Greetings:
I am interested in using Press n Peel (blue) as a mask to make
engraved brass plates to use with a rolling mill. Most of the
on the web about this product is several years old and
it seems that as available copier equipment has changed, the success
of this project has changed. Is anyone out there using it currently
with a laser copier/printer? I’m just wondering before I invest in
some of the paper.
Thanks in advance.
We continue to carry this product and see it go off the shelf daily.
I do not know that copier printer technology has changed much of
late.
Bill, Deborah, Michele & Sharon
Reactive Metals Studio, Inc
928-634-3434, 800-876-3434, 928-634-6734fx
I am currently using Press-n-Peel with an HP LaserJet 1200 series
printer and HP brand toner, and it works beautifully.
However, this laser printer is on its last legs, and yesterday I
went out and bought a new one, an HP LaserJet P1505n, which is a
newly discontinued model. In doing my research, I came across a note
that the toner cartridge used with this printer (and all their newer
printers) uses a somewhat different toner formulation, so I’m a
little nervous.
My husband has to set up the printer since it runs through a
wireless network so he (PC) and I (Mac) can share it (that kind of
computer wizardry is not my area), so I won’t have a chance to try
the new stuff for a few days, but I will be happy to report back once
I’ve been able to give it a shot.
Best,
Lori
Lori Paximadis
virtuallori.com
I am having success making copies with Press n Peel, using an
inexpensive portable Canon lazer copier. It is a PC170. I highly
recommend it.
Alma
I use it with a laser printer and it works really well, you need to
make sure you have a printer with a high enough resolution though.
The higher the res, the better the image. And make sure you don’t
iron it for too long else the image bleeds a little too.
I am interested in using Press n Peel (blue) as a mask to make engraved brass plates to use with a rolling mill. Most of the on the web about this product is several years old and it seems that as available copier equipment has changed, the success of this project has changed. Is anyone out there using it currently with a laser copier/printer? I'm just wondering before I invest in some of the paper.
I used it recently with an HP 2605 Laser printer. It worked fine.
Regards, Gary Wooding
Hi Harris:
I’m doing etching with my advanced folks this term, so I just wrote
up a set of instructions for PNP blue.
The PDF is still the ‘first round’ draft, but it should tell you
everything you need. You can find it here:
It’s the bottom link, the one that says ‘Pnp beta’.
Enjoy.
Brian Meek.
it depends – all laser printers are not equal. rather than even try
to list all the good ones.
I have an old cannon copier that works fine, I also have a HP 2100
printer also old that works fine. I have not tried the newer ones but
understand they all don’t work well.
jesse
I have been using P’nP blue etching film with my home laser printer
attached to the computer for several years now and it works perfectly
for creating brass plates.
It takes a bit of practice to get the transfer of the image just
right - try with some small pieces and make sure the metal is well
cleaned and pumiced. I have found I get a much better outcome if I
apply the heat direct to the metal rather than trying to ‘iron’ the
image on. This means laying the metal direct onto a hot plate of
some sort - I use my ceramic cooker hob, or even an iron held upside
down in a vice, then applying and holding down the PnP onto it, using
heatproof gloves. I find that a heat of just above medium works,
putting the hot plate up to full heat will buckle the film and you
have to start again. Press the image onto the metal evenly with some
sort of cloth or paper towel with a dabbing motion and don’t under
any circumstances wipe the cloth over the film - it will smear the
image. As you dab and press down you’ll see the black image
gradually darken on the PnP and you’ll learn to judge when it’s
transferred. Leave it too long and it can start to ‘bleed’ around the
edges, although this can be removed fairly easily with a fine brass
brush without spoiling the main image. You may need to fill in the
odd hole where the copier image hasn’t taken (metal might not have
been perfectly clean or there was a bit of dust). After etching the
best way to remove the image is with neat acetone.
