fcollingwood

Indeed - I have had the same in the past, I think what quite a few new Alps users don't realise is that you can't just scan stuff, resize, and print. While I have used scans in the past, they have only served as templates in order to draw vector artwork. Vector artwork takes a fair amount of time to produce, but if you want decals that are usable, it is the only way to go. Scans should only ever be used as a template. Giving away artwork is a no-no!

Hi Shipping to the US is NZ$177.47 via EMS (Tracked and insured) For inks and excellent quality decal paper, try Tom Prestia of Tango Papa Decals

No problems, happy to answer any questions As well as the standard CMYK and white, they can do metallic and foil gold and silver. There are also red, green and blue spot colours (We don't supply them, but there are people in the US who stock them), but the RGB cartridges are not recognised by the printer, and what is commonly termed the "label swapping trick" needs to be done in order to use them 600x600, but it is able to do the equivalent of 1200x600 in VPhoto mode, which also gives it the 195lpi screen. I've printed legible text 0.5mm high in 600x600. It can handle decal paper quite happily, double length A4 size (Or letter) regards Frank

HI all Interesting thread. I picked up on it via the referrer stats collected by Alps Supplies (I own Alps Supplies), and I'd like to support some of what has been written, and correct some points too. 1. Yes, the MD-5500 is still available, and is still manufactured. 2. The only source outside Japan for the MD-5500 is Alps Supplies, and Alps Supplies is the only source of the English driver for these printers. Printers sourced from Japan will only have Japanese drivers, and Alps Supplies do not provide English drivers for printers that have not been purchased from us. 3. While decent quality decals (Alps & Inkejet) can be produced from bitmap artwork, it is a major undertaking to do so. Any resizing will result in "jaggies". Vector artwork (CorelDraw, Illustrator, etc.) is quicker to produce, and easier to use. 4. Very good quality decals can be produced on the Alps, provided the designer knows the limitations and can work within them. For example, while the screen for dithered colours is not very good (Preferable to print purely with spot colours), there are methods that can be used to force the printer to print with a finer screen and a higher resolution. 5. Inkjets can't print white. It's fine using white decal paper, but what when you want white lettering 0.5mm high? Try cutting that out! Also, printing colours using a white undercoat gives an opaque decal, something an inkjet just can not do.