THE CREATIVITY OF THE INKJET PRINTER

[Anonymous]

The creativity of the inkjet printer is booming.
Gone are the days when you only used 80gms paper in an inkjet printer now there is a vast array of papers and fabrics which can be fed directly through an inkjet printer. Businesses and schools and other hobby enthusiasts are discovering the artistic ability of the home inkjet printer to help them create their own personal media or enhance an existing hobby.

Crafty Computer Paper Ltd is the only company of its kind in the UK and Europe and they are on a mission to sell as many different kinds of unusual inkjet media as possible. Charlotte Gaisford founded the company in 2003 and started trading out of a spare bedroom at home. Now the company is turning over ¼ million a year and selling specialist inkjet media to customers all over the world via the internet.You might think reading this how boring it is to talk about computers and art but with the introduction of the digital camera more and more people want to display their photos on different media and surfaces. They want to make one off projects without having to go to a print shop or buy the minimum print run.What are the different types of paper available? Here is a description of just a few on offer. One of the best sellers is 100% fabric which can be fed through the inkjet printer, a backing paper is peeled off and the fabric can then be sewn. Boy George used this fabric paper to design his collection at London Fashion week 2006. Textile designers, Quilters and fashion designers are all enjoying the ability to add their own images and photos to fabric. The fabric not only is available in plain cotton but there are silk, linen and voile versions too.

Another paper which sells well is the Water-slide decal paper. Crafty Computer Paper has a customer category called ‘A Roy’ named after Roy Cropper from Coronation Street. This best describes the customer who buys this paper to customise their model trains, dinky toys etc… It is like the old fashioned water-slide paper which came with model kits many years ago. With the introduction of the inkjet version these Roys are in their element re-creating their boy hood hobbies once again. Ardent Productions is a regular customer and buys this paper to help aid in the production of ‘Wallace and Gromit’ and other animations. Because it is so versatile and can be applied to almost any hard surface, anything can be customised with a photo or text. Nail technicians also buy this paper to customise nails and the most unusual request Crafty Computer Paper has had was could it be used on a Head Stone.Badges and jewellery can be made using the inkjet shrink paper, this is printed off then placed in an oven for 2 minutes and the paper turns into a hard three dimensional object. Inkjet tattoo paper is popular and many companies use it for promotional purposes, it gives the same effect as a real tattoo but without the pain.The variety of customers who buy this paper is endless from young kids to OAPs. Everybody is using their computer to create with and show off their images in different forms. The OAPS are the most computer literate and it is not unusual to have an 80 year ringing for more information and being very articulate about their computer knowledge.The specialist papers and fabric now available is endless. Crafty Computer Paper only sells paper they would use themselves and insist that it can be used in any home printer. All the papers are tested on cheap printers and if it doesn’t go through them then they don’t sell it. No specialist knowledge is needed to create using the inkjet printer. Crafty Computer Paper’s website has an amazing collection of free graphics to download and project ideas with free templates.If you are ever wanting to make your Granny a mug with your photo on or your dog a bandana, look at the inkjet printer in a different light and you will be surprised at what else it can do.

[Author]

October 8, 2007 at 9:51 AM