[kc6789]

Sorry... I had no idea where to put this post.

Anyway, I found an HP Laserjet 1100 printer on ebay for $37 and change. I want to buy it cuz my Epson printer sucks the ink cartridges dry. Plus transparencies for laser printers r so much cheaper- ink is too. U know that already tho.

So do u think I should go for it? My budget is $40 lol.

***ALSO!!!!! what's the spray stuff u use to put on the transparency film to set the ink and make it darker? Thanks!


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[ole Jobe]

Vellum is normally used with laser printers. The problem is usually the image is not dark enough. Spraying with photographer's fixative will help. Some people try printing two copies and layering them, but here you have the problem of too much paper cutting back on light reaching the screen. When I used a laser printer and vellum, I ran them through the dryer. This helped. Personally I would prefer to buy ink than headaches. God Bless.

 

[lilsuz]

Well, you have to consider all of your expenses of course. But firstly, what kind of films are you needing? If simple spot color films without tight registration when doing multi-color work, Laserjets are just fine.

About the spray stuff you mentioned, I don't use that but I know it is available. I get dark enough prints from my laserjets that I don't need the spray stuff.

I'm using a vellum film to print my laserjet films on. I generally pay about $1.00 a sheet for 11x17 vellum, I cut it in half when I need smaller sizes. Whatever vellum you get, make sure it is dimensionally stable. Laser jets seal the toner with heat, so if your film material is not stable, it can shrink, which could cause some registrations problems when you have a tight multi-color design.

A "deal" on Ebay can turn into an expensive situation pretty quickly. How do I know? Well, I have a few of those printers.

Assuming it runs, I'd consider how much the cartridges are going to cost you and how much toner they hold. Also, shipping costs to get the machine to you, and shipping costs to send back to the Seller if the printer does not work. Will they give refunds, do they cover shipping going back to Seller?

All of that said, I have made some excellent positives with Laser jet printers. However, if I'm doing positives for 4-color halftone separations, I will have them done on an imagesetter (I sub out to another printer I trust) for best results. I have experimented and made color seps on a large format laserjet with very acceptable results, but I'm very picky... So, this method is just not "good enough" for me when I have to do detailed halftones. There are enough problems to deal with in the actual screen printing and set-up process, so why not make the very best film positives possible to make the job easier?


Best of luck to you!

 

[poker]

I want to buy it cuz my Epson printer sucks the ink cartridges dry.

Have you considered refillable ink carts? I'm getting my first set in the mail soon. It's crazy cheaper than buying real epson ink.