Yes
No
It can be done. It's a lot of trial and error though.
My best results came from the following:
Tape a card down so its borders are covered.
Acetone the crap out of it.
Let dry a bit.
Print a test of the pic.
Cut out pic (leave a little bit of the borders) and tape card in place on the paper (tape goes from the back, though the paper, to the card).
Print with photoshop.
Print settings were as follows:
Max DPI
Least overspray
Mid-low ink
Photoshop manages color
Paper set as HP photo greeting card
It's not perfect, but it came out passable. It almost looks like a real card. You probably couldn't tell the difference with a sleeve. I'll scan the bad jobs and the decent one once they're all dry.
Next, I tried a foil with nearly the same settings. It's a disaster. It's just a mess of runny ink all blurred together. You can only see the vaguest hint of what the card is meant to be. I'm thinking that using less ink and telling it that it's super high glossy paper might work. Dunno. Nice thing about foils is that you can just wipe them and try again
And that's been the project of the day.
*mooooooooo*
So, having read all 31 pages of the proxy thread on mtgsal, I discovered there's another. The second one is 72 pages, so it may take a while to get through.
The "Make a Proxy" Thread - MTG Salvation Forums
I'm hoping that one contains tips for printing foils beyond the clear, print on transparency, glue method. I'd like to keep the proxies at actual thickness.
*mooooooooo*
Here's my early tests.
#1 and #2 are just test on paper.
#3 is the first card test. The card was acetoned and then sanded.
#4 was the same just slightly lighter sanding.
#5-8 were all acetoned leaving the borders. Then they were lightly rubbed with water to rough the paper up a bit. #5 was the lowest amount of ink. #6 was mid-low, #7 was mid, #8 was mid-high
#9 is nearly a success. The image size on all of them was slightly too small. 9 was not sanded. In a sleeve it almost looks real, the border is a little off due to image size.
*mooooooooo*
Nice, these are looking pretty good. I can't wait to see how they all turn out.
-JRR
Yeah, me too!
I'm reading a bit into that super long thread. So far I haven't gotten much new info, but I've got a few really bitchin' proxies.
Seems like most people use the transparency route. Typically they're placed over a newer foil card that has had the foil removed. I guess that would reduce the thickness a bit if you could find a thin enough transparency.
Apparently for making foils, older ones are better (with trans). Older ones are foil with ink on them. Newer ones are actually a thin trans with foil powder stuff on the back. Well, so far as I've read.
*mooooooooo*
Anyone have a laser printer? You can print on foils with one of those....
I've made some really really nice proxies now. However, you have to seal them against smudges. Also, the sealant can give them a gloss similar to a real card. I'm working on finding the stuff I hear is best.
Also, I want to make a cube. Everyone has a cube. Sounds awesome.
*mooooooooo*
I've mostly got the process worked out. My sealer is a little too glossy, but other than that they look nice.
I picked up some "clear" mailing labels that are full sheets at staples. They're not clear. They kind of look like frosted glass. I printed to one, and stuck it on a foil to little effect. Then I sprayed it with sealer. The foil showed through. Looking into this method a bit more.
*mooooooooo*
Guess who's learning to use photoshop....
*mooooooooo*
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