water-slide tranfer or vinyl decal?

[Steve D]

I've got a 1999 Eddy Merckx Ti AX and the decals need to be replaced. I have tried for about a year now to find replacement decals without success. I contacted the distributor (Gita) and even the Merckx factory in Belgium, but the decals are out of stock and there seem to be no plans to reproduce them. I contacted several frame painters too, but they had nothing either.

Anyway, a friend of mine is a graphic artist and he has reproduced the labels and they really look terrific. He had them printed on vinyl and edge cut. Tonight I put them on the frame, and while they look great, they are not smooth like the old ones. In other words, the thickness of the vinyl letters stand up off the titanium.

I'm wondering if I should ask him to print the decals on water-slide transfer paper. I'm pretty sure that most ti bikes use water-slide transfers and not vinyl. Does anyone have experience using this type printing process? If so, were might I find the type of paper that would stand up to being on a bicycle? I'm interested in your experiences and suggestions. Thanks.

Steve

[wasfast]

The vinyl letters will be much more durable even though they are a bit thicker.

You can buy waterslide decal paper for laser jets and inkjet printers. Just do a search on google or ask a hobby store.

Waterslide decals are really only feasible if you clearcoat over them, something you probably don't want to do on Ti.

[Steve D]

I always assumed that Serotta and other Ti manufacturers used water-slide transfers. At least that is what Merckx used originally. Maybe they have a more durable printing process?