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Printing character sheets and writing on them


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Posted (edited)

I'm using an Epson ET-8550 to print character sheets, but writing on them is a disaster. Rubbing out pencil marks makes a mess of the printing!

Any tips on how to improve this experience? Fixing spray maybe, or would that just be worse?

Edited by PhilHibbs
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Posted (edited)

There may be a fixing agent that you can find, but I believe most are aimed at photography, so not sure how they would affect the writing surface. Sadly, I would say the best option would be a local copy shop, and their trusty laser printers (or go digital, with tablets all around. I'm sure your players will thank you! 🙃 ).

What kind of paper are you using, and how long are you waiting after print to use the sheets?

SDLeary

Edited by SDLeary
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Reply #1:  I'd expect laserjet to be more durable than inkjet (like your Epson EcoTank printer).

Reply #2:  Maybe go oldschool, with a sheet-protector & erasable marker?

Reply #3:  Man, kids these days!  Back when I  started gaming, we wrote our own character sheets on blank paper!

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1 hour ago, SDLeary said:

What kind of paper are you using, and how long are you waiting after print to use the sheets?

I've tried normal printer paper and higher quality matt paper. Usually they are used weeks after prtinting.

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3 minutes ago, g33k said:

Reply #1:  I'd expect laserjet to be more durable than inkjet (like your Epson EcoTank printer).

Yeah, I don't really want to buy a second printer! And the A3 folio sheets are cool, especially with custom illustrations.

image.thumb.png.07017bb444be6554eba76fd717d4302a.png

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30 minutes ago, PhilHibbs said:

... And the A3 folio sheets are cool, especially with custom illustrations ...

Yes, they are cool !

Tho I notice that color lasers are a thing...

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7 hours ago, PhilHibbs said:

The local library has one, but the computer hasn't got enough RAM to print a double-sided A3 PDF.

As per @SDLeary - I'm sure the copy-shop has an up-to-spec system.
You might e-mail 'round and ask who can get you the best price in bulk ('cos you KNOW you want that many!)

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Just now, g33k said:

As per @SDLeary - I'm sure the copy-shop has an up-to-spec system.
You might e-mail 'round and ask who can get you the best price in bulk ('cos you KNOW you want that many!)

Come to think of it...
Hey @Rick Meints or @MOB or @... err... somebody @Chaosium!

The new "folio" sheets are kinda expensive even DIY'ing them... but they're awfully pretty!    😍

I don't think I've ever bought a commercial pack of "just character sheets," but I might make an exception for those, if Chaosium offered a pack of them.  And, of course, there's other buyers who  do buy & have bought  commercial sheets.

Y'all might be able to turn a profit bulk-printing sheets for sale in packages (25?  50?  100?)  (Sell 'em marked as "SIZ 25" and "SIZ 50" and  "SIZ 100" 😉  )

Maybe Kickstart (with a certain minimum number to "succeed") as an interest-gauge...?

How low a price/sheet d'you think you could get?

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Posted (edited)
10 hours ago, g33k said:

Yes, they are cool !

Tho I notice that color lasers are a thing...

A thing, but pricey out the door. Though they do tend to be a bit less costly than most ink jets to run, but EcoTank printers cost even less to run than lasers. 🫤

SDLeary

Edited by SDLeary
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On 5/14/2024 at 9:16 PM, g33k said:

Come to think of it...
Hey @Rick Meints or @MOB or @... err... somebody @Chaosium!

The new "folio" sheets are kinda expensive even DIY'ing them... but they're awfully pretty!    😍

I don't think I've ever bought a commercial pack of "just character sheets," but I might make an exception for those, if Chaosium offered a pack of them.  And, of course, there's other buyers who  do buy & have bought  commercial sheets.

Y'all might be able to turn a profit bulk-printing sheets for sale in packages (25?  50?  100?)  (Sell 'em marked as "SIZ 25" and "SIZ 50" and  "SIZ 100" 😉  )

Maybe Kickstart (with a certain minimum number to "succeed") as an interest-gauge...?

How low a price/sheet d'you think you could get?

Unfortunately, we have no plans to sell sets of blank character sheets.

Hope that Helps,
Rick Meints - Chaosium, Inc.

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1 hour ago, Rick Meints said:

Unfortunately, we have no plans to sell sets of blank character sheets.

😞

 

possibly even 😭
(I will call around to find out if I can get any sort of discount by printing by the 50-count or so)

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Just use 'em until they are worn to a nubbin, and then print another one!

That's the olskool way. The physical artifact of a well-used character sheet, complete with doodles, notes, scribbles, rubouts, holes, smudges and scrawled asides is one of the pleasurable byproducts of RPG'ing.

We always used to hand our physical sheets over to the GM at the end of the session, so that no one would 'forget their character sheet' at the next session.

However I'll not deny that digitisation can speed things up sometimes, and is the only option if you play remotely.

I used to update online character sheets from the physical ones (remember the players handed them to me) after the session. Which was a bit of double handling but meant that you could always print out a new one if necessary.

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8 hours ago, Questbird said:

Just use 'em until they are worn to a nubbin, and then print another one!

But everyone knows that rewriting your character onto a fresh sheet is a sure way to die in the next session!

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