toner to bond to the dial. My query is does such temperatures degrade the lumes on the dial. I've been searching for info on the lumes. Perhaps someone can enlighten me? Cheer.
Glad you enjoyed it. I haven't put a dial with lume in the oven for testing, but will in the future on a test dial. For this specific process, I have the oven at 200°F, probably would be ok up to about 250°F. But yeah, will have to test lume at some point, as I'm curious myself.
Not sure if your software supports it but if you created the image with anti-aliasing you wouldn't see the pixellation so much. You'd need a colour printer and know what colour you're transferring on but it would look much better.
Hey, yeah there are some settings worth tinkering with. Graphic is vector based, and I export to PDF, which is also vector, so when viewed and such it's all smooth. It might come down to the printer itself and the dpi. I plan on doing more testing though...
Hi, Brian. If I tried this with a dial that already has applied markers and indices, would the heat from the oven step mess them up (eg. melt the adhesive holding them in place)? Thanks!
That would depend on how the markers or indices are applied. Many are soldered, so an oven at 225f wouldn't be an issue. If it's some sort of adhesive only, it would depend on what sort of adhesive and what temp it can withstand.
@@WatchComplications Thanks, Brian. I don’t even have the watch in hand that I plan to mod, so I don’t know how the markers are applied. Appreciate the insights. I’ll probably give this a try regardless. Of course, to up the difficulty, the dial is black, so I’ll have to go with yellow or red for the logo color. Thanks, man!
@@WatchComplications Sounds good, Brian. I won’t get started on this for a few months, so seeing your tests in the coming weeks will be super helpful. If I may, a gold-colored logo on a black dial is what I plan to do. I really hope this water slide paper works well! Thanks, man!
Various places...Ofrei.com, Esslinger, eBay, and many other watch parts and modding websites...for like Seiko mods and whatnot. Or have a manufacturer help make some.
Can't print in white with a standard laser or inkjet printer of course, so if you wanted white text/design characteristics you have a couple options. (1) White dial base and then cover the rest (minus the white printing) with the rest of the design, say in black. (2) A more capable printer or a pad printer, which can print with white ink.
@@WatchComplications O yes you can print white... see www.ghost-white-toner.com Saving for buying such a printer, and test. The method is nice for small series for company gifts etc..
yeah I know there are some options out there for printing white, which is why I said you can’t on a standard printer, but there is the option to get a more capable printer. The drawback is the higher cost of the specialized printers and/or toner. If you are mass producing something then it’s probably worth the cost, but for small runs or one off designs for a watch, it probably isn’t.
What dpi is your printer? After watching this I started researching dial printing. It turns out most dials now are done with printers. UV inkjet directly on the dial and uv cured. Laser would definitely be better for a film print. However most of the small office or home printers are only 600 x 600 dpi. Photo quality color laser printers are available. Something like 1200 x 1200 dpi or even 2400 x 1200 dpi would be very sharp.
600 x 600 dpi, 2,400 dpi class (2400 x 600) quality. Could it be sharper, yeah, but to the eye it works fairly well. I do have access to some higher DPI printers and I've talked with other decal shops with such and yeah it makes a difference, just depends on what you're going for.
@@WatchComplications I was just thinking about it. I started watching you with the screen printing. I was trying to find a way to restore old dials. The laser printing on film is pure genius.
For my models I use Micro Set to apply water slide decals. For uneven surfaces and/or for a painted on look I use Micro Sol. I haven't ever used Sunnyscopa decal paper but might at least be worth a try. It would be great if you tried it out and gave your subscribers a video on what you find out. A other thing that helps me sometimes with very stubborn applications is to paint the surface with matte clear paint before decal application. When I want the final product to be glossy what I do is use matte clear as a base. Apply the decal. Then I finish off with clear gloss.
I will get some Micro Set and see if helps ensure the transfer. Thanks for the tip.
I've been thinking about custom dials for myself. Thanks
take a look at the second video on this if you haven’t already ruclips.net/video/hmEzygD6cRM/видео.html
Awesome video! A good alternative to pad printing if you don't own a printer or if you want to test a one-off design. Great for prototyping!
Yup, great for testing and prototyping. And for people wanting a lower-cost alternative for a custom dial.
