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Author Topic: D-roller woes  (Read 8357 times)

sesshin

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D-roller woes
« on: December 05, 2008, 03:53:58 pm »

I flatten probably thousands of prints a year and have been a user of the Bienfang D-roller up until this point. Unfortunately these products aren't very sturdy and the white plastic sheet it uses keeps cracking and getting holes in it, damaging whatever prints it touches. I have now gone through three D-rollers in two years and don't really feel like buying another one that will just break down in about another 8-9 months.

As far as substitutes, I've tried the window shade method. I've tried the vinyl/window film method, with and without helper strips. None of these work on the paper I am using (BC Optica One - a pretty stiff rag paper with a heavy curl).  With the window shade and the vinyl/film the leading edge of the paper ALWAYS makes an indention when it is rolled around, they are just too pliable. The white material the D-roller uses is the only one sturdy enough not to bulge under the leading edge

Does anyone have any suggestions of a substitute for this white material?  I'm willing to give anything a shot at this point.
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T_om

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D-roller woes
« Reply #1 on: December 06, 2008, 09:08:30 pm »

Quote from: sesshin
I flatten probably thousands of prints a year and have been a user of the Bienfang D-roller up until this point. Unfortunately these products aren't very sturdy and the white plastic sheet it uses keeps cracking and getting holes in it, damaging whatever prints it touches. I have now gone through three D-rollers in two years and don't really feel like buying another one that will just break down in about another 8-9 months.

As far as substitutes, I've tried the window shade method. I've tried the vinyl/window film method, with and without helper strips. None of these work on the paper I am using (BC Optica One - a pretty stiff rag paper with a heavy curl).  With the window shade and the vinyl/film the leading edge of the paper ALWAYS makes an indention when it is rolled around, they are just too pliable. The white material the D-roller uses is the only one sturdy enough not to bulge under the leading edge

Does anyone have any suggestions of a substitute for this white material?  I'm willing to give anything a shot at this point.


Go to your local big-box DIY store (Home Depot, Lowes, etc.).  Buy a 10 buck roll of builders paper.  It is almost as heavy as construction paper, but light enough to handle easily.  It is heavy enough that the roll overlap had never been a problem for me and I too have rolled thousands of prints over the last year and a half from my Canon ipf5000.  No creases, no indentations where the roll overlaps.

Tom
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sesshin

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D-roller woes
« Reply #2 on: December 08, 2008, 05:38:47 pm »

Quote from: T_om
Go to your local big-box DIY store (Home Depot, Lowes, etc.).  Buy a 10 buck roll of builders paper.  It is almost as heavy as construction paper, but light enough to handle easily.  It is heavy enough that the roll overlap had never been a problem for me and I too have rolled thousands of prints over the last year and a half from my Canon ipf5000.  No creases, no indentations where the roll overlaps.

Tom

Thanks for the tip! I picked some of this stuff up over the weekend and it definitely is a sturdy material. It took a little bit for me to get the hang of using it. Its a somewhat different technique than using the Deroller but I was able to achieve acceptably flat prints by loosely rolling them and leaving them for a bit. I'm not really sure why but the stiff plastic of the deroller is able to flatten much much faster, allowing me to go through a big stack in a shorter period of time.
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dwood

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D-roller woes
« Reply #3 on: December 08, 2008, 05:48:30 pm »

Quote from: T_om
Go to your local big-box DIY store (Home Depot, Lowes, etc.).  Buy a 10 buck roll of builders paper.  It is almost as heavy as construction paper, but light enough to handle easily.  It is heavy enough that the roll overlap had never been a problem for me and I too have rolled thousands of prints over the last year and a half from my Canon ipf5000.  No creases, no indentations where the roll overlaps.

Tom
Wanting to check this out, I went to my local HD this past weekend. I asked an employee (several, actually) about this builders paper and they looked at me like I had 3 heads. What's this stuff look like and what dept. was it in?

sesshin

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« Reply #4 on: December 08, 2008, 06:20:28 pm »

I found it in the very back in the lumber department with all the wood. I asked an employee and thankfully they knew what I was talking about. Sometimes they're hit and miss. It was in big black rolls in different thicknesses and I got the thickest kind.
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Tklimek

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D-roller woes
« Reply #5 on: December 09, 2008, 01:07:39 am »

So what is the technique?

