Printing high quality proxies

[woogerboy21]

I use the 300dpi images from here all the time and choose the DPI settings on my printer of a higher value for upscaling (600dpi on my brothers and 1200dpi on a new lexmark I just purchased). Using the 300dpi pictures look great. I've used generated images from photoshop at higher resolution and there really isn't much difference in quality. Many times people try and print the raw scans that have the halftones in the images and that is what makes the printed images look terrible. I've bought and sold many printers testing the various output quality and found some print terribly and others print great still using the 300dpi images. If you want I can post a few sample of the output I get.

If your using the older images, I've noticed the output is never as clear as the newer images and I don't know if that is something due too the actual processed images or if the quality of the card imagery back when was just that much worse.

Since my original posting above I actually purchased a new Lexmark laser (as I mentioned) and a better inkjet. I also gave up on printing to the face of cleaned cards. Though the Lexmark blows the brothers out of the water when it comes to doing the direct face prints. One thing to mention, most color laser printers only have a few colors (CYMK) and to produce many of the color tones in the inner frames or even the card backing (such as the purple / blue ring around the larger circle) is very difficult to make with so few colors. The new inkjet I purchased (canon pixma pro 9000 mark ii) has an 8 color dye based system and I can make ALOT better quality prints with it. The problem is I have to actually apply a special layer of a product called ink aid in order to print to the card stock as it is not designed for ink based printing.

Sorry for the such late response. I forgot about this thread and been busy IRL.

[JotaPeRL]

Hi guys,

I'm new here. I've found this board while doing some research on how to print some high quality proxies. I intend to print using the original art, to use with my cube draft.

I have downloaded the torrent with the scans, and tried a few different methods for printing. I printed directly on card surface using an ink jet (bad results), printed on normal paper using the same inkjet, and printed on a professional printer (don't know the method they use) on transparent vynil adhesives (it's the best method, since the printer also cuts the card, so I don't have to cut it myself). However, on all the prints I've found that the scanned image is too dark compared to a real card.

Do you guys have the same results? Do I have to adjust the brightness and contrast of the scans before printing?

I'd like some input on your experiences, regarding printing cards.

Thanks!

[woogerboy21]

Having printed using various printers the bright/dark along with color tones are the results from the color profile settings for the software used. Generally speaking, I do tend to use a brightener settings on the print dialogue to compensate for the darkness issue's.

And if you wanted to print directly to card surfaces using an inkjet, try a product by the name of "ink aid".

[JotaPeRL]

That's some serious proxies you are doing! Very high quality.

That's the best result I could get so far:
postimg . org /image/bzuy3nx25/

(forum rules didn't allow me to post a direct link to the picture, sorry for that).

As you can see in the picture, the art is very dark. The text is also not very clear. I'm using the images downloaded from here, from the XLQH folder.

[woogerboy21]

That's some serious proxies you are doing! Very high quality.

That's the best result I could get so far:
postimg . org /image/bzuy3nx25/

(forum rules didn't allow me to post a direct link to the picture, sorry for that).

As you can see in the picture, the art is very dark. The text is also not very clear. I'm using the images downloaded from here, from the XLQH folder.

The XLHQ images I believe still have the halftones in the picture. Printing them will cause your print to look terrible. It may sound kind of odd but try using the MWS images labeled with .full and add additional solid black bordering around the edge to get the proper border size. Whomever made a comment about anything less than 600dpis looking terrible I'm thinking they've done something while working with lower size images in an attempt to format them to full card size that blurred the image. That or the understanding of DPI/PPI is off slightly. Ive printed using 72-600 dpi images and there isn't a big difference in the results if the physical dimensions of the images support the physical size of the print your are trying to produce. It all breaks down to the actual image size in HxW (not dpi).

Heres a good read about digital images and sizing, printing, etc.
http://www.rideau-info.com/photos/mythdpi.html

If you happen to use photoshop I have attached an action script that takes the MWS images and formats them for the size needed for printing. You'll find the final image size closely resembles the XLHQ but the MWS images already have the halftones removed.

[Worthatl]

Since my original posting above I actually purchased a new Lexmark laser (as I mentioned) and a better inkjet. I also gave up on printing to the face of cleaned cards. Though the Lexmark blows the brothers out of the water when it comes to doing the direct face prints. One thing to mention, most color laser printers only have a few colors (CYMK) and to produce many of the color tones in the inner frames or even the card backing (such as the purple / blue ring around the larger circle) is very difficult to make with so few colors. The new inkjet I purchased (canon pixma pro 9000 mark ii) has an 8 color dye based system and I can make ALOT better quality prints with it. The problem is I have to actually apply a special layer of a product called ink aid in order to print to the card stock as it is not designed for ink based printing.

I'm very interested to see any photo of your results on this printer. I see the video of liliana proxy and I'm exited now!
Probably I take a photo printer soon to print HD custom proxies for a personal Cube Draft and this Pixma looks good and it's economic.

Thank you for everything!

