coasters

[arthur.daley]

Hi All

I am being leant on by 'er indoors to print some coasters - bit out of my comfort zone. Its something I have thought about for ages but have always managed to put it off for another day. Looks like another day has finally come round and now I can't avoid it any more - short of getting one of you good people to print them for me ;o)

I have had a bit of a poke around in the forum archive and it would seem that Unisub is the way to go in terms of image quality and reliability - or have I missed something here? I don't think she wants a high gloss surface. Not unduly fussed about the back - cork or board is ok, so long as they don't look cheap!

Prices seem a bit variable 40p - £1 each. There must be a reason for such disparity - but I haven't figured out exactly what it is yet. Needless to say I like the sound of 40p considerably more than a pound a pop especially as it seems the learning curve for them is quite steep and I may need to make sure the rubbish bin is emptied before I begin (

If it makes any difference I'll be printing with Sawgrass inks on decent quality paper and have a TMT press.

Any pearls of wisdom to offer folks? Any good videos? Whats the mistake that everyone makes?

What could possibly go wrong!


Arthur

[Justin]

Unisub coasters from Xpres (Remember your discount) Just printed 80 today, all perfect, no tape sticking to the back etc. 197c for 60 secs.

These are glossy though. They have new Hardboard Scandinavian coasters now as well. Check out SubliBlanks for alternatives.

[arthur.daley]

thanks Justin

Been to have a look at the Xpres coasters, seems the cork backed are about a quid a pop and the hardboard considerably cheaper - that will be the difference I failed to spot before then! Also looked at the Scandinavian coasters you mentioned - what is MTW??? Sat here and can't think for the life of me what MTW stands for - it will undoubtedly be blindingly obvious to all as soon as it is revealed )

Like the look of the jig that Xpres do - if it works well, although it might be a complete non starter for doing full bleed given how close together the coasters have to be on the 210mm dimension.

Arthur

[Justin]

I have no idea what MDW stands for! Maybe Medium Density Wood? Just a guess

I've never used a jig, I think we've discussed on here before and some members make their own.

[arthur.daley]

have to confess that I had already half written in my mind the programme to knock out square and round jigs on our CNC milling machine ) - If I am going to fanny about making freebies for the missus, I may as well start offering them to paying customers as well!

Arthur

[Justin]

Lol, if you already have the CNC machine! I did think y/day something would be useful doing that run of 80, they didn't take long but I thought there must be a better way of doing this.

[bubbleimages]

We are with Justin on this one, we only use Unisub from Xpres. We tried a jig once, but then ended up resorting back to sticking them individually.

[Justin]

I always tape every corner but got bored yesterday and just ran a single length across a row of 5 sticking it in-between, got away with it...just! lol.

[arthur.daley]

at least using a jig is an efficient way of churning out duff coasters ;o)

[arthur.daley]

I found some samples tucked away, they might be Listawood coasters, if I can get myself motivated tomorrow I might just give them a go.

That said, motivation may be sadly lacking as I am off to the flesh pots of Bishops Stortford later today. Someone I know through the local Home Brew club, Nik Lemmens, has taken the plunge and opened a micro brewery there and is having an open weekend today, saturday and sunday. He is a Belgian and specialises in Belgian beers. He does a raspberry beer which is like nectar from the gods and slips down a treat - something like a kilo and a bit of fruit per litre. I can feel my wallet going in to spasm even now just thinking about buying a few bottles to take home. I can see coasters unprinted, photos un processed, and grass uncut tomorrow, then its out to enjoy myself having a family Easter at the mother in laws. I wouldn't mind but as a diabetic totally non religious type Easter doesn't really hold a great deal of interest - whereas a second trip to Bishops Stortford has a certain attraction!

Monday may be busy ;o) unless Nik has any of his cherry beer available, in which case Monday will be scrubbed as well )

https://thebelgianbrewer.co.uk/