# Printing transparencies?



## TheJunkyard (Jan 26, 2006)

I'm in the process of making my first screen. I printed out the transparency, but it looks pretty shady. It doesn't appear to be solid black. Is there a cheap printer out there that can do this? Will this completely mess up the creation of the screen if I try to create it with this transparency? Thanks.


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## ftembroidery (Nov 25, 2006)

Make sure you've properly set the preferences for your printer to what you're printing. I assume you're printing on clear film. So set that preference to "transparency." Set your size and orientation also. If you can manually set your colors and intensity, MAXIMIZE your black, and your intensity, set any "photo" setting for "dark" and set your cyan, magenta and yellow to MINIMUM. If you can see light through the black ink, that's a "no-no".


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## van ink (Dec 30, 2006)

I'm no pro but when I bought my $150 something Epson Stylus Photo R340 I just took a 8.5 by 14 transparency, set the paper type in the printing options to glossy paper and ran it through. It came out pretty good but when I held it to the light it looked a little weak. My buddy ran it under the exposure unit for just the right time and BOOM there it was, perfect in every sense. I was actually shocked. 

Anyway point of the story is you probably need a new printer.


Good luck!


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## TheJunkyard (Jan 26, 2006)

Thanks. I guess I'm buying a new printer then.


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## katfish (Jan 5, 2007)

wait i get my transparancies from black and white printouts and getting copies made on transparancies at office depot. is this the best way?


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

katfish said:


> wait i get my transparancies from black and white printouts and getting copies made on transparancies at office depot. is this the best way?


Well travelling to somewhere else isn't the "best way" but it should work just fine  A lot of my film comes from a photocopier. If you're using overhead projector transparencies you will probably get better results using film intended for screen printing though.


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## katfish (Jan 5, 2007)

ok well yeah i assume the transparancies i use are for overheads. so what is the difference and what should i look or ask for? because the guy at office depot said i can bring in my own transpanancies to copy on.


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

The main difference is that overhead transparencies are reflective and screenprinting transparencies are matte. If you buy your film from a screen supply shop you should be fine.


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## katfish (Jan 5, 2007)

any good online ones? i go to school in a pretty rural area, unless i can get this stuff at office depot or wal mart


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

katfish said:


> any good online ones?


There are a few, but since I'm on the other side of the world I don't have any specific recommendations sorry.


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## Byeline666 (Oct 21, 2006)

my black ink looks weak on the transparencies too. 
usually best way to fix this is printing a couple copies of it putting them on top of one another to make the black totally opaque. could take more than 2 if your printer is really that crappy.


heres where i get my transparencies:
Kimoto Silkjet Transparencies, Legal Sz 8.5x14" 100 sheets


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## Fluid (Jun 20, 2005)

Welcome to OYO Instruments, LP has a sister company that offers film output services. I believe the link is in the upper right hand. The charge, I beleive is per square ft and is a good rate. You send them the separated file and they output via thermal imagesetter. I have both the oyo eco pro and techstyler and the quality it top notch. Super opaque films.


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## instrumental (Dec 28, 2006)

what kind of transparencies are you using? the kind you get from staples? or are using vellum developed for ink jet or laser printing. and its always good to have toner aid around(the stuff in a spray can that enhances the image


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## Byeline666 (Oct 21, 2006)

instrumental said:


> what kind of transparencies are you using? the kind you get from staples? or are using vellum developed for ink jet or laser printing. and its always good to have toner aid around(the stuff in a spray can that enhances the image



toner aid is only for laser printer ink. right?


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## ASAP Printing (Oct 6, 2006)

What we do at our shop, is we rent a decent b/w printer from a printer company for like 40 dollars a month. It prints 11 x 17's. We buy bulk transparencies from filmsource like 100 for 50 dollars or something.