Do you just roll up the print in the roll of paper....or make helper strips?

Thanks....

Todd in Chicago

Quote from: sesshin
I found it in the very back in the lumber department with all the wood. I asked an employee and thankfully they knew what I was talking about. Sometimes they're hit and miss. It was in big black rolls in different thicknesses and I got the thickest kind.
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sesshin

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« Reply #6 on: December 09, 2008, 11:43:06 am »

What I ended up doing is disassembling one of my D-rollers to reuse the metal bar and the rubber strips on that. I'm sure you could use substitutes such as a pvc pipe or the core of a roll of paper, but I just wanted to make it as close to the specs of the d-roller as possible. Once disassembled I cut a piece of builder's paper about 28x48", laid it face down, and attached the bar to one end and the rubber strips along the sides.

The main problem with the builder's paper though I've found is that it it has a very strong curl itself, so you have to work around that. The nice thing about the material the d-roller uses is that it lays perfectly flat when its unrolled so its much easier to use.

As far as the actual technique of rolling, I would roll up the print very loosely and let it sit for about 2-3 minutes, and then rotate 180 degrees and repeat to get an evenness to both ends. One other thing I noticed is that the top and bottom edges of the paper would have a slight bump on the back side. I'm not sure what causes that but I always print some excess border on my images that is usually cut down so it isn't really a problem.

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sesshin

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« Reply #7 on: December 09, 2008, 11:48:39 am »

One other thing, I finally broke down and bought another d-roller (my fourth one) because I have a big print order coming up and I just didn't feel any of the substitutes were fast enough to keep up. Inkjetart.com assured me that it should last at least a year and I could get a replacement if it didn't, so we'll see. If hope they keep their word because I haven't had one last a year yet
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dct123

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D-roller woes
« Reply #8 on: December 09, 2008, 04:32:48 pm »

If it's black contractor paper, it's most likely 15 or 30#roofing felt paper...on a hot day you'll get black marks transferring to the prints.

I also have to ask...why not use sheet paper...if available in your media choice? It's already sized, (if you're printing standard sizes) so no messing around cutting or flattening. For me, the extra cost of the sheet paper is justified by the labor cost saving.

However, regarding the D-roller...there is a sheet plastic product used in convertible windows and boat cover windows that's flexible and fairly heavy gauge.
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dandeliondigital

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D-roller woes
« Reply #9 on: December 10, 2008, 09:45:37 am »

Hi Tom,
Is the builders paper you are referring to something they also call (pronounced rahs zen) paper?

I’ve seen it in a reddish kind of color, and they put it down on floors to protect them during construction?

Just curious.

Thanks, and so long for now, TOM

Quote from: T_om
Go to your local big-box DIY store (Home Depot, Lowes, etc.).  Buy a 10 buck roll of builders paper.  It is almost as heavy as construction paper, but light enough to handle easily.  It is heavy enough that the roll overlap had never been a problem for me and I too have rolled thousands of prints over the last year and a half from my Canon ipf5000.  No creases, no indentations where the roll overlaps.
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T_om

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D-roller woes
« Reply #10 on: December 10, 2008, 04:02:39 pm »

Quote from: dandeliondigital
Hi Tom,
Is the builders paper you are referring to something they also call (pronounced rahs zen) paper?

I’ve seen it in a reddish kind of color, and they put it down on floors to protect them during construction?

Just curious.

Thanks, and so long for now, TOM


As another poster said, it is usually in the Paint section of Home Depot and Lowe's.  It costs 10 bucks a roll.  It is not the resin paper nor is it black.  It is a brown "craft paper" or "butcher paper" color.

Tom
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netherscurial

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D-roller woes
« Reply #11 on: December 22, 2008, 05:46:36 pm »

hey all, I i make one of these what type of metal for the tube should I use? Can I just use a metal tube like from home depot?

How would you attach the builder's paper to the tube? just tape?
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