Jumping Ahead Through Setback
Today was supposed to be a big day: printer test day. I went down to Poway with four different types of paper that I have been thinking of using for the project. I haven't been able to get them to work with my Epson, even though it is a great printer, and I am using great paper. More on that later. But I was hoping this printer would accept the thickness and sheer Girth of the paper I am going to use for DisCards. It is good stuff.
Too good, apparently for the C308 from BizHub, it just cannot handle the thickness. So, deflated, I went home to work at my third job: personal Uber for my College student. Reading my Emails, I found one from my buddy Jed at Kelly Paper in Escondido: he says maybe there is an uncoated paper he has which will work with my printer, as it is ok for the liquid dyes the Epson sublimation printers utilize. A glimmer of hope.
Another $45 later, I have my solution, in the form of a ream of 12x18" paper. I hope I have my solution; Jed is padding his retirement with my mistakes. I casually comment as I pay that it sure would be nice if this could be made shiny after printing. Jed says, Yeah, you just UV coat it usually... What now? Just, hang on there my man, what now? Yes, apparently there is a UV coating process where matte printed materials are run through a rollers and paste type device with a bank of UV lights at the end (drying the paste instantly), and this adds that sweet clear coat one sees on many playing cards, games, packaging, promotional materials, you know, all the things I will be doing. So stoked now. What a rollercoaster. More on that in another blog entry.
If there's a moral here, it must be to not get too bummed about a setback, at least not right away! In going through the sequelae of my crushing defeat, (I actually said, "well, I think that kills the project" today) I found a better production technique I had overlooked. And this particular setback is also one which will save me a couple thousand dollars. Instead of "feeling lucky" to have the $4000 printer work and solve my production problem, I get to keep using my existing printer and merely add a $1700 item to the process: and it is going to look SAHWEEEET! It really is a big day, just not the one I thought: it was UV coating discovery day. Thanks, if you read this.