[szmitek]

Hi!
Im having some problems with printing out decals - i have laser transparencies, 23 mic - and it seems im unable to print them out in as good of fashion, as i can on inkjet 100 mic ones - colors are wrong and writings are kind of bolder. Anyone has some experience with that? (of course i have 2 different printers ink and laser)

Thanks!

[woogerboy21]

Since my original posting above I actually purchased a new Lexmark laser (as I mentioned) and a better inkjet. I also gave up on printing to the face of cleaned cards. Though the Lexmark blows the brothers out of the water when it comes to doing the direct face prints. One thing to mention, most color laser printers only have a few colors (CYMK) and to produce many of the color tones in the inner frames or even the card backing (such as the purple / blue ring around the larger circle) is very difficult to make with so few colors. The new inkjet I purchased (canon pixma pro 9000 mark ii) has an 8 color dye based system and I can make ALOT better quality prints with it. The problem is I have to actually apply a special layer of a product called ink aid in order to print to the card stock as it is not designed for ink based printing.

I'm very interested to see any photo of your results on this printer. I see the video of liliana proxy and I'm exited now!
Probably I take a photo printer soon to print HD custom proxies for a personal Cube Draft and this Pixma looks good and it's economic.

Thank you for everything!

Sorry, completly forgot about this thread. Attached is a sample image of one of the cards I printed using the Pixma (keep in mind the image is taken with an iPhone). Im creating a few more tonight to take pictures of as well.

[TheIanator]

Since my original posting above I actually purchased a new Lexmark laser (as I mentioned) and a better inkjet. I also gave up on printing to the face of cleaned cards. Though the Lexmark blows the brothers out of the water when it comes to doing the direct face prints. One thing to mention, most color laser printers only have a few colors (CYMK) and to produce many of the color tones in the inner frames or even the card backing (such as the purple / blue ring around the larger circle) is very difficult to make with so few colors. The new inkjet I purchased (canon pixma pro 9000 mark ii) has an 8 color dye based system and I can make ALOT better quality prints with it. The problem is I have to actually apply a special layer of a product called ink aid in order to print to the card stock as it is not designed for ink based printing.

I'm very interested to see any photo of your results on this printer. I see the video of liliana proxy and I'm exited now!
Probably I take a photo printer soon to print HD custom proxies for a personal Cube Draft and this Pixma looks good and it's economic.

Thank you for everything!

Sorry, completly forgot about this thread. Attached is a sample image of one of the cards I printed using the Pixma (keep in mind the image is taken with an iPhone). Im creating a few more tonight to take pictures of as well.

How much more work is it to add the ink aid. I'd like to replace several EDH decks with proxy versions and am trying to decide what printer/paper to buy.

[phoenix530]

i have a canon ip7250 and i want to print any proxy for my personal cube... what paper type i need? is there any good brand? i have try color copy by mondi (300g white paper), but it isn't good for hd printing. any matte coated 300g dual layer paper? ink aid there isn't in italy and i can't deink common card for reprint.

thanks for the info

[kiranmore]

Thanks a lot for the information.

[LotteWiss]

What do you seal the laser print with?

And, IIRC you can use hairspray for inkjet to make it waterproof. Which is OT, but hey.

I've tried a couple of actual sealants but this is the one I find to give the smoothest look that I like:


I just ordered some of there paper so I can't say for certain the card stock they offer is any good but I do get playing card stock else were to make a more realistic acting proxy that doesn't need the card behind it.

And if your curious (as most the time the next question is what printers do I use) I have 3 printers. An Epson R300 (for decals / transparencies), a Brother HL4040CDN and Brother HL3075CW for printing to card faces or paper stock.

This sub specializes in reviewing and ordering proxy cards (usually created in China). If you are looking for old school stuff many sellers offer "lists" that end up costing less than $1 a card (with more deals if you buy multiple lists).

On the other hand, you can check out /mpcproxies where you can submit an order to print cards of your choice. It ends up being much cheaper than Chinese bootleggers but MPC will only process your order if you leave off stuff like the copyright line and they will make you print them with card backs that look non-mtg

[WayDIz]

I am researching the topic a bit, but want some user input with hands on experience. I believe the top of the line that I have seen is the Fujitsu FI-7160. The thing is beastly and has a great output. Essentially I am looking to open up an eBay store eventually and want to spend as little time as possible scanning. My printer has a scanner, but thats real cumbersome and has a lot of messing around opening the scanner and placing the cards on the bed. So with that said, who has experience with high speed scanners with scanning cards? If it scans 20 front and back in a minute, Im more than happy with that.

[TheRaptor]

The method for printing high-quality proxies and alternate art cards can depend on various factors such as the quality of the original artwork, the type of printer you have, and the type of paper or card stock you're using. Here are a few suggestions:

Use high-resolution scans: If you're using scans of the original artwork, make sure they are high-resolution (at least 300dpi) and saved in a format that preserves image quality (such as PNG or TIFF).

Use a template: Using a template can ensure that your cards are printed at the right size and with the correct margins. You can find templates online or create your own.