Laser vs injet Printers recommendations

[Bowtienutz]

I saw a thread not long ago where a mention of a laser printer capable of making decals and also doing work suitable for photo etch. I haven't bought a printer in some time. I don't need to fax anything I have scanners that work fine. Any suggestions.

[Bowtienutz]

I'm interested in buying a new printer, not long ago i read here that someone mentioned a laser printer that was capable of printing decals and working with artwork for photo-etch. I'm interested in doing both. I have no need for a printer that does faxing or scanning, I would like wireless capability and one that works with google cloud print. any recommendations? Thanks

[ScaleDale]

Unless I'm mistaken, photo etch is a specialty process that isn't actually done by any printer alone. The master is just a high resolution black and white image created in software and sent to a company for the creation of the etching plate. It involves a sheet of metal with a rubber backing coated with a material that hardens on contact with light. A film negative created from the master file is contact printed over it and then it's washed with water. The exposed part hardens and the rest washes off. the resulting positive rubber image is washed in an acid bath to disolve the metal that isn't coated. It's not a home process.

Folks in the forum that do this can clear this up.

Any high quality printer can do decals. Remember that you can't print white, as it isn't an ink color. You have to use white decal paper for that and the t rimming is tricky. Well, you can print white with a high end decal printer.

Dale

Edited January 30, 2014 by ScaleDale

[Crazy Ed]

The Lasers won't have the Color intensity of Pigment based Inkjet Printers. And this is just a guess but I think a good Inkjet Printer should provide a better negative for photoetch because of it's higher density.

[crazyjim]

I have one of each.

[Quick GMC]

I have one of each.

do you have any advice to go along with that?

[crazyjim]

I use the laser for black printing and the ink jet for colors. Naturally, the ink jet is used for printing decals.

[Bowtienutz]

I think the idea behind the Laser was the superior Black that it made for the transparency needed to create the artwork for the negative of photo etch production. Jim Can you chime in?

[crazyjim]

I've never done any photo etch work. Just looking at printed copies from each printer, the laser has darker black.

[ScaleDale]

I don't have experience with photo etch, but I do understand the professional printing process. If I want a brochure printed from my work I send a printing company a computer file and they make all the separations needed to run it on a professional four color printing press. The proof they show me before I approve it would be run on a dye sublimation printer costing many thousands of bucks. I think the same would be true for photo etch. Build the parts for a four-link in a CAD program and resize it to the chosen scale. Export that as a very high resolution TIFF file to another program and duplicate it to fill what they call a fret, Save that file and email it to a photo etch printing house. You would want to print this at home as a proof but no special equipment would be needed. Laser or inkjet.

Dale

[DPNM]

I've made water-slide decals with an ink jet but you need to clear coat them before you put them in water. I thought about getting a laser printer but from what I found they do not print small decals that well (speaking in terms of focus/print-ability to a small size). IMO neither one is exceptional for good decals.

An Alps was on my list but now I have second thoughts. I believe Alps is out of business and it is getting more difficult to find parts etc for them.

If you only need a set or two of decals it would probably be better to contact someone (you could try this forum first) who has an Alps and can make them. If you plan to do a lot look into an Alps (or similar?) printer.

I am at a loss for an answer on the photo-etch part with either printer.