Difference between Decal and Label?

[johnboy]

But on the beer bottle is a label

Don't worry about decals and labels on that bottle Mike, just drink and enjoy [/quote]
Already done, Johnboy. [/quote]

Prost!

[tjlglass]

SENNA.

[johnboy]

SENNA.

Fittipaldi

[tjlglass]

Hunt with a capital C lol

[motorman]

Hunt with a capital C lol

[johnboy]

Hunt with a capital C lol

Never heard of James Chunt

[Idris]

'Labels' were used first on models to show company names or services etc, and can be removed easily by various methods, usually with just your finger-nail.
'Decals' were used later as a more permanent fixture and are still removable but are then not reusable, they get destroyed by the removable process.

Just to avoid any possible confusion, Lesney began with the solvent decals before moving to a water-slide version. These were phased out in favour of self-adhesive paper labels in the late 1960s, only for these to be replaced, in turn, by tampo print in the early 1980s.
Decals are also sometimes referred to a s transfers (which is what I know them as, so that might be a US/UK English question).

[Tinman]

'Labels' were used first on models to show company names or services etc, and can be removed easily by various methods, usually with just your finger-nail.
'Decals' were used later as a more permanent fixture and are still removable but are then not reusable, they get destroyed by the removable process.

Just to avoid any possible confusion, Lesney began with the solvent decals before moving to a water-slide version. These were phased out in favour of self-adhesive paper labels in the late 1960s, only for these to be replaced, in turn, by tampo print in the early 1980s.
Decals are also sometimes referred to a s transfers (which is what I know them as, so that might be a US/UK English question).

I don't want to step on any toes, but this needs to be corrected.

For Lesney Matchbox 1-75 models, the paper label was used first. Paper labels were applied to one of the original first seven models; the 5a double decker London bus circa 1954. The decal would come soon enough and take over.

What remains unclear for me is the solvent decal issue VS waterslide decals. It would seem both were in use at the same time. The 11 a and the 14 a being the first two models to receive decals. It also seems that paper labels were still in use on the 5a when the first decals began to be applied.

The only reason I can see for using the solvent type decal is for more exact placement. What I remember about solvent decals is that they did not slide off the paper like water slide decals perform. The solvent was applied to the decal and the paper, after the solvent wets the decal and the paper backing, the backing became semi transparent. You then pressed the decal onto the model pressing it down (similar to a dry transfer) and then gently peeled the paper backing away. The solvent not only released the decal from the paper but worked as the "glue" to adhere the decal.

This brings the question I've long pondered, did the 14a receive a decal sooner than the 11a? Both saw early production without any decal, but it seems that the 11a went through green, two different shades of yellow and into red paint before receiving a decal. The 14a went through an early period with no decal but would seem to have received the decal sooner than the 11a. Regardless, the water slide decal and the solvent decal were in use at the same time with perhaps the solvent decal slightly preceeding the water slide.

I also wonder if the 17a decals were not also of the solvent variety. The large clear backgrounds always degrade in an unusual manner compared to most old waterslide decals. With the solvent decal being used long after a time when water slide decals were introduced, there seems to be some unanswered questions here. The long quoted comment that "the solvent decals made the factory a mess" is often thought of as the point where these decals were abandoned in favor of water slide. In reality, the solvent decals continued in use right up to very first 14c Lomas ambulances.

[mike]

Very interesting information from the matchbox professionals.

many thanks
Mike & Nico

[Idris]

Good points, Joe, and I must confess that the paper label on the 5a had slipped my mind.
Nick has previously suggested that the 11a ought to exist with solvent decals, but there are no reports of same.