Originally Posted by unworthy1

I have made the artwork part of several sets of stickers (thin PSA vinyl) and decals (waterslide) but always had somebody else do the printing. The waterslides are just now being applied to my old early gen Ciocc San Cristobal that was almost certainly built when Giovanni Pelizzoli owned the name and the shop. I'll have some pix in a week or so, I'm taking my time as this is my "pandemic" home project. I tried printing my files for the Ciocc decals on "decal stock" in an inkjet printer but the colors were weak. So after some shopping around found a guy in Michigan with an ALPS printer that is "what the pros use" for opaque solid ink decals. Before these Ciocc I made art for a Merlin set (Bob Jackson era) and an Allegro (Swiss) set, both of which were printed on vinyl by JR Anderson of Velocals (fame and infamy!). Pix to come later...
Oh and clear cover? Yes but no, never resort to clear packing tape, it's not that hard to spray a clear coat! The delicate decals require protection, vinyl don't HAVE to be coated but it can ceratinly help. Trick to it: do a test first with some leftovers. Sometimes your clear will melt the precious decals you spent money and TIME to get "just so". It's a heartbreaker! Something like Krylon Crystal Clear acrylic spray is often a "safe go-to", but NOTHING is safe until you've tested and proved it. Always do a very thin "mist-coat" first and let that set before you add on more to build up (again use many thin coats or you risk runs! ) BTDT