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Post by streetscrapper on Apr 11, 2019 19:43:59 GMT
So there are all these foil machines, some newer than others, and wouldn't you know it, I love the look. I've got the Minc, and I use it a lot, but my laser printer has been acting up and the results I'm getting aren't what they used to be. I replaced the drum and bought the "authentic" toner and the results are better but there are still some patchy spots. I had to make 3 "Save the Date" cards a week or so ago for my mother-in-law's 90th birthday this summer and the results were ok. No one will notice the patchy spots that I see. Both DH and DD, my biggest fans and/or critics loved the cards and didn't bat an eye so they're ok to send out.
I broke down a few days ago and pre-ordered the WRMK Foil Quill. I didn't think I'd cave but after watching the videos on YouTube, I knew I had to have it. Trouble is that after I bought it I discovered that the LSS I bought it from won't be getting them in for another month - AT BEST. It was the best price in Canada that I could find so I'm prepared to wait.
And now I'm eyeing the Gemini Foil Press, another foil machine. Watched a couple of videos on it and it gets great reviews too... except it may have gotten a bit of a bad rap here... But I found it locally at a price I think is ok... it's in my cart and I've almost checked out twice.
And then I started to wonder if I really need 3 foil machines... They all do the same thing, put pretty foil on your projects, but they all do it in kind of a different way. So I thought I would come to the best place to find out what I should do, and here I am asking for your opinion...
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Post by gale w on Apr 11, 2019 21:05:23 GMT
Also, the different types use different kinds of foil. I have lots of the foil that works with toner and the minc but I only have the 3 little samples that came with the quill so I'll have to buy more of that kind.
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Post by streetscrapper on Apr 11, 2019 22:10:10 GMT
Also, the different types use different kinds of foil. I have lots of the foil that works with toner and the minc but I only have the 3 little samples that came with the quill so I'll have to buy more of that kind. Yes, this I do know, and like you, I’ve got a drawer full of Minc toner foil. I also ordered some of the heat reactive foil with the Quill because I think I’ll blow through the samples in no time, and the colours are awesome so it was actually hard not to order more of them. I am thinking I should probably just wait for the Quill and see if I’ll still want the Gemini Foil Press. But if I have a Quill and need heat reactive foil anyway, why not go for it, right? I love the letterpress look, but do I want to buy special dies? I know I can use the wafer thin dies I already have, and I’ve got a ton of them, but ... you see where I’m going with this? I can talk myself into buying it as fast as I can talk myself out of buying it! |
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clueless
Junior Member
Posts: 61 
Location: Port Jefferson, NY
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Post by clueless on Apr 14, 2019 18:05:19 GMT
I'm honestly very happy with my Minc, I got mine on clearance at Michael's 4 years ago and I have foil that is going to last me a lifetime. I'm not interested in buying this new foiling machines for different reasons. My main reason is that they all use specific foils for them to work properly and like I said before I have a lot of Minc foil, so the idea of having three different types of foils in my craftoom drives me crazy as I hate clutter, also who knows how difficult it will be to buy their foil in the future, they might even discontinue them down the road. At least with the Minc I can use other brands of foil and buying them is super easy. Another reason why I'm not interested in these new machines is the cost of the files, or dies in the case of the Gemini to actually use the machines. And the last reason is the limitation of the coverage and creativity, With the Minc I usually create all my designs on Photoshop, Word, Gimp and even AutoCAD. I have made all types of cards, envelopes and layouts with my machine with no problem. What kind of problems are you having with your Minc streetscrapper ? I have a very cheap Brother monochrome laser printer that we got at Walmart for like $80 and I use generic toner to keep costs low. |
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Post by streetscrapper on Apr 14, 2019 19:14:32 GMT
I'm honestly very happy with my Minc, I got mine on clearance at Michael's 4 years ago and I have foil that is going to last me a lifetime. I'm not interested in buying this new foiling machines for different reasons. My main reason is that they all use specific foils for them to work properly and like I said before I have a lot of Minc foil, so the idea of having three different types of foils in my craftoom drives me crazy as I hate clutter, also who knows how difficult it will be to buy their foil in the future, they might even discontinue them down the road. At least with the Minc I can use other brands of foil and buying them is super easy. Another reason why I'm not interested in these new machines is the cost of the files, or dies in the case of the Gemini to actually use the machines. And the last reason is the limitation of the coverage and creativity, With the Minc I usually create all my designs on Photoshop, Word, Gimp and even AutoCAD. I have made all types of cards, envelopes and layouts with my machine with no problem. What kind of problems are you having with your Minc streetscrapper ? I have a very cheap Brother monochrome laser printer that we got at Walmart for like $80 and I use generic toner to keep costs low. I have a Brother monochrome laser printer too. Initially the results I was getting were good, even after I switched to a generic toner. But the generic