Hey Joe:

I use Illustrator if I want to do a design from scratch. It allows you to draw perfect compound curves as well as color filled shapes. You can control line weights precisely. As a result your printouts are crisp and precise, unlike the typical scanned image. If I don't have a good quality image I scan what I do have then import it into Illustrator and trace over it. Essentially I redraw the design.

Hope that helps.

BTW, I didn't print out onto the decal paper directly with the inkjet because 1) I wasn't sure that the printer would print on it well and 2) I had my doubts that inkjet ink would stand up to the solvents in the clearcoat. You may want to test the latter before you do any decal application on your project.

Antony

P.S. -- If you have Photoshop don't waste your time with Photo Deluxe. It is considerably slower at just about everything.