Hi Everyone,
Ok, today I got a chance to take a look at the new laser printer we'll be leasing. It had me a bit concerned because its specs didn't suggest it could handle a 12pt cover stock. But in testing it out today, it handles a 12PT cover stock, glossy both sides fine. It prints beautifully and in rich colors.
However...there was one small snag. Not a big enough snag to stop us from producing card games for ourselves and its something we can design around, but I need to mention it.
The thickest paper we can get from our usual paper distributor for this type of printing is called Kromekote Plus. The problem is, there seems to be something of an odd affect on the glossy laminate when run through the printer. The first side always comes off beautiful. Very crisp and sharp colors. Better than most offset work we've had done over the years. But when we run that sheet through to print the other side, it comes out a bit washed out. The color lightens some 10-20% approximately. I can only guess that the heat transfer system that the printer uses somehow affects the laminate, so when its being run through a 2nd time we get a lighter image.
If this remains the only quality paper we can use, we'll still do our card games this way. We'll just have to experiment a bit to figure out approximately how much the machine is lightening the back side and we'll adjust our card artwork that much darker to compensate. The end result should be something darn close to what we started with, but it may not be exact. But after some testing I should be able to tell you, darken your image 10%, 15%, or whatever. Then it would be up to you to decide which side you would want us to run first for the most pure color match, and which side to run 2nd.
Now, our paper distributor does have a Carolina cover stock that is a 12pt cover, glossy both sides, but it does not come as a stock item in the sizes we need. I could have some cut from the mill though. I will have to experiment to see if this same affect happens to other paper stocks that are 2nd sided high gloss.
The die cutter works well. Its....particular to get set up, but once set up it will cut the cards uniform and cleanly. Its also faster than I had first thought, which is good. Means we'll be able to clear 10-12 decks an hour with one machine. 18-30 if we buy both the smaller and larger die cutters and work then in tandem.
I have a very limited number of samples on hand now. If someone here think they would want to do some POD cards and would be ready to begin printing when we open the store near the end of January, e-mail me at
dowrie@guildofblades.com and I can get you a sample. If you wouldn't be ready to print around that time, I'll be happy to send you a sample, but please wait until we take possession of the printer in early January and I can make more.
Thanks,
Ryan S. Johnson
Guild of Blades Publishing Group
http://www.guildofblades.com
http://www.1483online.com
http://www.thermopylae-online.com
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