toner started to leave streaks when printing anything. I thought the cartridge was faulty so I switched it but the results were the same. Then someone suggested I replace the drum, which I did, but it didn't make much of a difference either. I finally broke down and bought a Brother toner and the results were a lot better, but it is still a little spotty. I did pre-order the Foil Quill because it just looks really cool. When I first saw it, I thought it was way too expensive and would never have the need for one, but the more I see it in action, the more I know I'll use it. I agree with you about the dies for the Gemini, but you can use your own wafer thin dies and I ended up pulling the plug last week and buying one. I just got the notice today that it's ready for pick up. The more I think about this machine, the more I think I may end up returning it. I think that the Minc and the Foil Quill are enough. |
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clueless
Junior Member
Posts: 61
Location: Port Jefferson, NY
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Post by clueless on Apr 14, 2019 22:25:48 GMT
If you are experiencing streaks on your prints you might want to clean the drum, there was a time when I was getting a lot of streaks as well, so what I did was clean the drum and the inside of the printer with a lint free cloth and a tiny brush to remove any toner that had accumulated inside, it worked much better after that. I've noticed that the foil sticks not only to the toner when it melts but also to any surface that has some static or even oils that we naturally leave behind on the cardstock so what I do is brush some of the EK success anti static powder around my design (avoid touching the design itself) and the areas where I don't want the foil to attach to before running it through the Minc. I also keep all my foil in their original package inside an iris case to avoid dust sticking to the back of the foil because you don't want anything to stick in between the foil sheet and the toner. Another thing you might want to consider is the computer file or image you are working with, like I said in my previous post I usally make my own designs, but if you happen to find one online that you like make sure that it's a clean PNG image with no "pixel dust" around it, you can clean it on Photoshop or Gimp because all that "pixel dust" is going to get printed therefore making it easy for the foil to stick to it. I hope this helps, I don't work for the Minc lol but after a LOT of trial and error this is what has worked the best for me. I'm linking some pictures of projects I've done in the past following all these steps link |
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Post by streetscrapper on Apr 15, 2019 14:22:22 GMT
If you are experiencing streaks on your prints you might want to clean the drum, there was a time when I was getting a lot of streaks as well, so what I did was clean the drum and the inside of the printer with a lint free cloth and a tiny brush to remove any toner that had accumulated inside, it worked much better after that. I've noticed that the foil sticks not only to the toner when it melts but also to any surface that has some static or even oils that we naturally leave behind on the cardstock so what I do is brush some of the EK success anti static powder around my design (avoid touching the design itself) and the areas where I don't want the foil to attach to before running it through the Minc. I also keep all my foil in their original package inside an iris case to avoid dust sticking to the back of the foil because you don't want anything to stick in between the foil sheet and the toner. Another thing you might want to consider is the computer file or image you are working with, like I said in my previous post I usally make my own designs, but if you happen to find one online that you like make sure that it's a clean PNG image with no "pixel dust" around it, you can clean it on Photoshop or Gimp because all that "pixel dust" is going to get printed therefore making it easy for the foil to stick to it. I hope this helps, I don't work for the Minc lol but after a LOT of trial and error this is what has worked the best for me. I'm linking some pictures of projects I've done in the past following all these steps linkThanks for the tips! I actually REPLACED the drum for my printer even though it said it had a lot of life left. I have been using knock of toner cartridges and thought that may be contributing to the bad results so I purchased a genuine toner. This actually has made a big difference, but like I said, it's still a little spotty. Like you, I keep all of my foil in the original packaging and I'm super careful when I take it out and cut a piece off. I also use the anti-static powder before I run the piece through my Minc and I saw a video recently where the person actually gently rubbed the foil with a microfiber cloth to remove any unseen dust so I've been doing this as well. I don't generally find the problem to be getting foil where I don't want it. I'm pretty careful about that. My issue is that the foil tends to be spotty where I want it to adhere. It shows spots of the black toner where the foil isn't sticking. I've even printed things at work and get the same results. At the end of the day, after replacing the drum and using a genuine toner for my laser printer, the results are better than they were before, and chance are that I'm just a little too picky. I would bet that most people (non-crafters and recipients of my cards) wouldn't even notice the things that I see. And clueless, at the end of the day you did convince me that I don't need another foil machine! The more I fiddle with my Minc, the better the results and the Foil Quill is different enough that I don't regret buying it. It is the Gemini Foil Press that I came to realize I don't need. I ordered it but called this morning to cancel the order! |
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