There are kits that you can use to make custom decals using your color printer. Question: is there anything you can use to make small ones in high resolution, or is this wishful thinking? Thanks.

I haven't actually used one of the kits you mention, but I have done similar where I use an inkjet printer to print the image onto glossy photo paper then take it off there by coating in acrylic medium, making a kind of home made transfer. Anyway, I think I know what you're getting at regarding resolution, and what I have found is this: you need to make the original image much bigger than you want it to be on your model.

I recently made an SS number plate for a 1/72 scale halftrack, so on the model it is about 5mm long by 2mm high. The typing was done in PaintShopPro, and I think the font size was at least 100pt ( news paper or paperback is usually printed in a font around 10pt), so that when it is shown at 1:1 on screen it is big, like six inches across. This gives the resolution you need; then when you print it out, you scale it down - do not scale down the image itself, but use the print dialogue to scale down the output. I think I printed mine at 2% of original size.

No doubt there is an equation for calculating it all, but I just did it by trial and error - if 2% was slightly too big, then try 1% - if that's too small, then go back to the image and only then reduce the actual image size by a small amount, like 5% or so, then try it again. Your software may allow fractions of percentage scaling, mine only goes in 1% increments. Obviously it is easy to print it out on cheap plain paper while you are sorting the size, then use your film or whatever once you're happy.

Hope that is helpful, and let us know how you get on.

About maybe easing getting the "right" sized final product:

Which-ever detailed route you go - and Matt's route surely works - you can save some iterative re-sizing followed by re-printing draft (paper) proof-sheets by setting up one proof page with many differently-sized objects on it. Print that one page, look at your paper draft and select the right-sized object(s) for you, go delete or cut all the surplus wrong-sized objects from the print-ready file, and print your final on glossy photo paper or decal film or whatever.

I use this approach to create license plates, early-war German rhomboid number plates, dash-plaques, maps and box-faces, etc. I create the desired object in large font, scale the object down serially across my draft page, and print that draft on polished paper. (Polished or hi-quality filled paper retains more of your printer resolution - consider a readable white-on-black 6-speed shift diagram dash-plaque 1/8 in on a side.) I don't bother making decals for these things - which were plaques in any case - just cut the desired-size version from the printed paper "draft"! Using high-quality filled paper at ca 0.005 inch creates a scaled placard about "1/6" inch thick.

Bob

Ironically I got a new color inkjet printer for my computer (which I haven't opened yet) when my old one died. I don't know its resolution, but in fact my plans were to create Asian insignia for clothing, and create words with letters from Japanese, Chinese, Korean etc. It does relate to my earlier thread about Japanese figures. (It would be neat if I could depict Kempetai armbands!)

Don't worry, if it's new, it will be good enough I'm sure. Whatever image you use, make it big on screen but print it small, that's the key.

I agree, make it big, then print it small. Use regular printer paper as proofs until you get it the right size. I have run decal paper through my laser printer and it worked just fine, and I got excellent results at high resolution.