I did a lot of experimenting with this a few months ago using the same paper, and another brand. I had similar results as you, it came out and looked 90% but always had some little piece that didn’t adhere. I also found that sometimes I would get a bit of a sheen left on the surface (using distilled water helped with that). I eventually gave up though, because as promising as it was, I never had one that was 100%. There’s probably a way to get there, but as you know, when building a watch you spend so much of your time looking at it under magnification that even the smallest of imperfections can bother you (at least me). I also wondered (but did not test) how it might react to Rodico, it would suck to get to that final cleaning stage before you case the movement, remove a little spec of dust with Rodico and accidentally remove part of the print. Anyway, I really wanted it to work, and tried hard, but in the end gave up. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that you have more success than I did :)
Great context. I plan to do a follow-up video to show some more info about my further testing. For example, I was curious how a painted dial would deal with the glue...well, it helped adhere the toner and so I'm getting complete transfer! But sometimes there is some residue that can be an issue, and I've tried a couple ways to clean it, with some partial success. I have also tested with Rodico as part of removing residue and the ink has remained so far. So keep watching...definitely another video on this coming this summer.
Hi,
You might've forgotten about me but I'm the guy that makes dial graphics...
Some year ago or so you were interested in seeing my work
But I couldn't find a way to contact you /host some concept photos...
Anyway I made a Facebook account for my RUclips channel so if you want to I can send you some dial concepts
Hey i have a business inquiry if you are able to do some dial graphics. Email me naolb65@gmail.com
Super video. Thanks so much for sharing.
I do have a query on the temperature effects on the dial lume.
Typically, printer toner melts at 110°C-130°C (230°F - 266°F). So heat treatment is generally required for the toner to bond to the dial. My query is does such temperatures degrade the lumes on the dial.
I've been searching for info on the lumes. Perhaps someone can enlighten me?
Cheer.
Glad you enjoyed it. I haven't put a dial with lume in the oven for testing, but will in the future on a test dial. For this specific process, I have the oven at 200°F, probably would be ok up to about 250°F. But yeah, will have to test lume at some point, as I'm curious myself.
Not sure if your software supports it but if you created the image with anti-aliasing you wouldn't see the pixellation so much. You'd need a colour printer and know what colour you're transferring on but it would look much better.
Hey, yeah there are some settings worth tinkering with. Graphic is vector based, and I export to PDF, which is also vector, so when viewed and such it's all smooth. It might come down to the printer itself and the dpi. I plan on doing more testing though...
Hi, Brian. If I tried this with a dial that already has applied markers and indices, would the heat from the oven step mess them up (eg. melt the adhesive holding them in place)? Thanks!
That would depend on how the markers or indices are applied. Many are soldered, so an oven at 225f wouldn't be an issue. If it's some sort of adhesive only, it would depend on what sort of adhesive and what temp it can withstand.
@@WatchComplications Thanks, Brian. I don’t even have the watch in hand that I plan to mod, so I don’t know how the markers are applied. Appreciate the insights. I’ll probably give this a try regardless. Of course, to up the difficulty, the dial is black, so I’ll have to go with yellow or red for the logo color. Thanks, man!
I plan on testing color, probably red, in the next week or two. I will test some other things along with it
@@WatchComplications Sounds good, Brian. I won’t get started on this for a few months, so seeing your tests in the coming weeks will be super helpful. If I may, a gold-colored logo on a black dial is what I plan to do. I really hope this water slide paper works well! Thanks, man!
Can you make me watch dial design? Of casio
¿Where can I purchased blank watch dials?
Various places...Ofrei.com, Esslinger, eBay, and many other watch parts and modding websites...for like Seiko mods and whatnot. Or have a manufacturer help make some.
How about black, blue dials? White print.
Can't print in white with a standard laser or inkjet printer of course, so if you wanted white text/design characteristics you have a couple options. (1) White dial base and then cover the rest (minus the white printing) with the rest of the design, say in black. (2) A more capable printer or a pad printer, which can print with white ink.
@@WatchComplications O yes you can print white... see www.ghost-white-toner.com Saving for buying such a printer, and test. The method is nice for small series for company gifts etc..
yeah I know there are some options out there for printing white, which is why I said you can’t on a standard printer, but there is the option to get a more capable printer. The drawback is the higher cost of the specialized printers and/or toner. If you are mass producing something then it’s probably worth the cost, but for small runs or one off designs for a watch, it probably isn’t.
What dpi is your printer? After watching this I started researching dial printing. It turns out most dials now are done with printers. UV inkjet directly on the dial and uv cured. Laser would definitely be better for a film print. However most of the small office or home printers are only 600 x 600 dpi. Photo quality color laser printers are available. Something like 1200 x 1200 dpi or even 2400 x 1200 dpi would be very sharp.
600 x 600 dpi, 2,400 dpi class (2400 x 600) quality. Could it be sharper, yeah, but to the eye it works fairly well. I do have access to some higher DPI printers and I've talked with other decal shops with such and yeah it makes a difference, just depends on what you're going for.
@@WatchComplications I was just thinking about it. I started watching you with the screen printing. I was trying to find a way to restore old dials. The laser printing on film is pure genius.