From: Allen Smith
Sent: February 19, 2000 7:46 PM
Subject: Re: Printing on Mayfair's blank cards


"Will Beckley" [snip] wrote in message
news:88lhri$ogj$1@nntp9.atl.mindspring.net...
> If one wanted to make a set of Eon Flares on Mayfair's blank challenge
> cards, what would need to be done. I'd rather not hand-write anything.
Would
> I be able to do it on my HP Deskjet 610CL? Or at Kinkos?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Will Beckley
>

DO ANY OF THE BELOW *TOTALLY* AT YOUR OWN RISK!
It works for me, using an HP DJ695 printer. But I cannot
promise it will work for anyone else. Nor can I promise it will
leave your printer undamaged ... even if you use exactly the
same printer as I do. (Doing things the printer was *NOT*
intended to do here.)

First, if you are printing on the cards with a DeskJet (Using
pigment based ink, which I believe the real HP ink is) then
DO NOT handle the white surface of the cards with your
fingers. They are hard to print on to start with. And any oil
from your hands might cause "dropout", where the ink does
not stick to (beads off)  some spots of the card.

I am printing card images one at a time, using PhotoDeluxe.
(Came with my HP scanner, since HP does not include this
with their printers.)

First I print a gray block the same size as the card image
onto some cover stock. (sort of light weight cardboard.)

Then I use scotch invisible tape to tape the card to the page.
 (Maybe 3mm of tape actually on the edge of the card, the
 rest of the tape width on the cover stock.

Tape at the top and bottom of the card being a bit wider
than the card itself. And about a 2 inch piece of tape along
each side, to keep the card from bowing like an arch while
being printed on.

To print the card, I need to set my Deskjet to BEST quality
printing (600 DPI I believe), and leave it set for PLAIN
PAPER.

After the card is printed, I wait only a couple of minutes
before taking the tape off. BUT AM STILL CAREFUL
NOT TO TOUCH THE IMAGE THAT HAS JUST BEEN
PRINTED.

Then I leave the cards sit on a shelf to dry FULLY for at
least a couple of days. (Had some problems with ink
drying slowly on some of these cards.)


After actually wearing out a DeskJet 500 printer over many
years, I bought another DeskJet (my 695) because I've found
these printers will feed JUST ABOUT ANYTHING. I cannot
promise that is the case for all DeskJet Printers, or even
other HP printers of the same models as I have owned. So if
trying to do this destroys your printer, then read the top of my
message again, then accept that *YOU* damaged/destroyed
your printer by trying to do this.


For whatever the above may, or may not, be worth.
(And I guess I'd better post this message to my web site also.)
Allen


--
nobody@allensmith.net               www.allensmith.net
Nobody want-a-be -- 'cause "Nobody's PERFECT!"