"How do you seal inkjet printed flags?" Topic

The ink runs. How do you prevent that?

make sure they are dry and not worry about it.

Quick Dullcoat. It might frost, but Future or gloss varnish works to clear that up. Go light on the Dullcoat.

I give mine a small spritz (very light coat) of dullcote and after that dries slather elmers glue on them and let dry. I have never had a problem with the ink running and I print my own on an inkjet printer.

The ink runs. How do you prevent that?

Use a color laser printer instead. I think an HP one is down to $275 USD and you can probably get others that do a nice job for even less.

Print them.

Wait at least 24 – 48 hours for the ink to dry thoroughly.

Spray lightly with a gloss coat, so the solvents in it don't cause the ink to run. Re-spray again, five to ten minutes later, with gloss.

Let dry, and then spray again with a Dull-coat. I usually do this a day or two later.

While drying, be sure to put them in a nice, safe place, protected from any dust that might get on them. Inside a cabinet, or other suitable place is a good idea.

Of course, after the gloss coats, you can avoid spraying the dull-coat on, until later, if you are going to glue and gloss-coat/dull-coat the entire model, later. That will protect the decals, and ensure they stay in place on your models.

My inkjet printouts never ran once they were dry. I would just seal with thinned white glue.

I'm with CeruLucifus but then, then to prevent the glue running, over paint them in enamels! Then they never run, except when routing of course.

My question, as a new piece of art is created, does my method counter any copy right issues?

A coat of Ronseal matt polyurethane wood varnish (which I use for everything)

I've sprayed a quick shot of clear dull coat, but recently I brushed on dull coat and it worked fine.

The trick is to let the flag dry thoroughly.

Right now I'm spraying the printed pages with Krylon Crystal Clear Acrylic Coating 1303. Before that I used a can of a similar product labelled 'Workable Artist's Fixative'. Both products are designed to seal artists' watercolors, pastels, charcoals, etc. Neither product seems to affect printer ink, no mater how heavily I spray it on. I found them both in the art supplies section of the craft store.

Both products make the printer paper stiffen and curl a bit, but not so much that I can't properly mount the flag to its staff. Both products dry semi-gloss and kind of stiff. After I flock the stand, I hose it down, including the flag, with glosscote and then a couple of coats of dullcote, so everything dries nice and flat.

I use Krylon semigloss first, then a light coat of dullcote or Krylon matt sealer.

DM

The other option is to get them printed at Kinkos. Color prints have become pretty inexpensive. The ink is set into the paper through heat and pressure and doesn't run.

DM

Everything I want to have printed I put on an USB-stick and cycle to the professial printshop. There is a great colour laserprinter which prints much better than any "consumer" printer can do. Not only flags, but also downloads from Wargame Vault and Finger and Toe, for instance. The buildings I made some twenty years ago are till looking good.
In my buildings and such everything is glued on thick stiff carton, so no curling and no leaving the table through draught…

For Olicana … the overpainting does make the flag look much better (much less like a bit of printed paper which is what most people's paper flags look like) … but it wouldn't affect copyright as you are not substantially changing the nature of the original artwork …

Phil

Yesthatphil,

But, and I'm not a lawyer, as the design was not invented by the artist I'm copying – this is a historical flag – surely he cannot copy right the design, only his representation of it.

For the flag shown, no part of the original art work (save design) is visible, indeed the detail is completely my own, I'm painting these things for speed rather than 'complete accuracy'- the coat of arms on the original is far more precise than mine (because I only want the feel).

Hmmmm, are you sure – if the Austrians had patented this design I'm sure I might be in hot water – but, copy right?

I stand to be corrected, hopefully by not having to destroy most of the flags I've painted.

Indeed … that wasn't the question you posed.

The sense in which anyone can produce a relatively faithful miniature copy of an (inevitably if,say, 18th Cent) out of copyright original flag and claim any copyright for it is tenuous indeed …

I was simply answering whether overpainting affects that – and it doesn't (it is similar to tracing e.g. which is legally the same as photocopying) …

And even if there was copyright, if the changes then made are substantial, that would usually satisfy the requirements for being a new work.

Phil

Thin coat of white glue before sealing.

Yesth'

That's reassuring, ……………..I think.

I tried Dullcoat on GMB flags and the color changed. Won't do that again….

I understand you live in the US . Just go to the following link : link
scroll down to reference MI-12. That's what you need.

I just use matte finish clear spray. I have also used the Testor's brand decal spray coat (which worked very well)

I use artist's matt finish, which works with water based art stuff, so I don't have to worry about it.