newbie question 12x12 printer

Hi and welcome to RCS!!

Go to PCWORLD.COM. They have a search engine you can use to get reviews and all sorts of info. COMPUTERSHOPPER also has a site that has a lot of inf.

HTH

OKC Dave

Check out my pix and crafts!

One of the things I would look into is the cost of the ink. And also check the manual to see how many pages it estimates it will print per ink cartridge. The cost of the ink may make it a very costly scrapbook page Be sure the printer can except cardstock. Not every printer can and some don't recomend it.

Is ther a reason you want to print your own? I never thought to do it with so many pretty pages on the market. I have dyed some page using shaving cream and food dye. I've also used dish soap and food dye. It a bit messy but I got some interesting results.

Shaving cream and food dye? how does that work??

Epson, Canon and Hewlett Packard all make affordable photo-quality printers in (or under) that price range. I would choose one that uses separate ink cartridges - so that you only have to replace colors as needed. The Epson line has long been rated the top quality printer for photo/image quality but the Canon I9900 is superb, too, and beats Epson in many tests.

Hewlett Packard tends to be a bit cheaper, and more widely available if you don't want to buy online. I've used an HP 9750 for 3 years, I've had no problems with dependability - and I keep the costs down by buying ink online at rock-bottom prices, and paper as well. I generally print on 13x19 paper and trim it down (it's cheaper than buying the specialty 12x12 paper and you can get a 12x12 and 2 6x6's on one sheet.)

Costs for printing a 13x19 sheet as described above (taking into account my frugal bargain-shopping buying habits) run about $2 for the entire sheet. That's using Epson Semi-Gloss or Enhanced Matte photo paper. If you went with a "photo-quality" paper (if you were just printing patterned paper and not photos or digital layouts) your paper cost would be even less.

For computer scrapbooking.. don't you need to print on 12x12? Thanks Sharon

Welcome to RCS Sharon!

Judy, SA

Wear a pair of trow away rubber gloves. I took a pan big enough to hold the paper. Fill it with the cheapest kind of shaving cream you can find. Do not use shaving GEL. I used McCormicks food dye. Mix the dye with a dab of cream then swirl this into the pan. When you get a pattern/color you like put the paper on top. Lift off, lay flat and let dry. Or you can add a single color to dish soap and water. Lemon Joy works best for some reason. Take a straw and blow bubbles. Lower the paper ontop of the bubbles and lift off and let dry. You can go back and add a second color after the paper drys using the same technique. To make other colors the the ones that come in the box mix the following by drops Lime: 6 yellow, 1 green; Purple: 3 blue, 1 red; Cantaloupe: 12 yellow, 1 red; Jade: 17 green, 3 blue; Plum: 5 red, 2 blue; Raspberry: 7 red, 3 blue; Watermelon: 25 red, 2 blue; Teal: 3 green, 1 blue; Fuchsia: 9 red, 1 blue; Spearmint: 6 green, 3 yellow, 1 blue; Maize: 24 yellow, 1 red; Grape: 17 blue, 4 red; Orange Sunset: 17 yellow, 3 red; Jungle Green: 7 green, 3 yellow.

If you need more of the dye just keep the drops in the same poprtion. Like to make twice as much Jungle Green use 14 drops of green and 6 drops of yellow.

I have also made my own designs on paper(kind of like tye dye) using water and scrapbooking chalk, and a shallow pan. It IS very messy, but it is also acid free. I dont know if the shaving cream and soap would be acid free, but they are interesting techniques! :-)

Linda

Nope. You can print at any size you want. You can design a 12x12 layout and print it at 8x8 or 6x6 or any size in between.

If you don't have a printer that can print borderless at 12x12, that paper is useless anyway (if you want a true 12x12.)

I can't help you with the 12 x 12 printer, but I did want to welcome you to RCS. Welcome to RCS! :-)

I do 8.5 x 11 or 8 x 8 so I can use the printer I already have. I would love to have a wide format printer and scanner though!