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## dartheyeball (Jan 8, 2007)

they have transparancies at wal mart in the office section for injet


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## Annushka (Jul 26, 2006)

instrumental said:


> what kind of transparencies are you using? the kind you get from staples? or are using vellum developed for ink jet or laser printing. and its always good to have toner aid around(the stuff in a spray can that enhances the image


Q1: do you use transparency instead of plain paper to allow more exposure light to go through during exposure process? Or there is another reason you use too?

Q2: Instumental's question - can you use vellum for the that?


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## Modati (May 17, 2008)

Though this might contradict other people's answers, here's what we've been doing and it's always worked. 

We use standard 8.5 x 11 overhead transparencies I get from my mom's school (she's a teacher)

We print them out of a Dell Laser Printer 1700 and double them up. If the image is over 11x8.5 then we simply cut and tape them together. It's important that the tape used to hold all your transparencies together is very clear, very thin, and far away from your design printed on your transparency. 

SIDE NOTE: We spray the trans with toner enchancer before tapping them together. 

Once your trans is put together, put it on your exposure unit and use heavy weight to press it down, we use about 60 LBS. 

The result is time consuming but it washes out very easily with no problems and clean, crisp lines. 

NOTE: Sometimes the trans warp when we print them out so we just print out another copy and this won't work for halftone because it is nearly impossible to double up halftone exactly right for that we go to Kinkos and as for a colour trans printed black, you only need one. 

Graphic note: When printing out our graphic, it's in CMYK and all the values are pushed up to 100% this ensures the max amount of toner is on there 

peace salam


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## Phantom (May 1, 2008)

Call down to Office Depot or Kinko's to see what kind of machine they are using and get the appropriate transparency sheets. Kinko's uses Docucolor 240's usually. It makes superior b/w images as it uses EA toner which is a dry toner. You don't get light or blotchy images. Also, make sure the copies are made in enhanced mode. This is very important. The image will come out much darker. There should be a specific setting for transparencies in the control panel. The DPI is 1200 for the 240's, but 300 DPI PDF files will work fine for what you are doing. I use a Workcenter 7655 because it gets 2400 DPI (I do digital printing and art prints so I need the higher resolutions).


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## Reyes (Dec 26, 2010)

Can i use epson wf 1100 to print out on transparencies? I tryed the heat press part of making shirts didnt work out. i have a wf1100 with cobra ink in it.


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## adriatic (May 5, 2011)

You can use HP Deskjet 1220 or similar HP DeskJet printer with Multi Black 78 cartridge and suitable ICC profile.

That is definitively the cheapest and best way for black and transparencies

Here is an sample. What do you think?


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## chrispunx (Aug 5, 2010)

Did anyone suggest doubling up on the transparencies?


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## SilverfishTees (Dec 12, 2010)

katfish said:


> ok well yeah i assume the transparancies i use are for overheads. so what is the difference and what should i look or ask for? because the guy at office depot said i can bring in my own transpanancies to copy on.


I know this is an OLD thread...lol

I'm new to Screen Printing:

IN GENERAL, are transparencies a "Screen Printing Industry product" or can I TECHNICALLY go to my local Staples or Office Max and buy any pack of transparencies that work with my printer?

I understand that the RESULTS and quality may vary but i'm literally BRAND NEW to screen printing and purely trying out a hobby kit to see if it's something I will be expanding into so "Quality of transparency" is not something I'm going to make myself crazy about....all i need to know is are any random transparencies technically USABLE.


Thanks!!


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## dheadri (May 24, 2012)

To give a decent reply I would say no not all transparencies are equal. Amazon has some cheaper inkjet transparencies for like 30 bucks for 50 or whatever. They will work ok but make sure you get the ones geared to screen printing. Ulano makes the ones we use buy a good printer like a Epson photo printer not a printer scanner combo they would not print dark enough for my taste. We also use a advanced artist products for color separation and make sure you set your printer black ink only or go to all black ink system.


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## Newhands (Oct 31, 2016)

My case,I made T-shirts for charity and didn't want to spend too much investment so I used regular A4 and put oil(cooking oil in the kitchen) all around to make it transparent and use the sun expose a picture for 2 min. My T-shirt turn out good and we are so proud of it!


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