(I'm reposting this from my forum so as to keep both WWG and Ebbles in sync on cutter resources.)
Huh?
When you use a craft cutter, a sticky plastic carrier sheet is included. You mount the printout on it, feed the carrier into the machine, and cut. The purpose of the carrier sheet is to keep parts from coming off the sheet during the cutting process.
So why would I want to make my own?
Reason #1: The plastic carriers that come with the machines are sometimes much too tacky, resulting in tearing, curling, or crumpling of parts during the removal process.
Reason #2: Speed. With just the plastic carrier, you are forced to stop between cutting jobs to peel off parts before you can use it again. When you make your own sheets, you can prepare enough sheets beforehand so that you can feed and remove pages quickly. For large cutting jobs, the time savings that DIY backing sheets provide amounts to anywhere from 30 seconds to 5 minutes per page because you can immediately feed in the next sheet without worrying about the previous sheet.
Reason #3: When each page has its own backing sheet, you are not forced to peel parts immediately. You can leave them safely on the backed sheet until you're ready to peel and build. This allows you to optimize your time into discrete task chunks, and you ultimately get a lot more done in a shorter time.
So...how do I go about making my own carriers?
You don't need anything special. Regular cardstock works nicely, and this is a good use for misprints or scrap sheets. You simply apply a coat of repositionable adhesive to one side of the sheet, then cover it with wax paper until you need it.
What kind of repositionable adhesive can I use?
The quickest, cheapest, and neatest method is to use Krylon Easy-Tack 7020 spray adhesive. A light dusting will do--too much will leave residue. Use outdoors or with plenty of ventilation--this stuff is smelly and flammable.
Sulky KK-2000 quilt basting spray is non-toxic, nearly odorless, can be used indoors, but is much more expensive and the tack wears off as it absorbs into the paper. Heavier coats are needed than with the Krylon spray in order to counteract the short-lived tack. I used to like this stuff, but I've found a better and much cheaper indoors alternative, discussed next.
When I can't spray outside due to weather or other circumstances, I've found that brushing a thin layer of Elmer's No-Wrinkle Rubber Cement (in the brown bottle with the orange/white/blue label) on the backing sheet yields a nice repositionable bond that is good for several uses. Let it dry before you mount the print on it.
But it only costs $20 for 2 brand new plastic carriers! You're telling me I need to spend $6 on another ream of cardstock, $8 on spray adhesive, $2 on wax paper, et cetera, et cetera...
These $20 twin-packs of plastic carriers don't last very long. If you assume that each carrier is good for 125 uses (I'm being wildly generous here), you're essentially spending $20 to cut out one 250-sheet ream of cardstock, or 8 cents per page.
When you make your own carriers, a $8 can of Krylon Easy-Tack yields about 100 pages' worth of coverage. Yes, that's about 8 cents per sheet right there, but bear with me.
If you assume that the cardstock costs $6 for a package of 150 sheets, that's 4 cents per page. So, each sheet costs you about 12 cents to make.
Each of these pages can be used at least 5 times, however. That brings the cost equivalent down to 2.4 cents for each page that you cut. Over the long run, using your own carriers costs almost 75% less than buying replacement plastic carriers.
-Mel
|
