I want to print CCG cards with holographic backgrounds and names but at the moment don't know the ins and outs of how its done. Do I need a laser printer to do it?
Printing on Holographic paper?!?
Sun, 12/27/2009 - 23:52
Mon, 12/28/2009 - 01:08
#1
my understanding is that the
my understanding is that the holographic part of most cards is a somewhat plastic layer on top of the actual picture. if you've got pre-existing holographic material, then the question would be what that material is- if you're unsure, your best bet would probably be inkjet or solid ink rather than laser.
Mon, 12/28/2009 - 07:35
#2
You need special equipment,
You need special equipment, not a regular laser printer. Holograms are not something one can print at home. There are companies that would produce holograms for you, but it's not something you print a few copies of, since the process has high set up costs.
Mon, 12/28/2009 - 12:29
#4
Assuming you could get a few
Assuming you could get a few sheets of holographic material to try out, you could test printing onto it with a laser printer. One possible danger with a laser printer would be the heat; it could melt the plastic of the holographic material, and possibly damage the laser printer.
I would not suggest trying to print with an inkjet, since the ink would not adhere to the plastic holographic material and would run.
A safer solution would be to print the text onto a clear label of some sort, and then stick that to the holographic material. This might make your cards thicker, but would avoid any of the problems with printing on the holographic foil.
Tue, 12/29/2009 - 13:17
#5
Could you link the material?
I am just trying to figure out what you are talking about.
Do you mean holographic images like on credit cards where you see a '3d' image? Or the cheap holograms where there is a dual image and when you move it from left to right the ridges display a different picture making the appearance the the image is moving? Or do you mean foil cards (the shiny ones) that many CCG printers use to make some cards worth more and add to the collectability?
I assume foil a quick google search brought up what looked like some useful sites. The one I clicked on was: http://www.myexpression.com/ArticlesPrinting/FoilStampingPrinting.cfm
Hope that helps.
Wed, 12/30/2009 - 16:01
#8
Printing on Foil, etc.
Hi,
I think that the "scratch-off" substance you're referring to is an opaque white ink applied as a base coat for the other inks in a normal offset (read: professional) printing press.
For short runs you're probably out of luck... The suggestion about printing on a clear label (or inkjet transparency or something similar) and applying the sticker yourself to a foil substrate seems like the most practical to me... unless you are really looking to produce these professionally. For this homespun version, though, just keep in mind though that most inkjet inks are somewhat translucent and will let a certain amount of the background through when printed on a transparent sheet of any kind.
There's also a possibility that you could print something like this as a silk screen, but that's a very laborious process and often that ink, while being pretty opaque, does not adhere very well to foil/plastic coated sheets.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
D
Thu, 12/31/2009 - 02:34
#10
How they do it...
Hi,
With regards to pokemon and things of a similar scale, the size of the print run allows them to do things like holo, foil, die-cut or whatever with much more ease.
The actual process they use is probably something like what I mentioned in my previous post... Offset printing (the normal 4-color) on top of a base of opaque white on top of the holo substrate. Although, to be honest, I'm just guessing here... It's been a long time since I've seen one of these cards in person.
-D
not making holograms! printing on already made holograms! example like yu gi oh and poke mon cards, you can tell that a holographic sheet was placed over paper and was printed on. If you would so happen to scratch it, it would reveal the holographic material.