Technical decals for helmets, composites and painted substrates
Multilayer screen-printed water-slide decals, engineered for adhesion under clear coat and cured thermally. Made in Aveiro, Portugal.
- Construction
- 4 layers
- Cure
- Thermal
- Series from
- A few hundred
- Origin
- Aveiro, PT
Test coupon · cylindrical substrate
§ 01
What we do
High opacity over dark substrates
Opacity is built through multiple printed layers rather than one heavy ink deposit. Above-average coverage over carbon and dark shells.
Engineered for your clear coat
Compatibility with your specific clear-coat system is tested, not assumed. We validate before you commit.
Short series without the Asian lead time
A few hundred units is a standard job here, not an exception. We are a day's transport from most of Western Europe.
§ 02
Why decals fail, and why ours don't
The adhesive in a water-slide decal is wetted during application. At the moment the decal is positioned, no true bond exists — the only thing holding it to the part is the collodion carrier film.
Thermal cure drives residual moisture out from between the decal and the substrate and activates the adhesive.
Cure is not a finishing step. It is the bonding step.
This is why most adhesion complaints in this technology resolve to one of three causes: the surface was not in the right condition, the cure was omitted or run too cool, or the clear coat reacted with the protective layer.
We test all three before series production, and we record every parameter in a technical data sheet that both parties sign.
§ 03
Four layers over a compound curve
The decal is printed as a stack. Each layer has one job, and the order in which they are laid down is the order in which they have to survive: the adhesive is printed last and applied first.
| Colour | Layer | Order applied |
|---|---|---|
| Collodion carrier Holds the print together until the decal is positioned. It is the only thing holding the decal to the part before cure. |
4 — outermost | |
| Protective varnish Separates the colours from the clear coat. Where a clear coat reacts, it reacts here. |
3 | |
| Colours Printed in sequence. Opacity comes from the number of layers, not from a heavier deposit. |
2 | |
| Adhesive Wetted on application, activated by thermal cure. Printed last, it meets the substrate first. |
1 — against the part |
§ 04
Validated substrates
A substrate is qualified by trial, not by assumption. Each state below reflects work actually run, not a datasheet claim.
Carbon composite — helmet shells
Adheres over a clear-coated shell and, with primer, over a raw shell.
Carbon composite — sports equipment
Tested on a carbon racquet.
Thermoplastic and engineering polymers
Glass
Core competence.
Ceramic and porcelain
Vitrifiable range, fired up to approximately 1200 °C.
Painted / clear-coated metal
Subject to the surface preparation window.
Aluminium and composite frames
Applied under clear coat.
Your substrate
Not on this list? Send us a part. A substrate is qualified by trial, not by assumption.
- Cross-cut, hot
- +60 °C
- Cross-cut, cold
- −20 °C
- Clear-coat compatibility
- Customer system
- Trial on customer part
- Before series
- Pre-production run
- Signed data sheet
Adhesion on a clear-coated part depends on the condition of that surface when the decal is applied. There is a preparation window of one to two days between preparing the surface and applying the decal; outside it, the surface has to be prepared again.
This is one of the three causes we test for before series production.
§ 05
Short series are normal work
Many colourways in modest quantities is the pattern that suits us. Decor preparation is charged once and remains valid for the life of that decor; repeat orders are supplied at unit price only.
For customers running seasonal collections, we work under annual framework agreements.
§ 06
Two families of product
Decalcer produces two families of product: vitrifiable decals for ceramic and glass, fired at up to approximately 1200 °C, and technical decals for cold, high-demand substrates.
Operating both is unusual, and it shapes how we work. High-temperature ceramic decoration is unforgiving — a decal either survives the kiln intact or it does not.
That discipline carries across to cold substrates, where we treat decoration as an adhesion and durability problem rather than as a printing problem.
§ 07
Start with something that costs you nothing
Tell us which clear coat you use and at what thinner ratio. We will tell you whether it is likely to react with a water-slide decal protective layer, and what we would watch for. It takes you two minutes and it is the single most useful thing you can send us.
Travessa das Cascorras — Zona Industrial da Taboeira
Lote 29, Armazém B
3800-055 Aveiro, Portugal