Printing on
SMR Premium Vellum
Printing your screen
printing designs on SMR Premium Vellum is almost as simple as printing a
design from your computer on regular paper. These steps will help you get
the most out of our product, and help you create fantastic designs for your
customers. To print on SMR Premium Vellum, start by creating a design in the
art software of your choice, such as Arts & Letters
Express. If this is a multi-color design, you will likely want to create
alignment marks in the corners, and print labels for colors in the margins.
Before you hit the print button, it is extremely helpful to adjust your
printer setup parameters for optimum results:
For Laser
Printers:
The biggest concern with
laser printers and vellum is getting toner to completely meld on the page.
Melding refers to getting the toner hot enough to melt and make toner
particles stick to both the page and become cohesive with surrounding toner
particles, creating an opaque design area. The portion of the laser printer
that heats and compresses toner to accomplish the meld is called the fuser.
Modern laser printers have fusers that can be adjusted, and the default
settings for "plain paper" do not heat the fuser sufficiently to meld toner
on vellum. It might seem illogical, but vellum is one of the densest
substrates you might run through a printer. To achieve optimal results:
| Step 1: Open
the Printer setup dialog. Look for an area where you can choose paper
parameters. The dialog for every printer is different, so what you see
for your printer will not likely look exactly like the one pictured.
Note: Most printers can be set up
automatically by Windows when you install the printer the first time.
Most printers also come with an installation CD. The printer driver on
the installation CD usually offers more controls than the default driver
offered by Windows. |
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| Step 2: Look
for a list of paper "types" that your printer supports. Most printer
drivers offer a drop-down list of papers supported by the printer.
Choose the thickest or most heat-resistant setting you can find. You may
need to experiment to find which one gets the fuser the hottest, but
choices such as "Thick," "Cardstock," or "Rough" are usually good
choices. "Transparency" might seem like a logical choice, but is
actually a very cool setting, and it should be should be avoided. |
 |
| Step 3: Look
for a color management or print quality area in the print setup dialog.
If a "brightness," "Contrast," or "Saturation" control exists, you will
want to experiment with these controls to see how dark you can set your
printer before "Toning" occurs. Toning is the term used to
describe when unprinted areas get "grey" due to excessive toner
broadcast. Please be sure you look
at the "Vellum Tips & Tricks" page for more
tips on getting great images. |
 |
For
Ink-Jet Printers:
The biggest concern with
ink-jet printers and vellum is opacity. Because ink-jet technology uses a
liquid ink to create an image, it is hard to get enough solids in the dried
image to create an adequately opaque image. However, many printers expect
much more opacity from their printer than is actually needed to use vellum
successfully. Click here to see
the section on determining optimum exposures for Vellum. To achieve optimal results with
ink-jet printers:
| Step 1: Open
the Printer setup dialog. Look for an area where you can choose paper
parameters. The dialog for every printer is different, so what you see
for your printer will not likely look exactly like the one pictured.
Note: Most printers can be set up
automatically by Windows when you install the printer the first time.
Most printers also come with an installation CD. The printer driver on
the installation CD usually offers more controls than the default driver
offered by Windows. |
 |
| Step 2: Look
for a list of paper "types" that your printer supports. Most printer
drivers offer a drop-down list of papers supported by the printer.
Choose the most absorbent paper type you can find in the list. Even
though vellum is not a very absorbent type of paper, you need to lay
down as much ink as you can, and ink-jet printers partly determine the
amount of ink they will deposit on the paper based upon the absorbency
of the paper.
You may need to experiment to find which
paper choice lays down the most ink without experiencing ink "running,"
but choices such as "Rough Cardstock," or "Plain Paper" are usually good
choices. Many printers offer a "Vellum" setting. This may or may not be
a good setting, depending on the printer manufacturer's view of vellum.
Vellum is a very abused name for a paper substrate, and has come to
refer to a large array of products. |
 |
| Step 3: Look
for a color management or print quality area in the print setup dialog.
Most inkjet printers offer differing quality settings, commonly
including "Draft" or "Fast" through "Best" or "Highest Quality"
settings. Choosing higher quality settings usually lays down more ink, and
will usually slow the print head. In effect, you should get more ink,
greater accuracy, and longer drying time allotments with higher print quality
settings. With experimentation, you can find a setting that maximizes
ink lay-down without "running."
Remember that Vellum is less absorbent, and will take longer to dry than
regular paper. Make sure that sheets are allowed to dry in a horizontal
position, and that subsequent sheets coming from the printer are not
allowed to land on top of previously printed sheets.
Please be sure you look at the "Vellum
Tips & Tricks" page for more tips. |
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