Recommended paper for Shadowfox cases

[Cat]

Hello, I've been lurking around for a little while and followed Shadowfox's project on creating NES cases and later expanding into cases for other classic consoles. I met him in person when I bought a few cases and can certainly say his project is very promising.

However, I've been wondering what kinds of paper people use for their cases. Clearly, it's not possible to fit these case inserts on American letter (8.5" × 11") paper, but larger papers like legal (8.5" × 14") and possibly A4 (210 mm × 297 mm) may be more suitable to the project. In addition, I've seen many comments on semigloss paper printed with an inkjet. There are also large-format papers such as 13" × 19" that could be sliced in half and fed through an inkjet printer. Some of these combinations are extortionately expensive. I'm upgrading from plain letter paper printed with a laser printer in UGCs.

My question for you folks is: what is the recommended paper size, paper type (plain, matte, gloss, semigloss), and printer type (inkjet, laser) to get started on printing beautiful labels for Shadowfox's cases, especially the new NES labels?

If I have missed a discussion on this very topic, I would appreciate a link.

Thank you in advance.

[TDIRunner]

http://www.thecoverproject.net/forums/index.php?topic=19196.0

[Cat]

Ah, so semigloss + A4 + inkjet seems like it'll work best for the Shadowfox cases, provided it's done with a printer that can put a margin as small as 3.5 mm on two sides. Shenske's covers are 178 mm × 290 mm, leaving 7 mm on the long side if using A4. Thanks.

[e_brugal]

Here is TDIRunner's paper comparison picture. He compare copy paper (normal one) and a premium matte one

http://www.thecoverproject.net/forums/index.php?topic=17268.msg153109#msg153109

[Kaiede]

I'll add that if you have a color laser printer (say, because for most of your printing it is a better choice and these covers are the smaller hobby), premium matte is not the best choice for paper, and that getting a hold of good paper is a bit more difficult in legal size, but doable.

I've personally got an HP M252 color laser printer, and copy paper or matte paper just isn't as good as a good glossy or semi gloss (with the glossy having slightly better sharpness and saturation at the cost of more shine). And about the only place that I've found that provides samples for testing was GrayTex papers. But the 32lb glossy laser paper does a really good job with the covers I've been working on, once I set the printer correctly to tell it the paper type. Without that it will tend to crush contrast badly assuming it is copy paper.

(This is more for future readers who may already have a laser printer, and don't want to buy a second printer for these covers)

[Vaulter98c]

+1 for the premium matte, once I made the switch it was night and day!

[Cat]

Hey, I'd just like to check in with what worked for me.

First, the supplies I already have:
- Canon Pixma MG6620 (borrowed from friend)
- Paper trimmer (make sure you have one that fits 13" lengthwise!)

Next, I ordered these:
- Canon 13"×19" Semi-gloss (50-pack): https://www.amazon.com/Canon-Semi-Gloss-50-SG-201-13X19/dp/B0063BCHV0/
- Inkjetcorner generic ink: http://www.ebay.com/itm/201029491678

Then, I sliced each page roughly in half so it would feed into the printer, giving me two large pages at 8½"×13", with a small 2"×13" sliver I discarded. This turned the pack of 50 sheets into 100 yield. I downloaded Shenske's modified NES covers for the games I have and brought them into IrfanView for printing:







After printing, I left them on the bed for a few hours, then I trimmed them down and put them into the cases. They look beautiful now!

You can also use this paper for UGCs and Game Boy/DS inserts. I was able to fit two UGCs or three Game Boy inserts per 13"×19" sheet. You could theoretically fit four Game Boy inserts if your printer supports borderless printing without scaling.

[Kaiede]

Yeah, you can get away with using Canon's Semi Gloss for this, but it's also considerably thicker being a photo paper than these inserts usually are. Has there been any issue with creasing or the like?

[Cat]

Nope, no creasing troubles yet, but I did wait several hours to allow the ink to dry after removing them from the printer.

[Moviefan2k4]

I called around to my local Staples and two FedEx locations; they recommended something called "glossy text paper", around a 90 or 110-pound weight. Does this sound legit to you guys?

[Jeremy1976]

for laser printing that would work but inkjet it would possible smear

[FritzWhite]

Get the red river paper recommended by tdirunner.

[Kaiede]

Agreed, for the content in these covers on an inkjet, I would use the Red River paper. I may have to try the Canon Semi-Gloss idea myself since it is a hair cheaper, just to compare.

[Moviefan2k4]

Get the red river paper recommended by tdirunner.

I went ahead and took a gamble, ordering a 50-sheet pack of their legal-sized matte paper. Hopefully, it will work out for me; still lots to do in Photoshop before it arrives.

[Kaiede]

The thing is, the Premium Matte is not quite what you think when it comes to a matte printer paper which can be somewhat rough in texture. It is more of a smooth matte photo paper (which is what it is), which works quite nicely. They also have a semi-gloss that I like, but I recommend the matte over it. Even more if you can use color management and RR's color profiles when printing (which I do).