Posterazor is a great free program for spreading large items over multiple pages. You can select the justification on the sheet and how much repeated overlap is on each page and on which 2 sides the overlap areas are.
I don't think you realize the thought that went into box creation, box organization, using distribution networks and most of all, playtesting. All your board games are actually dirt cheap, a sign that the market is oversaturated.
@@kosterix123 well not all games are dirt cheap, those can be beneficial for rare games that aren't being made anymore, or games that maybe come with a lot of parts and aren't exactly sold in store, games like DnD and making a custom map board comes to mind. or maybe shadows of brimstone that costs almost a hundred bucks to play it, and using the methods of this video would reduce to about half if not more depending if you have the tools at your disposal.
Jake I enjoy all the videos you have done about board games. Great job at explaining and attention to detail. I have already made some of my own cards and now I need to make a board. you make it look effortless . Thanks for your time.
Very great channel. I was just thinking couple days ago about starting to study up on fabricating different aspects of a game again,as I had some games of my own design I have wanted to work on for years and just never take time to do it, and so I look at making game parts sporadically but then just get too busy with work again and drop the hobby stuff again for awhile. I've just been researching past games from way back to 80s and 90s that I didn't even know about and playing catch-up on buying some that I really liked,( Master Labyrinth, Wiz War, Secrets of the Lost Tomb, Delve, Clank,etc.) and studying the way they are made and game mechanics so I can use ideas for my games so as not to just simulate someone else's game but still create the game that I envisioned long ago and make it interesting. So really appreciate your work and experience. This is also good knowledge for someone who wants to repair old boardgames.
Thanks for this! Your video helped me increase the quality of my prototype. It's way more fun playing my own game on something that feels like a real board
First of all, thank you so much for this video, mate. Last, but not least, that vinyl board just blows up my mind. I will try that out, that's for sure.
Hi! Your videos - not only this one, but all about making different gaming material - are very good and interesting. Even when I decided to do some things in a little other way, I could find helpful hints for my own projects. I also learned about useful tools from your videos (eg rotary cutter, ...). Thank you very much for your excellent videos!
Wow! This is perfect and what I have been looking for and hoping to find! Now I can finally start working on artwork, have it copied on A3 format paper and glued onto greyboard! You have saved - not only my day - but the weeks to come! Thank you!!!! :)) I'll be making my first 50 board games to distribute to friends, family and others very soon!
I just printed a couple Age of Steam maps using something similar first method. There's a function in Adobe Acrobat it allows you to print posters. it splits the image up automatically onto multiple pages. My maps were split across 6 pages to form a trifold board. First I laminated each page and then trimmed them down. Then I lined them up but left about half a millimeter space in between each page. I taped them using clear tape on both sides. Then I just cut the tape on the bottom left and top right joints. This allowed the board too easily fold.
I use a "laminator a 240 combo" which is a device that can laminate and cut paper. I just print on A4, laminate it (which adds protection and a bit of thickness), then cut it. Which is quick and easy. But yes, your vinyl-wrapped boards are in a whole different league.
this series is very relaxing and I thought I was a total nerd but there are others apparently just as crazy as me ;-) Still the hardest part is designing a good box. pnp creators only rarely bother with boxes. ziplocks tend to get lost or are otherwise irretrievable.
The best thing about the Internet is that whatever your hobby there's always some people around as crazy as you! As to boxes: tell me about it... I have a generic template I use for anything that folds down to about A5 size, and tuck box templates are pretty easy to come by, but yeah - nobody seems to want to design boxes at the same time as the game. I'm not innocent of this either, I've released several PnP games and probably only one box template... I think part of the problem is that the actual size of the build can vary wildly depending on how it's actually made - if you tape together paper for the board it's much thinner than if you mount it on heavy card; if you stuff paper into sleeves it's thinner but wider than if you glue up your own cards, and so on.
Thanks for the video. QUESTIONS: - What laser printer do you recommend to have? - What is "qood quality" paper? - You also mention some protection spray, I did not understood, said so quickly. Can you write dwon what spray is that? - What kind of paper cutter do you use? Is it tonic cutter fine, or even a cheap chinese guillotine from ebay $10 fine or they go blunt easy and cant cut straight?
I can't really make a proper "recommendation" for a laser printer since I've only used a few myself. Personally I have a Xerox Phaser 6600 - I chose it because I've had a Xerox printer before that was really reliable, Xerox customer service was excellent (I damaged my previous printer being careless and they were going out of their way to help with it), and most importantly third-party toner was easily available and the printer has control over fuser temperature. That last bit is important - first party toner is seriously expensive, but cheap third-party toner often needs to be fused at a higher temperature to make a good bond. You can achieve this by telling the printer it's printing on thicker paper, but then you lose the possibility of printing on thicker paper. "Good quality" paper is... well, good quality. The cheapest copier paper you find will be fine for printing letters, but it probably doesn't have a perfectly smooth surface and may not be especially bright white, and these things will affect the quality of the print. If I talk about good-quality paper I mean the kind of stuff that gets sold for printing off presentation documents. I buy "silk finish" laser-printer-specific paper which is slightly heavier (100gsm compared to typical copier paper at 75-80gsm), brighter white, and has a silk-smooth finish which produces a higher print quality. The protection spray is an acrylic lacquer. Basically a varnish that you spray on things to protect them. Some types of lacquer will soak very quickly into the paper and make it look greasy - this can happen with acrylic lacquer if you put it on really heavily, but if you're not heavy-handed it's fine. It helps protect the printed surface, and often makes the colours pop a bit more. I use a rotary cutter for most of my cuts, cutting along a steel ruler. I have a video explaining how to use them, but they're not for everyone - if you don't get on, I'd advise a craft knife against a steel ruler rather than using a guillotine. It's much harder to line the cuts up precisely on most guillotines, and they don't leave the cleanest cut edge. But if you find your guillotine cuts accurately enough for you, that's all that matters!
