For a restoration project.

Cyclomondo

https://stores.ebay.com/Cyclomondo?_rdc=1

Velocals

https://www.velocals.com/servlet/StoreFront

H Lloyd

https://www.hlloydcycles.com/page9.htm

Wow, no love for Schwinn...

I wonder if that is a licensing issue rather than bias. There are probably more Schwinn restorations going on than any other brand, at least in the US. So, with a fairly big market, you would think someone would fill the hole if they were able. Yet, other than Waterford selling decals for Paramounts and a few Waterford built bikes, virtually no one has Schwinn decals.

bicyclebones on US ebay always has Paramount decals and other Schwinn decals for sale. He claims they are NOS. They are water slide decals and I have used a couple sets before and they are quite original looking anyway. He has them for 1973 and earlier models but you can make a set of later 70s decals that with some creative cutting of the earlier sets.

Let's not forget bicycledecals.net

but I don't think he does Schwinn either.

Are you talking about the old-style water-slide decals, or the peel-off stickers which most restorations use? The latter are fairly easy to find, in fact, I can make my own on the computer and have a local shop print up a couple frames' worth for under $10. For water-slide it's another matter, I don't know where you'd find them.

I need also vintage decals of mercier brand,the sellers mentioned above doesnt offer this old decal style.Would anybody know where i could find this type of decals for my project??

Contact the decal makers; they may be able to make you a set.


Dave Moulton is very close to having replacement decals for his bikes. (customs, Fuso, Recherche)

I think there is a lot of confusion about bicycle stickers, decals and graphics.

If the graphics peel off a backing paper and have a self-adhesive carrier film like paper or vinyl, it's a label (or sticker).

Decals are a thin layer of paint (ink) with adhesive on the back that is activated by water, pressure (rub-on) or a solvent.

Stickers/labels can be printed by a variety of means including your color printer on vinyl or water-slide papers. The water-slide paper is not the same as a screen printed water-slide decal as the water-slide paper for home use has a carrier film on top of the adhesive already. It's a "sheet" of clear or white decal that you can print on and the decals must be carefully cut to size and trimmed. If you float a sheet of it in water you'll get one huge decal. If you float a sheet of true ink transfer water slide decals in water you will get individual decals.

True decals are nothing but a layer of paint (ink) and adhesive. They must be screen printed with special inks on special water-slide papers. The ink most commonly used was lacquer based and is difficult to find anymore so not too many people still print true water-slide decals. Water based inks react with the water-slide paper during the printing process and solvent based inks can be too thick. Pressure sensitive (rub-on) decals have special adhesive that is silk screened onto the decal art and use silicone papers so that when rubbed the printed inks will release. Ink transfer decals are super-thin, can easily duplicate fine lines and hollow letters and look like they are painted onto the frame when applied, they do not have a hard edge like cut vinyl stickers. Screen printing requires the use of spot color inks, the actual color must be mixed and matched and a different screen must be used for each color. This provides the most true and rich colors. Colors printed from a printer will always be a blend of color dots and won't be as rich. Because of the complexity of the screen printing process, it does not lend itself to low-production at a low cost.

Once you have the artwork, anyone with a color printer, a sheet of water slide paper (or vinyl) and a pair of scissors can make stickers or decals. It just depends on what kind of quality you can live with.

ALPS made a printer that can print some spot colors used a plastic ink melted from a tape cassette and can print white, foils and metallics onto vinyl and water-slide paper, but these decals must be carefully trimmed to size. Some vinyl cutters can be programmed to read registration marks from the ALPS printer (any printer) and can offer fine cutting capability. This is a good compromise for durability and quality, but the decals still aren't as good as real screen printed ink transfer decals.

Shameless plug: when we reproduced our Lotus decals we went with true ink transfer decals with pressure sensitive (rub-on) adhesive. They look exactly like the water-slide originals, but are easier to install and are more durable. Because we printed 100 sets (25 sheets, 11"x17") the decals are affordable.

I make the water slide type on a inkjet printer. You must spray the paper with a clear coat after you have printed it so the ink will not bleed away.
HP also makes a white ink cartridge but it's costly so I try to stay away from to much white.

Let me know what kind of decal you are looking for and I'll see if I can put together a basic Gettocal - But remember the professionals do it best...

Do a search on gettocal...

I was not aware that HP made a white ink, do you have any info on that? I couldn't find any info on it.

Plus most older Schwinns didn't have decals they usualy had stenciled paited detailing and rivited head badges.

This guy is king of decals - https://www.sssink.com/

dave

Yes, but I believe they only sell to the trade. But any established bike painter or shop can buy from them.

Yes, Gary printed all of our Lotus decals and was a great company to work with. As soon as we have the artwork done he'll be printing the next edition for us.

Great thread. Thanks for the info.

But who could forget this Schwinn Sports Tourer...