Alternatives To Tandy Tracing Film?

[gtwister09]

Chris,

We used to use the Dura-Lar, drafting film and mylar for Symbolization (silk screening) of large parts directly from AutoCAD. They worked well in the roll feed plotters. We also used several other brands from various other drafting supply stores. We also used quite a bit of the 8-1/2 X 11 stock in laser printers as well for the smaller parts.

I have used a couple of rolls of something similar to Dura-Lar for more than 15years and I am almost out.

Regards,

Ben

Edited October 4, 2011 by gtwister09

[Spinner]

I sure hope you'll show us some of your drawings done on the computer. That is something I would REALLY like to learn!!!!!!

Bobby

Here's a quick one that I did to show a prospective client what a custom bag I was designing would look like on her bike. I took a stock photo of the bike and then added in the drawing of the bag to the photo so she could see it " in action".

And here is a Steampunk/clockwork bi-fold wallet pattern I did a while ago but never got around to making:

Edited October 4, 2011 by Spinner

[Spinner]

I sure hope you'll show us some of your drawings done on the computer. That is something I would REALLY like to learn!!!!!!

Bobby

Nothing spectacular, but here is a drawing & rendering I did tonight for a bib I'll be tooling tomorrow. Client asked for this version of a "Dead Man's Hand"

All 3 color views are based on the line drawings and simply manipulated from there...lines, shadows, backgrounds, etc.

Cheers,

Chris

[Urshag]

This all made me curious as drafting mylar is basically the same thing, except drafting mylar is general 1-2 mil thicker than what Tandy sells but Tandy's won't hold printer/copier inks or toner well (smudges) whereas drafting film works just fine. So in looking for 3mil drafting mylar online, converting to sq. ft. to make comparisons easier, it would appear that Tandy's tracing film isn't that far out of line in pricing.

Tandy Tracing Film: 20" x 10y roll for $33 = 50 sq ft = $0.66/sqft

Dick Blick Art Supply: Drafting mylar 36" x 20y roll for $106.46 = 180 sq. ft. = $0.59/sqft

GrafixArts: Drafting Film 3mil 36" x 20y roll for $122.84 = $0.68/sqft

Alternative Materials:

GrafixArts: Biodegradable Acetate: 25" x 50' roll for $37 = 104 sq ft = $0.35/sqft

GrafixArts: Dura-Lar 3mil: 20" x 12' roll for $8.21 = 20 sq ft = $0.41/sqft

Grafix Plastics is one of the largest creative plastics manufacturers in the US, I've used their Frisket Film and Incredible Liquid Mask for years for painting. I have a gut feeling that this is where Tandy get's their tracing film from (especially since Graphix is one of the few suppliers that makes 20" wide rolls). A sheet of copier paper is 4mil thick so the 3mil films would be about right. Graphix also makes a "Computer Graphix" film that is inkjet and laserjet printable and comes in a 6 pack of 8.5 x 11 sheets - exactly what Tandy is going to carrying soon (direct from Graphix is $6.69 per 6 pack)

In looking at the products/prices, I'm thinking I'm going to give the Graphix Dura-Lar a try when I get some extra cash and see how I like it. It's serves the same purposes as Tandy's tracing film (tear resistant, heat & moisture resistant and accepts pencil & pen easily) and is 2/3 the cost.

Wow! Fantastic answer! Thanks so much for taking so much time and effort to answer the question. I hope this thread helps others who are looking for alternatives as well.

Again, thank you so much!

Dennis

[hidepounder]

Nothing spectacular, but here is a drawing & rendering I did tonight for a bib I'll be tooling tomorrow. Client asked for this version of a "Dead Man's Hand"

All 3 color views are based on the line drawings and simply manipulated from there...lines, shadows, backgrounds, etc.

Cheers,

Chris

Now I have even more questions. Did your program take that photo and convert it to line art? And is it possible to draw floral tooling patterns with these programs? I don't see anyone doing this and always assumed it was way to labor intensive or difficult to do with a program.

Bobby

[Spinner]

Wow! Fantastic answer! Thanks so much for taking so much time and effort to answer the question. I hope this thread helps others who are looking for alternatives as well.

Again, thank you so much!

Dennis

No problem Dennis, glad to help. Here's even more alternatives via a thread I did on testing the new Tandy printable film: http://leatherworker...showtopic=34899

Edited October 11, 2011 by Spinner

[Spinner]

Now I have even more questions. Did your program take that photo and convert it to line art? And is it possible to draw floral tooling patterns with these programs? I don't see anyone doing this and always assumed it was way to labor intensive or difficult to do with a program.

Bobby

Well thanks for the unintentional compliment Bobby. The picture in the upper right is actually a color added version of my line drawing, not a real photo.

I started with a color scan of actual playing cards from a $2 Bee deck and then drew everything in with it as a reference as seen in the upper left. From there I created the other three views including the full color one in the upper right.

As with floral or any computer based drawing, it is a bit labor intensive (took 2 hours to do the drawings on this page) but for me it's a matter of necessary prep work and personal enjoyment. Why spend two hours on a simple drawing of 5 playing cards? Well, now I have the basis for any playing card or casino themed pattern and on future projects I can simply take the cards, suits, etc. and orient them anyway I like in a matter of minutes as shown with the set on the lower left with the skewed Ace of Spades.

