Small progress report:
Ok, my foil was delivered to the wrong house, but the person who go it took it to us.
Here are pictures of all my materials, and a couple different types of paper with the same pattern printed on them (literally just googled 'pattern' haha) so I'm going to test which one works the best with the foil, and then it's pretty much off to the races.
Also, @ ecl, how should I cut the text block out of the book... I feel so clueless about this project lol!
Hey Luke, I've attached a quick sketch of where to cut, as well as some additional info you might need. It's actually quite simple. Before you do anything it might be good to just take a close look at the book, and see what parts are glued where. Basically the text block has end pages, on the front and back, which are glued to the inside covers. If you make a cut as indicated in red (front and back cover), that will sever all connections the text block has to the book cover and will fall right out. Don't cut too deep, or you might cut through your cover, which you don't want. It doesn't take much to cut through the endpages.
On my book I also went ahead and tore off the remaining endcover pages that were left glued on the inside covers, but they won't come off clean though. But it will just be covered up when you put in the new block
If you're looking to eventually replace the text block with another one, you may need to prep the block by reenforcing the spine (usually with some kind of web like cloth) and adding new endpages that will attach to the inside covers.
Last edited by ecl; Sep 23, 2011 at 4:50 PM.
Thanks so much! I pretty much figured I would need to cut the end pages, but I didn't know anything about the spine!ecl said:
So I just cut it out, it was super easy! just like you said, I also ironed on the foil for the test paper... I'll upload pics in a bit, I need to take them first
...those are really awesome sketches, very helpful
Sorry, no pics until tomorrow, right as I was about to take them my power went out, and it was dark. Now that my power is back, there's not enough light from outside.lukeforester1 said:
Thanks so much! I pretty much figured I would need to cut the end pages, but I didn't know anything about the spine!
So I just cut it out, it was super easy! just like you said, I also ironed on the foil for the test paper... I'll upload pics in a bit, I need to take them first
...those are really awesome sketches, very helpful
Oh well! tomorrows a new day! I'm hopping to finish a LOT of it tomorrow!
Picture!
Any tips on the foil? I found that using a lower heat setting, going slowly from left to right, and really making sure the foil is FLAT helped.
I put mine on high heat but put a sheet of paper in between the iron and the foil as to not scratch it up or mess up parts of the photocopy toner . Lower heat should be fine too I think. At high heat it took maybe only a few seconds to get the foil on there.
If you see little black spots I found it was also possible to go over it again with the foil and it covers it up some.
A little tip i've found useful..lukeforester1 said:
If you can get hold of one use a hot laminator instead of an iron to fuse the foil to the toner, it produces a much cleaner finish in my opinion. Just set it to the hottest it will go (if you can) and then feed the sample through twiceShould work a treat!
Haven't read through the whole thread but in case it wasn't already mentioned... pick up some smooth cast silicon and plastic kits. Learning how to mold and cast items is a must for sell a fairly large run of items. It's also a lot of fun if you enjoy process.
Spray painted my page edges today!
And yes, I painted the bottom too.
another quick diagram
spine reinforcement should be something kind of strong and flexible. tape could work, maybe duct tape, but it should be a surface that the glue can attach to. You won't be able to see any of it when it's all done.
Last edited by ecl; Sep 25, 2011 at 11:41 PM.
Wow, duh! My brain is...... too........... i can't even finish that sentence.
Thank you for the diagram, I get it now!
Just spent an hour at the staple copy and print center trying to get my cover done. They managed to do absolutely nothing but ruin a $2 piece of paper.
The customer service there is just SO lacking...
I hate dealing with people who work at staples; normally I just use the self serve ones.
But they don't connect directly to my computer, so how do I even use those?
oh yea I forgot you're printing from the digital file. When I did mine I printed a high resolution print on my computer first, and then just used the photocopier, to avoid dealing with them lol. But I only used the b/w copier for the foil parts; the rest of it I did on my printer.
FINALLY!!! I've been SUPER busy lately, but I had a little free time and I MADE MY POTION BOOK! Its a first draft, after a couple of tries with the foil I gave up and just printed the file like a regular picture. It looks really cool, but it's still seriously lacking. I think I'll keep this as a learning experience and hire a professional print shop to make a nice cover, for another $5 I can get another journal and make another copy. I'll upload pics ASAP. Thanks SO much to ecl, super helpful
Looks great Luke! I wish I could have done something that interesting while I was in school!
~Polexia
Nice work on the book Luke! I know how it is with the foil, it's definitely frustrating to work with. Maybe you could try some kind of silver pen or ink? It wouldn't be the same as the foil but could work.
Thanks Polexia!
@ecl, yeah I'm definitely going to look for some other options, the foil is great, but this is obviously not what it is meant to be used for :/
Maybe I'll find some other use for it. I've been away for a bit, but I saw you had sold some books? Which ones? and for how much? I'm making my christmas list right now so if you plan on selling anymore tell me now, I'll try to work it in. Unfortunately, I'm not halfway done writing it up and I already need to cut it by about a division of 7. I practically have Noble's whole catalogue on it.
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