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Printing on Sheet Styrene?

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  • Member since
    November 2005
Printing on Sheet Styrene?
Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, November 13, 2005 6:53 PM
Is is possible to print directly onto a piece of Squadron Sheet Styrene?  I have to scratch build a set of leaf springs for my ICM BM-21 'Grad', as there are egregious ejector pin marks right in the center of the springs.  I have already drawn up a set of schematics in AutoCAD, but am wondering if it would be possible to stick a sheet of styrene into the printer, and thus eliminate having to transfer the patterns over from a piece of paper.  Has anyone done this before?  Would it make a difference between Inkjet and Laser? Confused [%-)]
  • Member since
    May 2005
  • From: Left forever
Posted by Bgrigg on Sunday, November 13, 2005 7:13 PM
I think you would have a pretty tough time doing it. The laser printer will be a fairly high temp and might damage the styrene. Ink jets are aqueous based inks and probably won't dry. I work for a printing company and we have to use special inks to print on stryrene sheets, and even then the sheets have to be specially treated for printing. And the pressmen still hate it!

So long folks!

  • Member since
    March 2005
  • From: West Virginia, USA
Posted by mfsob on Friday, November 18, 2005 1:09 PM
Thin plastic sheets and the interior of a laser printer are definitely NOT a good combination ... and that's all I have to say about that.
  • Member since
    May 2005
  • From: Left forever
Posted by Bgrigg on Friday, November 18, 2005 1:32 PM
That sounds suspiciously like the voice of experience!

So long folks!

  • Member since
    January 2004
  • From: USA
Posted by MusicCity on Friday, November 18, 2005 8:03 PM
You can probably do it without any problems on an ink jet providing that:
1) The sheet styrene has a slight amount of texture to the surface.  Ink can't soak in at all so some texture will kee the ink from just wiping right off.

2) The printer is capable of feeding heavy sheet stock (most of them feed it in the front and straight out the back without doing much "Rolling" of the paper)

A laser probably won't work as there is most likely too much heat in the fuser section.  The fuser actually melts the toner particles so that they bond to the paper.  Not a good thing with meltable styrene sheets.
Scott Craig -- Nashville, TN -- My Website -- My Models Page
  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: SETX. USA
Posted by tho9900 on Friday, November 18, 2005 9:33 PM

 MusicCity wrote:
A laser probably won't work as there is most likely too much heat in the fuser section.  The fuser actually melts the toner particles so that they bond to the paper.  Not a good thing with meltable styrene sheets.

hmmmm you've given me another tip to try this summer Scott... we try to keep ourselves occupied over at IT during the summer when there aren't many students...  Evil [}:)]

Last year it was CD's in the Microwave, I was planning on testing if twenty dollar bills DO have RFID chips behind the right eye of Jackson by microwaving (the new techs', not MY) twenty dollar bills... but it might be the styrene in the laser test instead! Wink [;)]

---Tom--- O' brave new world, That has such people in it!
  • Member since
    March 2005
  • From: West Virginia, USA
Posted by mfsob on Friday, November 18, 2005 10:26 PM
PICTURES, tho9900, we want pictures!!!!!
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Monday, November 21, 2005 11:22 AM
suggestions:

print it on paper and glue the paper to the styrene to cut OR print it with a laser printer onto some transparency film (slide projector stock) then iron the ink onto the plastic.  just be careful you don't melt things too much.

  • Member since
    April 2005
  • From: Piscataway, NJ!
Posted by wing_nut on Sunday, November 27, 2005 6:33 PM

I think goat monkey has the right idea.  Avery make some shipping labels that are clear.  They are called clear but are in fact a lightly frosted film with an adhesive back. Available in several sizes including a full 8 1/2x11 sheet. 

http://avery.com/us/Main?action=product.HierarchyList&node=10211243&catalogcode=WEB01

Marc  

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