I need help with my thermo copier...

[modernarttattoos]

Hello @ all!
Could anybody help me with my thermo copier?
I am a totally noob with this machine...
Bougt it a few days ago on Ebay, and after I received it, i tested it out...
But I haven´t got a usable stencil out of it...
The spirit carbon sheet only sticks on the paper completely...
Nothing from the line drawing can be seen...Just a mess...
I hope to get some ideas, what I can do...
Thanks!
Cheers
Mark

[TattoosbyDale]

try adjusting the heat or "light" for the transfer, also are you using a plastic sheet to put them before putting them through the copier and open it up and make sure you got a belt, i know this sounds janky but you don't know the people you bought it from, hope some of this helps out

[Lonnie]

aslo, what are you using for a line drawing? A copy from a copy machine or drawn with a number 2 pencil are the most reliable.

[modernarttattoos]

Thank you!!!
I have e-mailed with the seller, and he has told me some things about the copier. After I have received my new carriers, I will test it out again!
If there are any questions I will ask again here!
Cheers
Mark

[Ragz]

Originally Posted by Lonnie

aslo, what are you using for a line drawing? A copy from a copy machine or drawn with a number 2 pencil are the most reliable.

Yup the toner of that copier that heats up great for stencils. I've had diferent results with diferent pencils, I'll have to keep the #2 in mind.

Any black ink from a printer will work, however a laserjet will last longer on the toner end,and gives a stronger stencil. If you're using something like photoshop convert your file to greyscale and then bring your contrast to 100%. Also ZIG Millenium drawing pens(grey ones) will give you a pen drawing that will stencil pretty solid.
On another note, my thermo just took a crap recently and in saving to get it fixed, I've come to appreciate the action of "hand cutting" my stencils again. I may just get it fixed to sell it off easier.

[lackthereof]

depending on your version of Photoshop (7 and CS, I know have this feature.), the photocopy filter is pretty handy.

Do any of you folks use any of the newer model thermo copiers? I know Eikon sells them, don't know the brand name. I've never used anything except for 3M thermofaxes. Just curious how the more modern versions stand up against the old ones.

[appliedinsanity]

I've been using a 24-pin Okidata dot matrix printer off my main graphics pc. I scan with a decent printer/scanner from my line drawings. Photoshop and Illustrator do the grunt work, and you can tweak the size and contrast before wasting a stencil sheet. If it dies, I can grab another used printer at a used computer store for about $20.

The nature of thermal copiers is that the *will* fail at some point, quality will degrade and parts are a b1tc4 to find, and expensive. My apprenticeship was spent fighting with a beat-up photocopier and a temperamental thermal unit that meant settling with poor stencils and a lack of detail to work with.

I hope your thermal setup works better for you than mine did... For me, the printer/scanner/computer set up works beautifully and was relatively cheap.

[-42-]

Originally Posted by appliedinsanity

I've been using a 24-pin Okidata dot matrix printer off my main graphics pc. I scan with a decent printer/scanner from my line drawings. Photoshop and Illustrator do the grunt work, and you can tweak the size and contrast before wasting a stencil sheet. If it dies, I can grab another used printer at a used computer store for about $20.

The nature of thermal copiers is that the *will* fail at some point, quality will degrade and parts are a b1tc4 to find, and expensive. My apprenticeship was spent fighting with a beat-up photocopier and a temperamental thermal unit that meant settling with poor stencils and a lack of detail to work with.

I hope your thermal setup works better for you than mine did... For me, the printer/scanner/computer set up works beautifully and was relatively cheap.

HOW DOES THIS SETUP WORK??? I'VE SEEN OLD PRINTERS BEING SOLD ON EBAY FOR STENCIL MAKING BUT I'VE NEVER ACTUALLY SEEN ONE IN ACTION?? RECENTLY, A FRIEND OF MINE BOUGHT ONE THINKING IT WOULD WORK, AND IT'S DONE EVERYTHING BUT MAKE A STENCIL.

[appliedinsanity]

I scan into Photoshop (grayscale), tweak the contrast and brightness for strong lines and then paste it into Illustrator for page layout - almost anything that can preview a page will work --Do *NOT* print from Photoshop. You see what's going to be on the page before you have to print it -- very important.

The printer is connected by regular parallel printer cable, and you print straight to it. Windows 2000 had the drivers built in, so xp+ will too. The stencil paper I use seems to be both thermal and pressure sensitive, so printing with a dot matrix hammers the design through the "carbon" and voila!

The new printer/scanner was about 4 bills, the dot matrix printer was in a closet, and the software was left over from graphic design days. There are open source (ie FREE) graphics programs like Gimp and an Illustrator clone that work the same way. Just need a little computer savvy.

[appliedinsanity]

The software was the hard part... Let me know if u need a hand.