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Protecting 1.5" Chipboard Squares w/ Labels Affixed to Both Sides

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fa-1397
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I'm currently working on affixing 1.5" square labels (cut from Avery 5265, 8.5" x 11" label sheets) to both sides of 392, 1.5" chipboard squares. These squares will be used to build a 19 x 19 terrain grid, in the game I'm currently prototyping. Now that I've invested so much time in printing, cutting, and affixing the labels, I'm a little concerned about their longevity. I've already noticed that some of the toner is rubbing off on my fingers (so much for getting the proper fusing temperature out of my printer). Would some sort of spray varnish work? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

fa-1397

Brykovian
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Look for self-adhesive

Look for self-adhesive transparency sheets available at most Office Depot-type stores. They are clear plastic sheets with an adhesive on one side ... you peel off the backing and spread down on top of your printed work.

That's what I used when making boards and prototype tiles. I've found it works best to print as many tiles as fit onto one of those full-sheet labels ... stick the whole label page onto the chipboard ... then stick the whole self-adhesive transparency sheet ... then use a rotary cutter and metal straight edge to cut out the tiles.

Also, it is good to have a soft-edged squeegee type tool for smoothing down the transparency sheets.

Hope that's helpful,
-Bryk

MatthewF
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A spray varnish, like Krylon

A spray varnish, like Krylon Crystal Clear (also sold as Spray Acrylic), will indeed to a great job of sealing up the toner.

In fact, if you spray it shortly after printing, the toner kind of mixes in with the varnish, slightly liquefying it temporarily, resulting in a surprisingly durable finished product. It'll still work fine with the stuff you already printed, mind you.

gameprinter
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Spray Varnish for sure

MatthewF wrote:
A spray varnish, like Krylon Crystal Clear (also sold as Spray Acrylic), will indeed to a great job of sealing up the toner.

In fact, if you spray it shortly after printing, the toner kind of mixes in with the varnish, slightly liquefying it temporarily, resulting in a surprisingly durable finished product. It'll still work fine with the stuff you already printed, mind you.

+1!
This is the principle behind Aqueous and UV coatings. Put the coating on at press time and it works with the ink.

Also, you can get gloss or matte spray acrylics. I like matte for my miniatures, but the gloss might look really nice for your board. (It will also reflect light more, so it might be harder to read with some colors and lighting combos).

truekid games
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slight variation on this

slight variation on this question- what kind of coat would you use for playing cards (rather than chits) -not- printed with toner?

gameprinter
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Card coating

truekid games wrote:
slight variation on this question- what kind of coat would you use for playing cards (rather than chits) -not- printed with toner?

The standard for most game cards is an Aqueous coating (gloss). Some card games use a "limited slip" coating with a smidge of grit in it. For your cards, a regular spray acrylic will duplicate the look and feel of a standard aqueous coating. That said, it may be hard to get a consistent coat across all the cards, so you'll want to experiment first. Depending on the paper you might not want to coat them at all.

fa-1397
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Krylon Matte Finish Spray

Thanks for the input, everyone. Since I've already finished most of my pieces, I'm opting for the spray acrylic approach. I purchased a can of Krylon Matte Finish, today.

http://www.krylon.com/products/matte_finish/

I'll let you know how it turns out.

fa-1397

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