Transparencies

Has anyone made their own? I want to make some. Do you have any tips or advice?

OOOHHH! I have directions I copied when someone explained it on another board a few years ago:

Make your Own Transparencies, Stamp Transparencies, and Transparency Stickers.

" Just think of all the MONEY you are going to save"

Now you can make your own Transparency with the help of your Computer & Printer OR Stamping Supplies. These are all the Rage this days and at $2.99 each or more you can SAVE some MONEY by creating your own specific style and design for your crafting project.

If you want to make a transparency larger than what your printer for size then you will have to invest in a different printer. Let's use what we have available without that added expense.

You can easily make 6x6, 8x8, 9x9, 10x10 or 8.5 x 11 which is suitable for scrapbooking. Part of the fun of creating your own is the size, the elements you can put on and of course the verbage and colors.

When purchasing products to begin making your transparency be sure you do the following

* Make sure the transparency sheet is compatible with your printer. ( Either Ink Jet or Laser and also your Make & Model)
* Save yourself some time. I always keep the Make and Model of my Computer, Scanner, Copier, Fax, and Printer along with the Ink Cartridge Numbers in my wallet. ( I can't tell you how many times I have ventured to the store and forgot the information)
* 3M Multipurpose Transparency Film CG6000 is compatable with the following
o Black & White Copier
o Color & Black/White Laser Printers
o Color & Black/White Ink Jet Printers

You can find this at any local office supply store.

Hope this helps, I have not done this, only have the directions still. but one thing I remember being said was that if you do words or numbers you have to print the mirror image to make the transparancy come out right. Does that make sense? i know what I mean but do not always explain things well.

I make my own transparencies all the time...in fact I have a folder of about 25 8 1/2x11 sheets I made sitting right behind me.

First you want to choose a transparency that works with your printer, most likely an inkjet pack. My fav and the only I'll use are HP premium inkjet transparency film. I buy mine in a 50/per box that's white with blue and black lettering. Here's why I choose these over other brands or types: they have a clearly "rough" side. This is critical if you want a transparency that dries almost immediately and will never smudge.

You'll want to find images to print...I subscribe to quite a few digi sites who offer periodical free images for download. If using these images for your own transparency make sure you give the artist credit though (when I print them I make sure all my images on one page are by the same artist then write that name on the white peel-off border on the transparency).

When you get ready to print make sure you print on the "rough" side of the transparency. The other side will work but it's not ideal and could smudge or take forever to dry. The rough side won't. Set your printer to transparency or let it choose the setting itself. Setting it this way ensures it doesn't release too much ink, therefore allowing it to dry quicker. Oh, and only load one at a time. Sometimes more than one in the queue will jam it and you don't want that to happen.

If you have any other questions feel free to pm me! Good luck and enjoy!

BTW, I have a 6-year-old Dell all-in-one printer, if that helps. I still only buy HP transparencies. And they cost between $30 - $40 for the 50-pack at a big box office supply store or search online for them. The # on the back of the box says C3834A, not sure if that's the product number or not.

Vel's right ~~~ always print on the rough side but now this means you have to know how to load your printer the right way for this to happen. Play with that. Mine is a Canon 4300i and I load print side down, so mine would be rough side down. I set the paper type to "other" since the canon doesn't say transparency. Work terrific.
No need to poweders etc if you do those 2 steps!

Thank you for the replies. You have been very helpful. I will venture to Office Max today at lunch and get some to try.

You can stamp on the transparencies as well. Just be sure to stamp on the same rough side that you are supposed to print on. I made the little circular journalling tag below using the method above to print the words and bike clip-art onto a transparency, then stamped a basic grey stamp around it. Then I cut it out along the lines of the stamp.

And here's something I learned the hard way: spray adhesive that's made for velum will remove the design from your transparency if it touches the printed part (true for store bought as well as home made). I liked the shiny side up better for one project and wasn't sure what adhesive to use, so I tried the Scotch velum spray (which works great for transparencies if there's nothing printed on the side you're spraying it on) and the design bled quite a bit.


Just like riding a Bike By Mercytiara

ok soo when u do transparencies do u place the whole sheet over the paper or do u cut em out and use em like a tag or other embellie. i bought some transparencies that are color and 12 x 12 and preprinted but i havent used them. making my own seems better. how do u use them when u print ur own.

You can use them either way, I suppose. I usually just cut them out into a tag or cut around the shape that I printed or stamped, but you could use them as an overlay too.

Maya Road and LYB make some transparent journalling transparencies that I've (somewhat) replicated with my own stamps or with a simple draw program on my computer. Any of the products below you could replicate yourself and then cut out.

thanks for the tips. we always have transparencies around the house due to our business and i think its cool to make ur own. i make my own vellum sayings so i dont know why i didnt think of this sooner.

angi