I am a gamer: PC, Board Games, the lot… love my games.
I am looking to expand the capability and quality of some of my games by using the GF to make custom maps, pieces and player aids.
One option i have looked at for maps and pieces is to mount printed paper/card stock to a heavier backing (wood or heavier card stock) and then cutting to size with the Glowforge.
Does anyone have any experience with this?
What your thoughts on the safety of wood/paper glues and hot glue under the laser.
(Example, i would use wood instead of foam core for the backing)
I have experience with affixing paper to matte boards and, let me tell you, spray adhesive is pretty great for getting paper attached perfectly flat to a surface. Something like this:
I don’t know about it suitability for lasering, but the quantity involved is pretty small. There is a “Safety Data Sheet” section with more specific information on this particular product on the page linked.
Here’s a link to a post that I put up a while back. The material I used is polyester based, prints well (laser printer only), and is very waterproof. I use it for printed car decals. Drawbacks are that it is only letter sized and requires a laser printer.
If you have access to a laser printer and can live with the size limitations, I highly recommend this material. It rivals game pieces I have gotten in other commercial games and will be much more durable than paper. If you’d like to PM me with your address, I can mail you a sample item and a piece of the material.
I am pretty happy with my technique for mounting cards, chits and maps.
I use a combination of dry-mounting and glue selection.
This is something i learned whilst doing kakejiku in Japan.
I am more concerned about the safety of the glue.
As @scatterbrains said a spray adhesive leaves trace amounts of glue so it might not be an issue but better the ask and be sure is always a good motto to live by!
@bill_laba. I use a BW A4 Laser printer and a Colour A3 Inkjet for my pieces. I would be happy to get a sample but i live in Australia so might be a bit far for a sample to be sent
The other option would be having one cut file, running the operation twice, and then mounting. It would take a hair longer but not much, just being a vector cut.
way to go, imo. You can DIY it or invest in a press.