[jamie @ customfish]

How are printed lure wraps made? (such as a Rapala in their "walleye" finish).
I have the technology to print them, but I don't know what material is normally used and how the application process is done.

Thanks!!

[ldzoller]

I do not know what the big manufacturers use, however, I have been experimenting with waterslide decal paper you can use in your inkjet printer. I purchased mine online. I think I paind about $16 for 10 8"x10" sheets, including shipping. I found a bluegill pattern I liked and used Adobe Photoshop to print both sides. You must seal the paper with a acrylic clear coat first, then dip in water and the image slides right off. I placed it on the bait, it wrinkles some and needs to be worked in order to curve it. I still got some creases. After it dried I used Devcon 2-Ton to clear coat the lure, sanded down the high spots, and clear coated 2 more times. I will try to post a pic as soon as I can. I really liked the results, but it was a fair amount of work.

[jamie @ customfish]

Thanks! We at customfish use a 4cp UV large format printer. I've used pressure sensitive vinyl so far and clear coated with a spray just to see if I could do it. I'm looking forward to doing it the way it's supposed to be done. Thanks for the tip!
Here's what I got so far: http://www.customfish.com/2008_02_01...20791480748982

[Swede]

Rapala uses a method called tamponprinting=stampprinting
So does Salmo & Ugly duckling & many more

[Polecat]

I use tissue wrapping paper that comes with dress shirts and for wrapping packages. Iron the paper with a non steam iron. Use craft adhesive to attach to a regular 8 X 11 sheet. Trim to exact fit and print the image off of your inkjet. Trim to the bait size. Apply to the bait and Devcon over it. The image will remain after the tissue paper becomes clear. I got the idea off of this website about two years ago. Thx to the original author.

[The_Rookie]

Testor's has some model car decals you can print on and cut out... i do logo's with them.. they might just work if you want to mess around with them.

The Rookie

[borderbasser]

One word of caution when making your own waterslides. The ink you normaly use in your printer doesn't have any UV inhibitors in it. In other words they will fade from sun exposure so you'll want to keep them put up in dark place when not in use. I know this from trying to do the same thing for rod decals on the custom rods I build.

TJ

[philB]

Hi

Take a look at http://www.lurebuilding.nl/indexeng.html. Find on that site in the menu 'Techniques' and click it. Then go to 'Finishing'. When onto that page click on the bottom link to 'Realistic jerkbaits by Emiel Van Dijk'. There is an excellent piece by Emiel on the production of photorealistic finishes. He kindly allowed me to use his original photos of the roach pattern so I could recreate his excellent results. As yet I have not managed to do so but am getting close.

Sorry I can't paste a direct link for you but the site will not allow me to do so as the address does not come up in the address bar .

philB

[jamie @ customfish]

I'll be using our press in our shop for all the printing. UV inks. What I'm wondering about is the die-line so that it wraps the entire lure, curves and all.

[fatfingers]

I just want to mention that Husky was the one who provided this site with the process of photo finished baits. Husky is great guy and has contributed a lot to a lot of lure builders on a lot of sites.