Kato's New Paint is... Not Great

[daniel_leavitt2000]

I just received the new Amfleet I and II cars in phase III paint today. And the stripping is not great. It looks somewhat like a crazed decal:
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]
This is the previous run from several years ago.

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]
This is the new run released this month.

My guess is they are using a similar printing technique that MTL adopted in the past few years. Can't say I'm a fan of the results though. It's pretty grainy.

[Point353]

Wonder how this one was painted.

[robertjohndavis]

Coming on the heels of the tank cars this is concerning.

[peteski]

I wonder if the stripes are ink-jet printed (like MTL did, but the pritner and inks Kato uses are noewhere as good as MTL's)
Here is an example Kato made several years ago (about 9 years ago).

On the left is a close-up of a typical Tampo-printed stripe on a Kato car, while on the right is one printed using ink-jet printer. The ink-jet ink is thick, shiny, and the print lines are quite apparent.

[Point353]

I wonder if the stripes are ink-jet printed (like MTL did, but the pritner and inks Kato uses are noewhere as good as MTL's)
Here is an example Kato made several years ago (about 9 years ago).

On the left is a close-up of a typical Tampo-printed stripe on a Kato car, while on the right is one printed using ink-jet printer. The ink-jet ink is thick, shiny, and the print lines are quite apparent.

In the OP's photos, the stripes in the center section of the car look relatively good, while those to the right of the door look subpar.
Assuming that they're produced by the same process, what might account for the difference in appearance?

[GaryHinshaw]

Very likely the angle of the lighting.

[AlwaysSolutions]

Yeah that's definitely UV printed.  If their print head is in prime shape you'd see less of those horizontal line artifacts but these things require a lot of maintenance to ensure consistent high quality output.

[peteski]

Very likely the angle of the lighting.

I agree. It is difficult to take photos of the printed surface since we are depending on reflection to show the surface roughness.  The glossiness of the ink along with the location and type of the light source play a role in how the decoration appears to the eye (or to the camera)

[Englewood]

I checked my latest Kato purchase, the UP 1616, and it doesn't look to be this type of paint.
I wonder what's going on?

[tehachapifan]

To me, it looks like the same technique was used in the top 2 photos of this thread, but the bottom on came out with a somewhat grainier finish. I agree that it could also look grainier largely because of the photo lighting and reflection angle.

[peteski]

I checked my latest Kato purchase, the UP 1616, and it doesn't look to be this type of paint.
I wonder what's going on?

Maybe it is decorated using standard paint masking techinques with multiple paint coats and the small details are Tampo printed?

[tehachapifan]

My Amfleet I's came today and I see what you mean. It definitely appears that a different process was used to apply the stripes. To me it's not too noticeable and I may not have paid much attention to it if not for this thread. The blue stripes are also a lighter shade than on my Amfleet II's.

[bbussey]

They've been using the inkjet technique for a few years now.  Definitely for the last few releases of Amtrak cars prior to these latest Amfleet cars.

[peteski]

They've been using the inkjet technique for a few years now.  Definitely for the last few releases of Amtrak cars prior to these latest Amfleet cars.

Judging by the reviews it would be nice if they upgraded their printer.  Maybe MTL Joe could give them some advice.

It is good to see companies modernizing their decoration methods by introducing new technology, but sometimes it is not a positive change. Tampo printing stripes was a proven (and good quality) decorating method for that type of decoration.

As I mentioned, I have some Kato train sets (Orient Express) form some years ago and compared to what is available nowadays, those are quite inferior. Not just the print resolution but the fact that there is either under- or over-coat of thick clear ink over the lettering and pinstriping.  It basically looks like decals with the clear film surrounding the image, but the clear layer is actually textured (pebbly).  If light hits it the right way, the light reflecting from the clear ink basically hides the actual graphics.

MTL's early ink jet printing attempts were quite rough, but they made drastic improvement in print resolution and overall quality.  It appears that Kato stayed with their older printers.

[tehachapifan]

I purchased an extra Amfleet I coach thru Kato parts to make an ex-Metroliner cab car and discovered that this striping pulls off in large chunks fairly easily with masking tape.