Embossing sails – {part 1}

I’ve seen many ideas and techniques for sail making…..many of them are a good addition to anyone’s method book.    One aspect that I haven’t seen though,  is the embossment of crests and crosses on sails.   I’ve been in a few discussions about the subject……I had an idea,  but really didn’t try it out until this past week.   My idea utilizes the ink jet printer for embossing them.

If you have paint shop,  and your able to import images of these crests….or any sail embossments into it,   the image can be sized and altered to meet your needs.   In my case though,  I used my decal maker program.   I have the Testor’s  ‘Decal it’ program,  put out by a company called Sure Thing.   There is the basic kit……but the sad thing about it,  is that you cannot import images into it.    You need to get the Standard edition…….there is an upgrade for this program {I still need to get it}.

With the Standard Edition,  you can import images into it and alter them to suit your needs.   It is geared for model cars and planes,  so it has been fun to bend the scope of this product to meet the needs of ship building.   I’ve even been successful in using scroll work  ‘stencils’ for some images.

The search for crests and crosses was quite fruitful…….I found many images to work with……..some look real cool.   I use only the ones that have a white background,  making it easier to manipulate.    I could have use paint shop to do this,  but I decided to import it into the decal maker and go with it.   I went with what lots of folks would call the Iron Cross…….it’s a common basis for Spanish crosses,  but I found trouble in elongating the bottom stem.

Actually,  if you think of this in terms of motorcycles and Harley Davidson,  it’s not as offensive {sorry if I do offend anyone…..it’s not my intention}.   I have altered the size and color here,  and positioned it so it’s not close to an edge border.   Now,  with sail cloth,  this will depend on what your using.

Kit supplied cloth varies…….whether it’s soft or stiff.   The stiffer cloth works better in the printer,  than the softer cloth.   My first print was with the same cloth that I used for the Susan A {pictured above as an example for the scroll work},  it is a soft cotton cloth.   I first ran a sheet of paper through the printer,  to get an idea where the image would be…….keep in mind that the decal maker works with 1/2 sheets,  so it’s position will be important.

This picture shows the paper upside down……something I should have thought of before I took the picture.   For this to work,  the sail making process is to be done in reverse…….do the print,  then trace and cut out the sail.   Running test papers of the image,  will give you a good idea of where it needs to be,  so that waste will be at a minimum.   I ran the cloth…….it did present a problem,  getting caught in the printer a couple of times.   I might be able to save it still,  removing some of the marks with an eraser.

I did note some pixel bleeds in the image before I printed it……..they showed up on the test paper.   I was hoping that they would be gone with the sail print.   Most of them were……and it didn’t look too bad,  but the wrinkles do show the trouble I had with the material.   Another problem with the softer material,  is the stretch factor.  To show this,  I will print another one using some material I got from the Gothenborg kit.   This material is a lot stiffer,  and has the feel like canvas.   The sad part was that there wasn’t enough in the kit to do all the sails for this ship.

As you can see,  it looks pretty good…..nice and uniform in the color and outline shape.   With the softer cloth,  the stretch causes the printer to leave track lines through the image.

You can also see that there are some deformities in the shape and outlines.

One thought I can give to remedy this,  would be treating the material before it’s run through the printer.   In making decals,  a decal bonder is needed to seal in the ink image on the paper.   This product could be used to treat it.   A mix of diluted white glue,  and atomizing the material with it,  might be another one.   It does not need a heavy coat,  in fact,  I would suggest against it.   A light coat is all it should need.   Too heavy a coat,  and it might make the material lose some of it’s texture.   After it is run through the printer,  and cut out,  it might also be good to give it another light coat before it goes through the rigors of the sewing machine.   With seam lines going through the image,  it might smear.

As I mentioned,  there are different grades of material supplied in kits.   I have the cloth I bought for the Susan A {pictured at the bottom},  which is very soft…….I will have to do further experiments with it.   I like the cloth for the texture factor.   The original material I got with the Regina kit {what the Susan A is based from}, is some stiffer cloth {center roll}.   The material I got with the Gothenborg kit {roll at the top},  is even more stiffer that the Regina material…..even has a rougher feel to it.

The main thing is that it is possible to do this…….I can use it to further what I can add to my models.   I hope that if any one tries it,  they will have the same outcome.   There is still more to be done…..more questions to be answered,  but I think that this would be a good method.   With a little more poking,  I might be able to further this process and make it easier.  I hope to have more on this soon.

AHOY!!!