Help, please: Printers, pigment and transfers, Oh My!

Jarnagin

Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2019
Messages
6
Help!!
I am so very sorry for this long post!

I need to buy a new printer and much of the information about printers that will work is on printers that now, can not be purchased new.
I have done quite a bit of research and this is what I have found,

Pigment ink works best for transfers not dye.
A canon cartridge will have a PL on it for pigment.
An epson inkjet that uses pigment will have cartridges labeled as a Durabright ultra pigment ink, cartridges 61,62,65 were also listed as the ones that work, but those printers are obsolete.
Sam listed printer using a canon cartridge 120 would work but could you possibly list the printer that goes with? I have been looking online for quite awhile and no luck finding new canons using that cartridge.
I did a google search for pigment printers and the ones listed by Red River Paper are photo quality printers and expensive.
The “Top Five Pigment printers of 2019” shows an epson that is not wireless from 2007 and then a Canon that has many bad reviews for set up and the remaining 3 are costly.

I have an epson that is an ink jet, uses cartridge 63
1. Acetate doesn’t work
2. Yellow sharpie and Pictorico burnished works but is fuzzy, the prisms blending pen worked some but not great.
3. Dammar varnish fuzzy with Pictorico or lazer jet transparency
( used non compatibility lazer jet transparency so the ink was unstable and would adhere to dammar )
4. I have used Chinese White but it is limiting.
Thanks for any help,
 

DKanger

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Sep 30, 2007
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Location
West TN
cartridges 61,62,65 were also listed as the ones that work, but those printers are obsolete.
This is not true.....some might be but not all. 61 is a Hewlett Packard (HP) ink. On the side of the box, it lists the following models that use it:
HP Deskjet:
1000,1010, 1050, 1051, 1055, 1056, 1510, 1512, 2050, 2510, 2512, 2514, 2540, 2541, 2542, 2543, 2544, 2546, 2547, 2548, 2549, 3000, 3050, 3050A, 3051A, 3052A, 3054, 3054A, 3056A, 3510, 3511, 3512
ENVY:
4500, 4501, 4502, 4504, 4505, 5530, 5531, 5532, 5535
HP Officejet:
2620, 4630, 4632, 4635

A quick search shows many of those models available on Amazon and other sites. Once you find one, go to the HP site and locate your printer. Download the latest drivers for it, as well as the photo suite package.

Tom White's solution and films work the best and it's what most pros use. Quit trying to reinvent the wheel like so many others and just buy some.
 

allan621

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Jan 10, 2007
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I recently bought an HP envy 5055, uses cartridge number 65, with tom white style transfer liquid and an old pack of epson transfer acetate. It just works.

Sometimes its hard not to over think things but like DKanger wrote, don't reinvent the wheel.

btw.... if you go for the HP envy 5055 get the one with the scanner.

Allan
 

tdelewis

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Joined
Oct 10, 2010
Messages
755
Location
Volant, PA 60 miles north of Pittsburgh
I have used a laser HP 1415 on parchment paper and it transfers 100% of the toner to the metal. If you want a good dark transfer that might be your answer. I Used a Prismacolor marker on the metal for that. I don't use it often though. When I want a serious transfer I use my HP ENVY 5540, Pictorico Sheets. It is not as dark as the parchment paper method but works just fine.
 

Jarnagin

Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2019
Messages
6
I recently bought an HP envy 5055, uses cartridge number 65, with tom white style transfer liquid and an old pack of epson transfer acetate. It just works.

Sometimes its hard not to over think things but like DKanger wrote, don't reinvent the wheel.

btw.... if you go for the HP envy 5055 get the one with the scanner.

Allan
Thank you for your help!!
 

Jarnagin

Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2019
Messages
6
I recently bought an HP envy 5055, uses cartridge number 65, with tom white style transfer liquid and an old pack of epson transfer acetate. It just works.

Sometimes its hard not to over think things but like DKanger wrote, don't reinvent the wheel.

btw.... if you go for the HP envy 5055 get the one with the scanner.

Allan
 

Jarnagin

Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2019
Messages
6
This is not true.....some might be but not all. 61 is a Hewlett Packard (HP) ink. On the side of the box, it lists the following models that use it:
HP Deskjet:
1000,1010, 1050, 1051, 1055, 1056, 1510, 1512, 2050, 2510, 2512, 2514, 2540, 2541, 2542, 2543, 2544, 2546, 2547, 2548, 2549, 3000, 3050, 3050A, 3051A, 3052A, 3054, 3054A, 3056A, 3510, 3511, 3512
ENVY:
4500, 4501, 4502, 4504, 4505, 5530, 5531, 5532, 5535
HP Officejet:
2620, 4630, 4632, 4635

A quick search shows many of those models available on Amazon and other sites. Once you find one, go to the HP site and locate your printer. Download the latest drivers for it, as well as the photo suite package.

Tom White's solution and films work the best and it's what most pros use. Quit trying to reinvent the wheel like so many others and just buy some.
Thank you! Thank you!!!
 

GwenB

Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2016
Messages
12
Location
NYC & Philly
I am wondering if any of the methods for making UV masks might translate to what you’re trying to achieve with pattern transfer. I’m new to engraving -my goal is to create bright hand carved patterns on metals to reflect light under enamels. I have some basic experience with transferring patterns: graphite & tape, etched copper & graphite and polymer clay using inkjet printouts. Please tell me how you are you transferring the ink to the metal? What is the purpose of the Prismacolor markers?

A while back I was teaching how to make and use photopolymer plates with metals. I trialed my way through a lot of different printers in search of a result that would not let UV light pass through the darkened areas. The Canon Pixma Inkjet Printer (sometimes included free with computers) turned out to be to be the best at that time. Additionally, using the Pixma printer with Staples business gloss paper yielded a result where the ink actually sits up on top of the glossy paper (you can feel the texture of the ink if you run your fingers over the print out). Using the inkjet print out on glossy paper yielded transferring complex patterns to clay (taking shrinking into account). Once the imprinted clay is cured, it can be used as a means for printing with ink, paint, graphite, etc.
 

mossleycrue

Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2018
Messages
21
Location
Mossley, Ontario Canada
I just stumbled upon this thread.
(I just started engraving a couple months ago)
I use an HP inkjet printer and print images to inkjet transparencies.
The Prismacolor marker is used to coat the surface of the metal before placing the transparency image to the metal...then burnish the transparency.
The metal surface must be very clean!
I obtained a MSDS for the Prismacolor marker to idenfy its contents. The primary ingredient (98.5%) is Isopropyl alcohol (contents 91%).
I now use Iopropyl alcohol to coat the metal before burnishing the image to metal.
 

Jarnagin

Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2019
Messages
6
I just stumbled upon this thread.
(I just started engraving a couple months ago)
I use an HP inkjet printer and print images to inkjet transparencies.
The Prismacolor marker is used to coat the surface of the metal before placing the transparency image to the metal...then burnish the transparency.
The metal surface must be very clean!
I obtained a MSDS for the Prismacolor marker to idenfy its contents. The primary ingredient (98.5%) is Isopropyl alcohol (contents 91%).
I now use Iopropyl alcohol to coat the metal before burnishing the image to metal.
Awesome detective work on the marker because those markers cost a lot! Thank you very much for your response!
 

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