Before developing art work and printing with any given ALPS/OKI type printer, you need to know what colours it can produce.
Although the ALPS/OKI printers can attempt any colour using dot dithering, like the print in newspapers or magazines, it is not normally desirable for tiny decal printing. However, overlays of pure spot colours, with no dithering, result in only a limited set of colours. Note that ink layer adhession is a variable problem with each printer - certain combinations will not stick and the ink scratches off. It is good to know what does not work as well as what does!
If you are lucky enough to own an ALPS/OKI printer, you should print your own colour charts to learn more about the capabilities of your own printer. We have posted easy to use printing instructions and master graphics for all the charts you see here in the Files section of the ALPS forum, one of the Yahoo Groups. For printer owners we recommend that you join the two main ALPS printer related groups to get help and share ideas: ALPS and ALPSDECAL.
Link: tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/alps/
Link: tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/alpsdecal/
Once registered with the ALPS Yahoo group, you can access our chart files direct at the following link.
Files: tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Alps/files/
If you are not able to print your own colour charts, don't forget that you can of course Contact Us to ask about any particular colour and how it might be achieved in a custom print job. Pictures here of our colour charts can suggest how various mixes of inks might result in a desired colour - whether that would work in practice in any given printing project is another matter, ultimately such things need to be tested. If you must see the colour chart in order to try and match a range of particular colours, you can buy a printed copy of any of our colour charts shown here. Printed on the best quality white "VPhoto" plastic film, these are not cheap or quick to produce, consuming effectively an entire ink ribbon with 46 separate overlay operations involved in the latest chart. It's quite a load for the print head - they only have a finite life!
Our R0-A A4-sized ALPS/OKI ink colour chart combines all the possible original inks, including the metallics and white overlays, to show what that "pure colour" range is. It presents all the possible flat colours that can be achieved with up to three overlays, and repeats those with a final overcoat of a semi-transparent "Opaque White" for all the pastel shades. We recently added sections that show the effects of a pastel colour undercoat to the main colours, a selection of warmer mid tones - those are available separately in our R0-B chart as well as being included in the R0-A prints. Being able to compare the colour tile sections is useful for decal makers looking to match specific model colours - e.g. what overlay mix produces an LNER apple green colour ?
At the top right we photographed an example R0-A chart print in natural daylight. Note that taking a scan might lead to an un-natural impression of the colours, with possible fluorescence for the inks in particular scanner lights and the problem of direct reflections from the metallic inks.
You can take a close look at any chart by clicking on the image to enlarge it in a new window. Going down the left side of the R0-A chart, notice how Process Orange (PO) and Process Green (PG) did not stick fully as a second layer running across the metallic colours. There were similar problems for other colours going over Opaque White, clearly all combinations that are not sensible to attempt to use for your decals.
There will always be further possible mixes that might be produced with still more layers and stages of printing. For example, more combinations could result from using the VPhoto Primer clear wax as a sort of glue to build up layers that otherwise would not stick. However, the more layers that are used the more likely are problems with ink scratching and sticking. In the latest sections of the chart, for example: Metallic Magenta, Vphoto Primer, White then Yellow, gives a shade we use for "old gold" - a flat, non-metallic, rich yellow with a hint of orange about it. Spot Blue, Opaque White, Yellow and Magenta, gives a match to BR maroon that is not achievable in any other combination we have noted.
We have also produced a colour chart using dot dither printing from all the combinations of the original normal and spot inks, showing what the full colour range of the printers in photo-type printing is. It reveals that Process Orange and Spot Blue might be replaced by printing in certain RGB colours from other inks. Process Green and Spot Green also have approximations in the chart from other mixes. The dither patterns on the best printer "lpi" settings are sometimes very noticable, there are also strange streaking effects that emerge, but most colours are nicely rendered. Some print-head scratching may randomly occur in the prints - as seen in the Cyan to Yellow bar in the picture - just typical of the behaviour of these printers - it does not affect the usefulness of the chart.
A printer repair agent in Japan has made a range of new ink colours, these Elephant's Rocket inks can be printed over the original inks to provide a growing pallet of solid tones. We've prepared a new R0-D chart which features the first 14 new inks available up to November 2018. There are currently 19 colours - adding "ER Pastel White" (a very thin white-wash), "ER Purple", "ER Aqua" (sky blue), "ER Pink" - all of which are semi-opaque - and "ER Wine" (transparent dark red).
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The Full A4 Chart - R0-A.
Metallics Close-Up In R0-A.
Dot Dither Mixes Chart - R0-C.
ER Inks & Mixes Chart - R0-D.
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