Cheap laser printer paper for toner transfer?

[captnemo]

Gee, that looks like a pretty broad spectrum solvent.

 

I don't speak any Asian languages. I dabbled for a short while with Japanese and quickly gave up. But I have noticed that translations from Asian languages to English often result in some really weird and often amusing results. If I spoke Chinese or Japanese, I'm sure the reason for the disconnect would be obvious.

 

Note that there is no difference between xerographic photocopying and laser printing. (I don't mean those ancient thermal photocopiers from 30 years ago but modern photocopies). It is no accident that the laser printer was invented by Xerox and then popularized by Canon and HP. The only difference between the two devices is in how the photosensitive drum is exposed to light. A photocopier scans an image of the original paper onto the light-sensitive drum (often coated with selenium) and a laser printer uses a laser to directly "draw" an image onto the light sensitive drum, an LED printer uses LEDs to "draw" the image onto the drum. The rest of the process is identical, the toner is identical. (PVC plastic dust mixed with carbon and melted and pressed into the paper.)

 

But from what you have found it sounds like the solvent method for transferring the toner from the paper to another object can be done. And you should be able to use laser printer output or Xerox copier output in the same manner.

[nimrod]

Note that there is no difference between xerographic photocopying and laser printing.

 

In fact actually these days most copy machines are basically a scanner + a laser printer rather than the "traditional" set of mirrors and lenses that exposes the drum to a reflection from the paper directly.

 

Doing a little more searching, it looks like "banana water" is actually nitrocellulose lacquer thinner. Here's a page listing the terms in chinese and english: http://www.jlsafety.gov.cn/db/whpcx.asp?page=78&typeid=1

It looks like banana water is entirely a Chinese term for this.

 

I suspect that this is just the solvent that the author of the book happened to have on hand and that it's probably not important to use this specific mixture.

[captnemo]

Note that there is no difference between xerographic photocopying and laser printing.

 

In fact actually these days most copy machines are basically a scanner + a laser printer rather than the "traditional" set of mirrors and lenses that exposes the drum to a reflection from the paper directly.

 

Doing a little more searching, it looks like "banana water" is actually nitrocellulose lacquer thinner. Here's a page listing the terms in chinese and english: http://www.jlsafety.gov.cn/db/whpcx.asp?page=78&typeid=1

It looks like banana water is entirely a Chinese term for this.

 

I suspect that this is just the solvent that the author of the book happened to have on hand and that it's probably not important to use this specific mixture.

 

Yes indeed. It's actually cheaper these days to buy and install a scanner engine than it is to install the bright light and glass lenses, and as a bonus you create a product that can serve as a scanner, photocopier, and laser printer in one box. The high throughput paper to paper copiers still use optics (the ones that would barely fit in your living room and produce 5 paper to paper copies per second, and punched, stapled, or bound) but the scanner route make better sense for most products these days.

 

Nitrocellulose lacquer thinner eh? Be careful with that stuff. It's an evil solvent and harmful to breathe--a controlled chemical in many cities. I wonder how toluene would work? Toluene is not nice stuff either but you can probably get it at the paint store. You only need small quantities so it should not be hard to purchase. It sounds to me that you want to do this step of the process outdoors with a fan blowing fresh air on you. There's no need to increase your cancer risk or get high on the fumes.

[nimrod]

Nitrocellulose lacquer thinner eh? Be careful with that stuff. It's an evil solvent and harmful to breathe--a controlled chemical in many cities.

 

Somehow I'm not surprised. It seems like the more toxic something is the more likely it is to be common in China these days

[Tricia]

I don't know if this would help you or not, but Black Lightning sells transfer toner for laser printers:

 

Black Lightning Toner

 

I used them waaaay back in the day (as in before the internet - well, before the web... I was on Compuserve back then) but I haven't used them since then. Wouldn't hurt to talk to them to see if their toner will do what you want.

 

Lovely work, nimrod. A friend (she's Chinese) had one made for me a few years ago. Apparently she and her dad had quite the time "translating" my name into Chinese, but it turned out just wonderful. It's one of my most treasured possessions.

Edited October 7, 2007 by Tricia

[Titivillus]

Modern seal carvers actually try to make some seals look like they're a thousand years old and such by chipping away at the stone in a certain manner. Some even attempt to immitate ancient seals that were literally carved in 5 minutes by generals who needed a crude, spur-of-the-moment, unique seal to authentiate battle plans on the battlefield.

 

One thing I was told to do after buying a seal is to strike it on a hard surface. This will break some of the lines slightly making it difficult if not impossible to duplicate.

 

 

Kurt