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Sometimes a printer break-down can be a blessing in disguise.
Now my old HP printer was pretty good, colour double-sided A4 - automatic double-sided printing is not only a great paper saver, it's less to carry and takes up less shelf space over time. But when preparing scenarios with maps, or printing flyers for conventions, sometimes you need more than A4.
It took me a couple of months looking around for the combo of features I needed for the right price, but last week I bought an Epson printer that does colour double-sided A4, colour single-sided A3, and two paper trays, so I don't have to keep changing between paper types.
Tonight I gave it a run for it's money. I printed the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organised Play version 4.2, and 4x Season 4 scenarios.
I also printed the two maps from #4-02 In Wrath's Shadow.
Now normally, maps of this size would require 8x A4 pages, printed on card-stock, laid out side-by-side on the table, or sometimes I'd take a USB stick into my local Officeworks and pay for them to be printed and laminated.
This time, however, 4x A3 pages, laminated .. sweeet!
Note: use Posterazor for slicing large maps into separate pages.
I only realised after I'd printed and laminated both maps on separate pages, that I could have printed the second map's pages on the reverse side of the first map's pages before laminating for convenience, easier storage and carrying around, and halved both paper and lamination costs - after all, both maps printed on four A3 pages, and were from the same scenario. I'll have to remember that for next time.
Looking forward to printing and laminating some A3 flyers for my next convention too.
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You can also do is slide two sheets of map into the same laminate pouch, back-to-back, and once you've passed them through the laminator, slit it open to have the map sections laminated and the blank reverse not. This tends to cut down on the weight of the laminate, and makes them easy to roll up once taped together. Hope that makes sense!
Thanks for the heads up about the Epson Stephen; will have to have a look for it.
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Link to Epson Workforce 7520 A3 Multifunction Printer EPWF7520
Note: Officeworks is an Aussie website, all prices are quoted in Kangaroo Dollars.
I think it may have been on special, as I paid AU$249 + $30 extended warranty.
Also, comparing print quality, Epson text appears not as smooth and sharp as my old HP printer. This is just an observation, and may be due to other causes, such as scaling to fit the page, or draft quality (though I don't remember seeing the draft quality option selected), but something I might be able to adjust by reading the manual. I also noticed some page corner damage and ink splash on some pages, and my first paperjam, so I do suspect HP may be a better quality printer, but for A3 + double-sided A4, and the convenience of two paper trays, it's probably a good choice for the price.
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I'm using a samsung color laser printer, but Posterizer is extremely helpful. The players are always eager to see The Map being unrolled on the table. I make a new one for every session, it's so easy, so much fun and only a little (creative) work. I never considered laminating though... that's a great idea for reusable maps.
