So I just joined today after having problems with printing pep files. I have the files and i go to settings change my paper to letter size, change margins to 5. Then, when I press crtl+p and it gives me the print window I press ok. It shows that its printing, then a window comes up thst says " Could not do print job." I searched on the internet for everything and could not find a solution.
The PEPAKURA question thread - PLEASE READ RULES IN FIRST POST!
- Thread starter DaddyfromNaboo
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barbquebutt
Active Member
Hey I'm working on my first pep piece. I'm using 65 lbs card stock for it, which I know isn't ideal, but it's been working fairly well so far. The thing I'm worried about is when I start to put on resin, it might start sag and distort. Can anyone recommend a way to firm it up a little bit before I put resin on it? I was thinking maybe some spray on clear coat?
Try a test print of something else (document from word, whatever) to make sure your printer is working correctly in the first place. If you can't print ANYTHING, something is probably stuck trying to print in your printer queue. Google something like How to Cancel or Delete a Stuck Print Job in the Windows Print Queue to fix.
Once you know you can print, go into Pepakura end check your settings. Make sure you are set to letter, the print is showing up in print preview, and try printing again. Hopefully that helps you.
You can clearcoat the outside, spraying a 2-3 light coats of clearcoat as a sealer before resin coating the outside. The paper is still going to deform from the added weight, but it will help especially with 65#. I alsomake temporary braces and pillars out of paper/cardboard and tape them inside to help keep the correct shape, and support the piece so that the majority of the walls are perpendicular to the ground. IOW, biceps and thighs standing straight up, chest straight up, etc., anything that gives gravity less of a footprint to push the resin down on your larger flat areas. Good luck!
barbquebutt
Active Member
Awesome, thanks for the tip.
Duo Monkey
Member
Hi guys, I was wondering if there is an alternative to resin or bondo. I tried bondo once. It got hard in 30 seconds. Then I used less hardener and it hasn't dried in oh... 2 weeks? Please quote me if you answer, so I get a notice. Oh, also I'm using 110lb cardstock. Thanks!
Sounds like your mix ratios are wayyyy off. Your best bet is to follow the instructions on the containers verbatim, including the temperature range that you are working in. I can't really recommend any other reliable ways to finish an paper pep than using catalyzed resins (fiberglass, polyester, epoxy, etc...)
You may want to consider building in foam instead, that's an easy way to eliminate bondoing and resining. You can still make all the same stuff with a great level of detail without having all the finicky problems of a fiberglass-finished piece. Good luck!
hey HEROES!
i've decided to build an ironman MK7 suit and i'm starting from the helmet.
here's where i should download my helmet pep file from https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=2120...21209EBD4D8A434F!815&authkey=!AJR0JDsZXcpD6ss
my head size is 1 and i don't know which 1 file i should download,the letter or A4
i've download both files but when i print them they are printed only in the middle part of the a4 paper and they seem small.i don't know but shouldn't they get printed on the whole a4 instead of only the middle part?
and i have also another question : which kind of paper should i use in order to get the best results?
thanks
i've decided to build an ironman MK7 suit and i'm starting from the helmet.
here's where i should download my helmet pep file from https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=2120...21209EBD4D8A434F!815&authkey=!AJR0JDsZXcpD6ss
my head size is 1 and i don't know which 1 file i should download,the letter or A4
i've download both files but when i print them they are printed only in the middle part of the a4 paper and they seem small.i don't know but shouldn't they get printed on the whole a4 instead of only the middle part?
and i have also another question : which kind of paper should i use in order to get the best results?
thanks
Weapioneer
Active Member
i like the pepakura method for its accuracy, but i have a problem.
i cannot get fiberglassing resin where i live, and also find it an utter pain to cast, due to difficulties with measuring right amounts of hardener and such. is there anything different i can use instead of fiberglass and resin? i heard of some water based resins and other resins which are easy to work with, but honestly have no idea about any of them. What TYPE of resin is easy to work with and strong? also, if i were to use cotton fabric and resin to reinforce a pepakura build, would it work? preferably something which you can get world wide even in dubai.
Thanks
i cannot get fiberglassing resin where i live, and also find it an utter pain to cast, due to difficulties with measuring right amounts of hardener and such. is there anything different i can use instead of fiberglass and resin? i heard of some water based resins and other resins which are easy to work with, but honestly have no idea about any of them. What TYPE of resin is easy to work with and strong? also, if i were to use cotton fabric and resin to reinforce a pepakura build, would it work? preferably something which you can get world wide even in dubai.
Thanks
hey HEROES!
i've decided to build an ironman MK7 suit and i'm starting from the helmet.
here's where i should download my helmet pep file from https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=2120...21209EBD4D8A434F!815&authkey=!AJR0JDsZXcpD6ss
my head size is 1 and i don't know which 1 file i should download,the letter or A4
i've download both files but when i print them they are printed only in the middle part of the a4 paper and they seem small.i don't know but shouldn't they get printed on the whole a4 instead of only the middle part?
and i have also another question : which kind of paper should i use in order to get the best results?
thanks
Letter and A4 are paper sizes, so the size of paper you are printing with is the file type that you should be using. For the type of paper, cardstock works well. Look for paper weighted at least 110 pound cardstock or 165 GSM art cardstock I think.