I use a vector based program called Xara to do the drawings. For most things like this it's simply a matter of tracing the original photo using lines and plot points and from there the lines can be pulled and stretched to form curves. For things like the club, it's simply three ovals and a cross and then the shapes are "added" together to form one solid shape that can be modified. Vector based programs are better versus older pixel based programs as the drawings are based on mathematical calculations for the points versus fixed pixels. This allows a drawing to be scaled or skewed to any value up or down with no resolution loss.

As for doing florals, the prep would be the killer for most folks since a skilled Sheridan pattern maker would be able to draw them pretty quickly. The advantage comes from ease of repetition & modification. With a pencil drawing, if you decide on a change, you either have to erase or start over whereas a computer model could simple be adjusted. You'd want to sit down and draw each of the elements so you have references for each pedal, center, vine, etc. Then with these items, you would construct your flower and group them. From there, the whole flower could be rotated, replicated, flipped, skewed, etc. There is a learning curve with any program but for something straight-forward like this it wouldn't be long.

Here is the latest version of the program I use: http://www.xara.com/us/products/designer/ many folks like Adobe Illustrator as well but since I started out with Xara in 1997 I've grown to love it and stuck with it.

[hidepounder]

Well thanks for the unintentional compliment Bobby. The picture in the upper right is actually a color added version of my line drawing, not a real photo.

I started with a color scan of actual playing cards from a $2 Bee deck and then drew everything in with it as a reference as seen in the upper left. From there I created the other three views including the full color one in the upper right.

As with floral or any computer based drawing, it is a bit labor intensive (took 2 hours to do the drawings on this page) but for me it's a matter of necessary prep work and personal enjoyment. Why spend two hours on a simple drawing of 5 playing cards? Well, now I have the basis for any playing card or casino themed pattern and on future projects I can simply take the cards, suits, etc. and orient them anyway I like in a matter of minutes as shown with the set on the lower left with the skewed Ace of Spades.

I use a vector based program called Xara to do the drawings. For most things like this it's simply a matter of tracing the original photo using lines and plot points and from there the lines can be pulled and stretched to form curves. For things like the club, it's simply three ovals and a cross and then the shapes are "added" together to form one solid shape that can be modified. Vector based programs are better versus older pixel based programs as the drawings are based on mathematical calculations for the points versus fixed pixels. This allows a drawing to be scaled or skewed to any value up or down with no resolution loss.

As for doing florals, the prep would be the killer for most folks since a skilled Sheridan pattern maker would be able to draw them pretty quickly. The advantage comes from ease of repetition & modification. With a pencil drawing, if you decide on a change, you either have to erase or start over whereas a computer model could simple be adjusted. You'd want to sit down and draw each of the elements so you have references for each pedal, center, vine, etc. Then with these items, you would construct your flower and group them. From there, the whole flower could be rotated, replicated, flipped, skewed, etc. There is a learning curve with any program but for something straight-forward like this it wouldn't be long.

Here is the latest version of the program I use: http://www.xara.com/...ducts/designer/ many folks like Adobe Illustrator as well but since I started out with Xara in 1997 I've grown to love it and stuck with it.

Thanks Chris! Believe it or not I actually understand most of that, LOL! If a person were to take the time to build enough elements and combinations of elements you could basically "cut and paste" and then modify or manipulate what ever was necessary to tie it all together. However it sounds like more than what I want to try to take on at this point anyway. It's amazing what you can do though and you really fooled me, LOL, I thought the photo was your original! Someone borrowed one of my finger carving patterns to use for a class and he copied the photo and turned it into line art and sent it back to me. I was really impressed and wondered about doing a floral pattern. Anyway...very cool stuff...thanks!

Bobby

[Spinner]

Thanks Chris! Believe it or not I actually understand most of that, LOL! If a person were to take the time to build enough elements and combinations of elements you could basically "cut and paste" and then modify or manipulate what ever was necessary to tie it all together. However it sounds like more than what I want to try to take on at this point anyway. It's amazing what you can do though and you really fooled me, LOL, I thought the photo was your original! Someone borrowed one of my finger carving patterns to use for a class and he copied the photo and turned it into line art and sent it back to me. I was really impressed and wondered about doing a floral pattern. Anyway...very cool stuff...thanks!

Bobby

That's pretty much the jist of it Bobby. I actually just found out the current versions of Xara have a photo import tool that will essentially trace the picture or drawing for you from a jpg or scanned photo and convert it to the vector format so the hard part is taken care of, it's just a matter making adjustments/clean-ups. I'm seriously thinking of upgrading and will let you know how it works out if I do.

Funny thing on the color version of my drawing, looking at it now I realized that if someone is paying close attention there's a flub that shows it's artificial. The Ace of Spades was changed and re-added to the picture after I had made it and in my haste to finish up, I forgot to add the primary level shadow that separates it from the Ace of Hearts (notice how the edge is not detectable between them but it is on the other overlapping cards). That's what happens when I work too late into the night! LOL

Chris

[r lenna]

You can get it at http://springfieldleather.com/ for $20 a roll or $2.30 a yard. If you get one of their Memberships even less than that. Rob