This tip is for those that may still be looking for an effective way to apply patterns.
I had been using the method Steve describes in his blog, spraying the back of the pattern with adhesive and applying it directly to the wood. After cutting, I usually applied heat to get the pattern off cleanly, but there was always some adhesive residue left behind, which I sanded off. This worked, but I wanted to try something different.
In another thread, I read where someone suggested using shelf paper. Made sense, since shelf paper is designed to be easily removed leaving no residue. I think it was in the same thread that it was asked about whether you could print directly to the shelf paper. I doubted it, but decided to try it out for myself. I picked up a roll of white shelf paper at my local Wally world, cut a few 8.5" X 11" sheets from it and inserted them into the paper tray of my HP inkjet printer. I emphasise the "inkjet" part, because I figured this is where the printing problems would occur. I printed out two patterns. After about 5 minutes, I swiped my finger across a corner of the pattern, completely smearing all the ink, leaving nothing behind resembling the pattern that was there. As I suspected, the ink wasn't even a little bit dried. I waited an hour and tried again, with the exact same results. So, I decided I'd let the patterns sit overnight, and see if they were dry in the morning. Although they were somewhat drier, they still smeared VERY easily, so I came to the conclusion that printing directly onto shelf paper with an inkjet printer was not going to work. At least not with HP ink. I know from experience that EPSON ink dries faster than HP ink, but my EPSON printer kicked the bucket almost a year ago. Maybe someone with an EPSON printer can post
their results. I have a laser printer, but it's in storage, and I'm not sure if the shelf paper can handle the heat used to bond the toner to the paper. Will let you know when I test this out. It's an
old laser printer, so I don't care if the shelf paper melts inside, at least I'll be able to relay the results.
Anyway, since printing on the shelf paper didn't work out, and I still wanted to use the shelf paper, I decided to print the pattern to regular paper, then use the spray adhesive to attach it to the shelf paper. Then, the shelf paper can be attached to your blank. The first pattern was also covered with clear packing tape, but the second wasn't. I noticed no difference in the cuts between the two, however it was only 3/8" BB ply and didn't exactly put much of a strain on the blades. Still, when I finished cutting both patterns, I was able to simply peel the remainder off, with absolutely no residue left behind! Easy peasey!
I will definitely be applying my patterns with the shelf paper from now on! If I find an effective way to print directly to the shelf paper, I will let you know.
Sorry this is so long winded, but I wanted all interested parties to know how my trial and error attempts led me to doing it the way I now do. Hopefully, someone find this info useful!
