"First time printing street tiles...Any tips???" Topic

Hi,

Long-time wargamer…first time with making paper terrain.
I've done a fair amount of good quality non-paper terrain from armorcast to scratch-built Mordheim buildings; but, for some reason, I've got some mental block on this whole paper thing.

I've had Streets of Legend for months, my wife just picked up a better printer and I am still trippin'. Is it some kind of apprehension to NOT waist ink? Who knows.

My first project is for a zombie game using 1/72 figures based on pennies ( link ) .
I will later want to do some Dungeon tiles too.

Here is what I have…
Printer: Brother mfc 9325cw
Paper: "Inkpress Matte 60"; 200 GSM; 10 Mil; 95% White

For those you well-versed in paper terrain streets, maps, etc…would this be good paper to use for "tiles" with pennies being dragged all over them? Should I gloss/matte coat it after mounting? ( For figures, I often do gloss coat for strength with matte on top for finish. )
Anyone mount on something other than foamcore that you think would be good for my projects?

Thanks for any tips.
:- )

Foamcore is fine, as is matboard. Not familiar with that paper – I use the Wassau 110 lb stock. Any paper that holds ink well should be fine if you're mounting it on foamcore. Sealing/coating is a good idea, in case of drips. You could also ask your party to PICK UP their figures and put them down where they end up… it isn't rocket surgery.

Its not much of a factor with flat streets, but remember to 'edge' your 2D and 3D pieces (run a color down the edges, either black, grey, or if possible, the color of the print there) so that the edges don't show white. That really makes a difference.

The paper should be fine. Make a test print run in medium and high quality to see how the colours come out. Other than that, take care not to use too much glue to assemble the TLX tile, or it will warp horribly. A line along the edges and then a few more lines in a grid patern every inch or so is more than enough with office glue.
If you really want to go far out, consider putting magnets or metal pieces between texture and foamcore so you can put some props onto your street tiles later.

link

Here is my blog page on a method of 'basing' dungeon floor tiles on peel-n-stick, vinyl floor tiles: link.

It is very effective, though the tiles do get heavy as you pile up the number of pieces, but they store easily, in a plastic tub, so they're easy to transport, easy to use. With the clear contact paper over the top of the printed pages/materials, they are quite durable.

I used a glossy finish contact paper because I had it on hand, and I did not want to wait to buy a roll of the frosted, matte finish stuff to use, but matte is available, and it will function the same. Cheers!

I JUST tried this--had OfficeMax print the tiles from the PDF file that I emailed them, for $.66 USD per page printed on white 110 lb cardstock. I then bought cheap vinyl tile from Lowe's for $.38 USD per 12"x12" tile, and cut out the game tiles and stuck them to the vinyl tile, and cut that to fit. I am still looking for glossy contact paper like Slag describes. (I stole his process.)

I've used the peel-n-stick tiles for my Paper Terrain dirt roads, very effective.

Thank you! Really helpful!

A couple of other thoughts…

We equipped our printers with Continuous Ink Supply Systems (CISS) similar to this:

link or link

They really are not too hard to install, and there is likely instructions available somewhere on the web for your specific model – maybe something like this…

PDF link

With the CISS full color printing comes out to less than $.02 USD per page. The savings add up, and the fear of mistakes is removed.

For our maps, etc. we print them out on full sheet premium sticker paper (we get ours – Spectacle Inkjet – here):

sheet-labels.com

The paper is near photo quality. We then stick it to either regular cardstock (110#) and laminate it, or just stick it to heavier material such as the linoleum tiles from the DIY store.

If we are sticking the print to heavier material, we will often laminate it first by splitting a regular 5mil laminating pouch into two parts and laminate just one half of the pouch to the front side of the print out (there is heat activated adhesive on each inner side of the laminating pouch – it is what makes the pouch cloudy before sealing – which is what makes this work). We then just peel the (unlaminated) back off the print out and stick it to the desired surface.

Sorry about the length here, but there really are some great options out there for printing DIY stuff…

Some excellent suggestions here, I shall take advantage of them too.

I have up on the idea of doing it myself on printers, but that is certainly the way to go if you can get it done.