Hope this helps
Hilary Sinclair
Hi Harris
I’m teaching an etching class at the moment, and the students are
using PnP Blue with good success from my laser printer. There is an
issue with laser printers having ‘plastic’ materials pass through
them, in that they can get very hot and thus melt/stick/ruin your
printer - all very easy to avoid if you make sure to put the printer
on the ‘transparency’ setting, and if you have the option you should
put the ‘fuser’ setting to low. (the fuser setting relates to how
the toner binds to the output; for paper this is normally set to
high, and it seems to generate more heat).
I had not particularly thought to use this process for pressing the
image into the metal, but if you’re looking for ‘subtle’ I guess this
is a good approach. Thanks for the tip, I will experiment!
best
Vicky Forrester
Flux Studios
I’ve had great success with PnP using a Samsung laser printer and a
hair straightening iron. So far, I’ve only done small images on
copper & brass but this is my technique:
The image to be transferred is cut a little larger than the metal
piece. I’ve found a few drops of water on the metal helps make the
PnP stick better and I just press all the air bubbles out with a
finger. Then it’s put in between two pieces of thin kiln blanket.
This “sandwich” is put on the flat surface of a hair straightening
iron (heated to moderately high) and the two tongs are lightly
clamped shut. I then set the timer for 5 minutes. If all the toner
hasn’t all successfully by then, I set the timer for another minute &
check again.
Except for some minor blemishes, usually caused by dust or grit from
the cleaning compound, the images have transferred successfully. Any
small areas needing touch up are done using a red Sharpie Paint pen
prior to submersing in etchant.
Before finding a local source for kiln blanket, I just wrapped two
small pieces of an old tea towel in heavy aluminum foil. But blanket
kiln is definitely preferrable as combustibles and occasional
absentmindedness are not a good mix.
Lauretta Bell
When I thanked Brian for sharing his class handouts on his web site,
I should have mentioned that there are many others in the Orchid who
have been equally generous sharing their knowledge on their web
sites. I don’t always think to thank each of you, but I appreciate
and enjoy them all.
Thanks to all,
Jamie
A brief interim report on PnP with the new HP toner (cartridge 36A)
in the new HP P1505n laser printer: It’s a little touchier, but it
still works. It’s going to take a little while before I get into a
groove with it.
I had to crank up the heat on my iron a bit to get a good
transfer.
The toner appears to be a bit more prone to smearing than the
older stuff (cartridge 15X) when hot. I’ve found it useful to let it
cool in place for a moment before moving it.
The “window” for getting a good, consistent transfer seems to be
smaller. Before, I could get good results without really having to
time anything too closely; now it seems that the timing is more
important.
The printer “ghosts” a bit more than the old one – faint
duplicates of images down the paper from leftover toner on the
rollers. I had to do some cleanup with a tiny bit of acetone on a
Q-tip to remove the ghosts from my pieces. (This batch was mostly
lettering on a lot of blank background, so the ghosts were obvious
and disruptive; in my more usual abstract overall patterns, this
might not be a big problem.) This may be a matter of fiddling with a
setting somewhere to have it back off on the toner thickness a bit.
I’ll play with “econo- mode” in the print dialog next time.
Overall, I’m relieved, and hopeful that a bit more time spent with
the new toner will reveal its secrets. I had visions of having to
tell my biggest wholesale customer that I could no longer make these
for her. This first batch took me three days instead of the usual
one, because of having to adjust and rework and adjust and rework
again, but I think I’m on the right track now.
And I’m absolutely intrigued with the process of using a
straightening iron that someone else described (sorry, I’ve forgotten
the name). I’m going to have to give that a try. This is such a
wonderful forum for sharing ideas.
Best,
Lori
Lori Paximadis
virtuallori.com
- The printer "ghosts" a bit more than the old one -- faint duplicates of images down the paper from leftover toner on the rollers.
I had similar problems with my LaserJet 2605 until I learned to go
into the printer properties dialog box and select the appropriate
media being printed on.
Ray Prater