I have read a few different sides. I have heard print it with glossy setting, print it regular, print it on the matte setting. I have an epson, what do you guys do? thanks
just print on normal. i’ve tried “best” and can’t tell the difference. i’m using an HP printer, probably not much difference between it and epson though.
Howzit dunehopper, What model Epson are you using? As far as printing: for paper setting use heavy matte, print on the shiney side of paper and use the fast print mode, you don’t need to use a lot of ink. Hope this helps. Aloha, Kokua
I am using a cx5400 all in one. but it uses the same ink cartridges as the c80. thanks for the help, I am printing some lams for a friend, this is my first try at it.
The high quality setting gives off way too much ink. I use an old cannon and normal is fine… I wouldn’t be suprised if the draft quality on newer models is sufficient.
I’ve been using the epson c80 with great results. I used just the normal settings and the lams turn out very well. Thanks for the tips from Kokua and other swaylocks users for the tips!
Canuk
Howzit canuk, My first lam printer was a C-80 but it had a problem with ink leaking til it just stopped. I was always having to clean the print heads. after it broke I took it apart and in the bottom there’s a thick pad and it was full of ink that had leaked. I now am using the C-82 which has not had any of the problems I had with C-80. They now have the C-84 which is probably a even better unit. One nice thing is the price which runs about $80.00. Aloha, Kokua
i posted a thread a couple of days ago about the c84. you can get it at www.officedepot.com for 60 dollars after coupon code and mail in rebate. i just got the printer on my door step today
I printed on the heavy matte setting and they came out a tad fuzzy, is that normal or is it supposed to come out like you printed it on regular paper. thanks
can someone post some example of home printed lams?
thanks
–4est
very cool, would love to see other samples.
Does this make the laminating process any more difficult?
i.e. is this too much todo for a first board lamination?
thanks
–4est
Howzit dunehopper, You may have to do some work on the project before you print. I use picture it express. but any photo album software will fix it. Just use the sharpen tool and it will get rid of any fuzziness. if you started with a small image and enlarged it that will make the image fuzzy. I have about 20 accounts that I make lams for and some times you have to clean up the images before printing. I sometimes spend as much as an hour prepping the work before it's ready to go. When you really get into this type of projects you need a program like Photo shop which is very expensive or try jasc Paint shop pro 8 which is very close to Photo shop but a lot cheaper. I have both programs and they both work good, but you might be able to get the Jasc software for about $50 or $60 dollars. I've been doing this stuff for over 3 years now and after the initital setup cost($20) they pay $1 a page, no matter how many images are on the page. I started doing it for myself and a shaper friend and it turned into a business, I do about 100 lams or more a month. Good Luck, Kokua
The key to good ink jet printing is the relation of ink distribution to the receiving media.
THis is from crazy training in digital photo printing from a master printer, so i’m not talking out my arse here.
So, think about it this way. If you are using a matte paper setting, it doesn’t have a coating on it, so if the printer lays more ink, it will be absorbed by the media, thus giving it a softer feel, usually desired on matte paper.
However, on a glossy print, too much ink causes mottling, which is what it sounds like you are getting on your printed lams.
Firstly, kokua is right, that you’ll probably need a program like photoshop or paint shop pro to “prep” an image ahead of time. THis includes, color correction, sharpening and sizing.
So, in terms of sharpening, one of the biggest mistakes that people make is over sharpening which makes things look digital. If you are seeing sharpening on the screen you’ve gone too far. Think about it… Your screen is 72ppi and your printer is 300ppi, so if you are seeing it on your screen, you are DEFINITELY going to see it on your print. All images are different and generally, sparing you the intense details, go till you see something and then back off about 25% from where you are.
Sizing…
You’ll need to try and acquire artwork at the higest resolution possible because you can always shrink, but enlarging doesn’t work so well, unless you’ve got specific software. If you are scanning in, here is how you determine your print size:
Your printer’s max ppi (pixels per inch is different then dots, email me if you want a more indepth explanation, but all printers on the market today, except for some rare high end ones are 300ppi.
So, if you are scanning at say 3000ppi x 3000ppi your image will be 10" x 10" at optimal resolution. You could get away with a ppi setting of 270 or even 200 for lams, so your print size will go up.
Printers are so good these days, that with a little bit of education on technique, one could print service beareau quality prints from their home printers. If you have more questions on how to do this, let me know and we could pick up via email to spare others the painful details.
But, with some simple testing you could be producing some KICK ASS lams.
right now I am just doing words on microsoft word. the outline comes a little fuzzy. do you recommend that I do words on photoshop or the like and use the sharpen button.
I have been using a Cannon BJC 8200, an older model but the print looks great. Problem I have found is some of the lams I glassed a couple years ago are starting to fade.
Does anyone else have a problem with lams fading that they have printed off on inkjet type printers?
I was looking to get a new printer soon and wanted to find one that would be better for printing lams.
Dune, if you are doing just text, do it in Photoshop and don’t use sharpen.
Sharpening is for actual images that loose sharpness when scanned in.
Photoshop uses what’s called “Vector” for it’s text, so it’s completely scalable in the document itself. It’s new to photoshop 7 and newer, which is of course Photoshop CS.
Print from photoshop and you should be fine.
Howzit FBFla, Most ink jet printers use dye ink for their colors and it will fade really fast. But at the same time they use a pigment ink which doesn’t fade for black. Epson sells printers like the C series that use Durabrite ink which is an archival ink that should last for at least 40 years or longer. I think HP is also making a printer with archival ink and you can use archival ink in some Canon printers. Go to www.lysonic.com for information on archival ink and what priter can use it. Aloha, Kokua
Thanks Kokua… that is just the info I was looking for.