On printing, Make sure your Pepakura and printer settings are both set to the size of paper you are using. Print preview should show you exactly the way the printed sheets should look as well.
You might want to check this thread out:
http://www.therpf.com/f24/pepakura-alternatives-fiberglass-85487/
Cotton fabric (and a lot of other fabrics) can be used with resin to reinforce, you just have to make sure that the resin is soaking thoroughly through the material to give it strength and a good bond. I've also used cotton cheesecloth and it worked very well when layered.
thanks dude.you've help me a lot.
one more thing : should i print them landscape or portrait mode?when i select portrait it only fills the middle part of the paper.but the landscape mode fills the whole paper.
and something else: there are some lines in some places of the helmet (faceplate for example) that shouldn't exist.these lines are not located in connection places and they don't seem to be reasonable to cut.should i cut them too or they are just for folding in curved areas like the middle of faceplate
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KOUROSH,
Well you want your page layout to match your printer paper layout... It sounds like it wants to be set on landscape, but I guess that'll need to be a trial and error thing (I only print with letter-size, and the settings are always portrait for me).
For extra lines, those should just be crease lines that do not need to be cut. Depending on the size and location, I often don't even crease those lines either, it just creates more sharp edges to straighten later, but that's something you pick up from experience. When I first started doing Pepakura, I used to cut ALL OF THOSE LINES because I didn't know any better. When in doubt, don't cut; you can always add a cut with a razor later if you think you really need it.
Well you want your page layout to match your printer paper layout... It sounds like it wants to be set on landscape, but I guess that'll need to be a trial and error thing (I only print with letter-size, and the settings are always portrait for me).
For extra lines, those should just be crease lines that do not need to be cut. Depending on the size and location, I often don't even crease those lines either, it just creates more sharp edges to straighten later, but that's something you pick up from experience. When I first started doing Pepakura, I used to cut ALL OF THOSE LINES because I didn't know any better. When in doubt, don't cut; you can always add a cut with a razor later if you think you really need it.
Weapioneer
Active Member
ok, Thanks! do you think canvas or denim would be better or should i just stick to multiple layers of thin cotton? Also, what about other fabrics? which would give best results? i cannot get fiberglass mat where i live, only those car repair kits which have a small amount of matting but a good deal of resin
Neil Wooding
New Member
I'm using a product called Jesmonite in the UK (Ac100 in the US I think) which is similar to Bondo but without the nasty fumes. It sets around 10-15 mins and can be used with fireglass sheeting to strengthen the pep model. Coat it on with a brush or plastic tool. The one benefit is you can easily clean your tools afterwards with water and soap so can you re-use them time and time again which you can't do with Bondo. Sands down really easily too and can be painted the same way as Bondo.
One last point is that the finished pep model will weigh a bit more than using epoxy resin but its a small price to pay for efficiency.
If you're using paper, I use a hot glue gun and glue sticks. Super glue works as well, but for me the super glue got used up to quickly (and I also kept gluing my fingers together)
Not sure where you're located, but Walmart sells glue gun2 for $10 or so, and bags of sticks for pretty cheap too (30 for $3 and 100 for $7 I think)You're probably better off reprinting and starting over; any errors that are glued on your first parts can cause a snowball effect, making everything else fit poorly. When I have to reprint, I just use the back side of the paper I printed on the first time. If you do that though, it's a good idea to draw a big 'X' over the original bad side of the sheets right away, otherwise it can get really confusing (mixing the sides up and such). If the imperfections are just a few unreadable numbers, you can figure out where they need to go without too much trouble in Pepakura (designer). Click on the piece you've cut out in the 2d window, and it's location and orientation will be highlighted in the 3d view window.
LittleMike
New Member
I have a stupid question - why doesn't anyone ever fiberglass the outside of pieces? Resin will harden something, but it's the actual fiberglass that does the strengthening. I know bondo is only for smoothing out surfaces and giving you a paintable surface, which is why you have to harden under that first. But why not harden with fiberglass? A motorcycle helmet is made of a fiberglass (or plastics, kevlar, etc.) outer shell and EPS foam on the inside.
I'm just curious as to why fiberglass is typically only used on the inside and just resin/bondo to fill on the outside. That almost seems backwards to me.
I'm just curious as to why fiberglass is typically only used on the inside and just resin/bondo to fill on the outside. That almost seems backwards to me.
Couple of reasons... Pepakura with paper allows for a very high level of detail to your helmet (or whatever), and anything that you put over the top of that pep is going to distort and wash out details. A layer of fiberglass mat and resin, followed by smoothing and finishing, would fill and soften a lot of the details on the outside of a helmet, and once that mat is on it would be a bear to sand/grind back through it if you needed to remove excess.
So, let's say you don't have a high-detail piece, and the extra thickness on the outside doesn't bother you. You can definitely fiberglass the outside, but be prepared to skim the entire surface with filler if you want it smooth and clean. In the end, I haven't found that you get any strength advantage from fiberglassing on the outside compared to the inside. Both methods end up with filler on the exterior, and that's what's going to crack/chip damage first anyways.
LittleMike
New Member
Gotcha. That makes sense. So basically no real benefit to it, and lots of drawbacks. Makes a lot more sense now that you've explained it. Thank you.
