Lots of guys have asked about
how I printed the flipper decals.
Here is my experience…
I have printed them on six
different kinds of clear sticker paper.
The best two in my (not-so-humble) opinion are below.
Papilio Glossy Clear Vinyl
The finish on this clear
sticker is glossy which really makes the graphics pop. The problem is that the adhesive (like on all
glossy clear stickers I’ve found) can be seen thru the sticker a little. You also really need to clean your flipper
first so the adhesive doesn’t stick to any dirt (it’ll show). This type is easily removed and replaced.
Avery Clear Sticker Paper
The finish here is
matte. Therefore it is slightly less
awesome than the glossy finish above.
But, conversely, the adhesive is almost completely invisible, so they
are much “clearer” than any of the glossy finish stuff I tried. Again, they are easily picked
up/removed/re-placed.
LD Premium Inkjet Photo Sticker
Paper (White)
There are many White (not
clear) photo sticker papers. They all
perform about the same. The good part is
that the graphics look amazing with the solid white glossy background. However, you do lose a little of the 3D
effect of the clear stickers. The other
problem is that all the white glossy photo stickers I have found have “permanent”
adhesive. Of course, it’s not really
permanent, but it is a pain to get them completely off the flippers if you want
to remove them. The other problem I
found with these is that pulling the backing off the sticker is a giant pain in
the ass once you’ve cut them up. I don’t
have enough patience to get the peel started, and it was a little frustrating
(if you know someone with long nails, ask them to help). The good news is,
the final result looks great.
Application
The easiest way I found to
place the stickers accurately on the flippers is to first cut them out (just
inside the black outline), and then remove only about one-quarter of the
backing. Then place the sticker on the
flipper with that one-quarter sticking and the rest still having the
backing. When you have it lined up, hold
down the part where it is already stuck and then reach under and pull the rest
of the backing away – it’ll be perfectly lined up. That way is much easier than removing all the backing first and trying to place it down all at
once accurately (although with the clear ones, you can pick them up again and
again).
Let me know if you have found
better ways.
Go back to the sample
pictures
Go back to the Flipper Decal
page