Printing Patterns With Your Laser Printer?

[ShortBBL]

I'm curious if it would work to print out a pattern made on the computer, using tranperency paper for the laser printers? Does anyone have any experience using this method? I have some graphics I have done in a paintshop type program and it would be easy to print these on transperency paper if that would work for a pattern.

[cem]

Yes I've done it and it works well you just need to press a bit harder with the stylus as the transparency sheet is thicker than the usual hand tracing stuff. Also it's best to try and tape the sheet down as it can move around easier as the moisture in the leather isn't enough to hold it down.

Cheers,

Clair

[ShortBBL]

Thanks for the reply! I may just give it a try. I wonder if you could just trace over regular white paper or if that doesn't wook too good?!

[cem]

Thanks for the reply! I may just give it a try. I wonder if you could just trace over regular white paper or if that doesn't wook too good?!

No white paper won't work it gets torn up too easy from the moisture from the leather if you definately want to use your laser printer it will need to be acetate thats what transparencies are you don't need to use an expensive brand just make sure they are listed for laser printers and definately don't use one listed for inkjet printers it will melt in your machine.

Cheers,

Clair

[Tina]

Yes you can use white paper too...Just put a layer of Glad Wrap in between and use tape to keep them inline:-)

[Deb59]

Yes you can use white paper too...Just put a layer of Glad Wrap in between and use tape to keep them inline:-)

How about Vellum paper?

[cem]

Yes you can use white paper too...Just put a layer of Glad Wrap in between and use tape to keep them inline:-)

Tina hadn't thought of that it's nice to read what other ideas people come up with. The stuff I've got on hand is basically crap, a cheap supermarket brand so didn't work that well but I did try some thin clear vinyl the stuff you get in craft stores (used for table coverings I believe) and that worked well and is reuseable, so that might be another option.

[Somawas]

I've printed several patterns on plain white paper. Taped them to tracing film and then traced onto the leather. Works fine. And saves the step of tracing onto film.

[Tina]

Tina hadn't thought of that it's nice to read what other ideas people come up with. The stuff I've got on hand is basically crap, a cheap supermarket brand so didn't work that well but I did try some thin clear vinyl the stuff you get in craft stores (used for table coverings I believe) and that worked well and is reuseable, so that might be another option.

What I do is streching the glad wrap around tightly and I use tape on the back...Then turning it right and tape the printed pattern onto that. It works out really good for me and I don't have to try to find "the right stuff" way up here in the north:-)

[bex DK]

I use ink jet transparencies for things I plan to use a lot, but sometimes the stylus scrapes the ink off, but it leaves a dent, so I can find it again. I need to try pricking them with a pin and see if it works like a craft aid. Just haven't gotten that far yet.

I find that paper patterns can generally be used once or twice before they deteriorate. If yours are deteriorating that quickly, I wonder if you are letting the leather dry enough after casing. But with an ink jet in any case, I can't use paper that has been printed on the other side. I tried once to use scrap paper that had been printed before and it left spots on the leather.

[Vikti]

Vellum works good with an ink jet, I use to do it all the time until work got in my way.

Damon

[iwannabeacowboy]

What I do is streching the glad wrap around tightly and I use tape on the back...Then turning it right and tape the printed pattern onto that. It works out really good for me and I don't have to try to find "the right stuff" way up here in the north:-)

Tina Very good idea, I never thought about glad wrap. It now saves me one step in the process of getting the pattern on the leather. Thanks

charlie

[Tina]

Tina Very good idea, I never thought about glad wrap. It now saves me one step in the process of getting the pattern on the leather. Thanks

charlie

You're more than Welcome and I wish you good luck with the "new" material :-)

[TjMcDaniel]

I love creating patterns on my computer. I print the pattern on Vellum paper and then apply packing/shipping tape to the back (have to be careful on larger projects with lines from the overlapping tape, transferring onto your leather) I've also thought of using a thin contact paper.

[SimonJester753]

I used plain white paper for a pattern of metal spots on a dog collar. I oiled the paper, which made it translucent and kept it from moving around.

[JohnBarton]

we just use plain white paper and trace it using a ball point pen with no ink. Works pretty good for us. Most of our patterns are one-offs drawn for just that customer and space so we don't worry too much about ever using them again.

[Luke Hatley]

Be very careful with "Ink Jet", you will get a stain on the leather that will not come off.

[Ferg]

Be very careful with "Ink Jet", you will get a stain on the leather that will not come off.

I bought 11 x17 inch vellum at Office Depot (In a tablet form), printed with Epson Ink Jet, works great but I wouldn't try to use it more than once. I simply place several copies of the pattern on one sheet if it will fit.

ferg

[Nighthawk]

Thanks for the reply! I may just give it a try. I wonder if you could just trace over regular white paper or if that doesn't wook too good?!

I've done that. It only seems to work well on small designs- ones that take too much time, not so well. The moisture leaches out of the leather and into the paper.

[Toddo]

I've been trying to find the best method for transferring images from my computer to the leather recently myself. I have some designs with some very thin lines that I want to be exact on the leather. I've decided that transfering the image by hand onto the tracing film and then again onto the leather is not accurate enough. You loose some accuracy each time you go over the design by hand. So I have been looking for a substrate to print on using my inkjet printer so that I can trace directly from the design onto the leather with the most accuracy.

BTW. I have found that using an exacto knife works very well in place of a stylus for tracing, but you have to dull the blade and point some with a file to that it won't cut through.

Here's what I've tried so far:

Regular white 20lb paper. - Not good enough for me. The fibers in the paper hang up your stylus or exacto knife. Makes a decent visible lines in the leather though.

Vellum paper. - It has a very smooth surface like the Tandy leather tracing film, and it's semi transparent, but the stylus will still bump around on paper fibers too. No good enought for me either. Also makes decent visible lines in leather.

Tandy Leather tracing film - I tried printing directly onto the Tandy plastic tracing film with the inkjet printer. It worked. It printed very sharp lines but... there is a major smudge problem. Inkjet ink doesnt dry well on a smooth unpourous plastic surface. So I tried to fix this by spraying artist fixative on it and then used a hair dryer to dry it. Worked fairly well. Thought I had the solution. But I saw that the fixative had degraded the color lines somewhat, somehow. The black ink stayed intact and sharp. And weirdly, the black lines didn't smudge after the fixative dried, but the fixative did not setup on the color ink and it would still smudge.

Next I'm going to try quick dry transparency film made for inkjet printers. I have this on order and is due to arrive in the mail soon:

I'm thinking it may be to thick to transfer the line properly to the leather but it's worth a try. It says quick dry so I should not have any problem with the ink smudging when I do the tracing.

All in all I think the Tandy Leather tracing film is the perfect material to trace over a design onto the leather. The smooth plastic allows the stylus to flow very smoothly when you trace the line and it's flexible so it indents into the leather well and makes a very visible line in the leather from the trace.

If the transparency film doesn't work that good then I have one last idea. I'm going to spray either artist fixative or matt finish polyeurothane on Tandy tracing film and let it dry real good to see if that will give the film a good surface for the inkjet ink to dry on. It might give it a slightly rougher/more pourous surface similar to regular paper so that it can dry up. I can even spray a little fixative over top of that if need be.

Edited February 3, 2011 by Toddo