Can you tell me where you bought your Adhesive backed Print on the Quad Fold Board? It looks really nice and I'm struggling to find a source that I trust and that it will look good.
Hey mate. I love your job. I just have one question. If we want to give a linen finish on our game boards, like most games have, how can we do it? Do you use a specific paper for that job? If you do please let me know what kind of. I am from Greece and here I am struggling to find these kind of papers..
This is a lot harder than I thought. I thought we would at least be able to find the card board folded prepared already somewhere. And all we had to do would be just add the artwork to it. But it looks like that's not the case.
Aside from the general tutorial, the thing I like most about this video is the small tips embedded throughout (like pulling the backing off the vinyl from _under the chipboard_). I am making a board with chipboard and vinyl. I am at the last step - attaching the artwork. However, my artwork is not adhesive-backed. Any suggestions on the best way to adhere it while keeping it perfectly aligned?
That's a good question! One of the easiest and most reliable options, albeit also more expensive, is to use "mounting film" - basically giant sheets/rolls of double-sided tape. Unroll it, stick it down to the back of your board, then peel the backing off in the same way you would a self-adhesive print. There's a variety of options from single A4/US-Letter sheets (e.g. Graphix Double-Tack) right the way up to big rolls of the stuff often used by signmakers/shop dress people (e.g. Neschen Gudy). A cheaper but potentially-messier option _might_ be contact adhesive. This comes in cans or tubes and is often thinned with volatile organic solvents, so do it outside or in a well-ventilated space... and also double-check that it doesn't react badly with the vinyl! Test on a bit of scrap if you can, but the packaging may give you an idea. You smear a thin layer of the adhesive on both the back of the print and also the top of your chipboard, wait for it to dry to a rubbery tack, and press them together - you can put a large sheet of paper between them to allow you to position before they touch, because once they stick they're not coming apart easily. Press down firmly with a roller or squeegee to get a really strong bond (with a bit of paper over the top if you're worried about damaging the print). You may want to map out exactly where you want the adhesive on the chipboard first and lay masking tape around to allow you to cleanly remove the adhesive from the edges if you spread it a bit too far. A heavy-duty spray adhesive may work - something like Super77 - but again, try it on a bit of scrap first if you can, just in case. To aid in positioning you can often lay spray-adhesive-covered material down on the waxed side of greaseproof baking paper, and use that as a makeshift sticker backing.
Thank you kindly for your reply, this is great information! I looked into some of these ideas as well as supplies I already had at home. I had great success with your suggestion of "creating my own backing" for Super77. I found that Reynold's Freezer Paper worked perfectly for this. It stuck to my Super77 covered artwork almost exactly like a "sticker backing" then peeled off cleanly as I needed it to while deploying onto the board. :-)
Great video. It has me wanting to give this a try. I have already acquired the tools, but I'm having difficulty locating some of the materials here in the USA. Can you share details about the type of double-side tape you use? If anyone else has any recommendations, please share them. When I search for double-sided tape, all I find is the 1/2" wide (and sometimes 3/4" wide) Scotch double-sided tape, which does not have the non-stick liner. The Scotch tape seems to work all right for tuck boxes, but I would like to find a wider tape with a non-stick liner like shown in the video. As for chipboard, it seems to always be labeled "medium weight" or "heavy weight", never by the exact thickness, and even the heavy weight stuff is usually well under 2mm thick. As for the Vinyl backing, there are some DC Fix options on Amazon, but no black faux leather. Instead, there is a Con-Tact brand option at Home Depot. It is only 18" wide, but since the backing is cut in half right after the chipboard is stuck to it, I think it should work.
I'm in the UK, so I can't give you specific product pointers, but I can offer some general advice! Double-sided tape: I've seen the same Scotch tape over here! I generally find my double-sided tape in stationery shops here in the UK - the type with the peel-away backing is definitely rarer than the type which just has glue both sides of the plastic film, but it's often found in larger stationers. If you don't find it there, though, try DIY shops - carpet tape is basically the same product but wider. As a last resort, you could look at specialist woodworking supply places as well - I know I see American woodworkers on RUclips using double-sided tape with a peel-away backing quite frequently to stick blanks together in order to cut an identical shape in multiple parts, for example. Board: It might be worth looking for "greyboard" instead of "chipboard". Greyboard (I guess maybe "grayboard" in the US?) is the stuff that bookbinders use for hardback covers, which is largely what I use for PnP boards, so as a last resort you could try a bindery supplier... but it'd probably be more expensive! From what I understand, US suppliers often measure in "points", which really just means "thousandths of an inch". So my UK 2-3mm greyboard would turn into 80-120pt greyboard/chipboard in the US; a 1-1.5mm greyboard that's good for tokens and small player boards would be a 40-60pt board in US terms. 2mm/80pt is absolutely fine for game boards like these; 3mm is super-thick. If I search US Amazon for "60pt chipboard" or "80pt chipboard" a fair number of results come up, so hopefully it's widely available by that kind of measurement. Vinyl: The DC-Fix brand I use (which seems to be widely available across Europe) seems to be generally intended to dress up the sides of kitchen cabinets and similar, so if you're looking for larger rolls, you might try looking at DIY shops, interior-design suppliers, that kind of place. There are some other brands available around here which are just as good, and obviously it doesn't *have* to have the leather effect - it's just a common feature of commercial game boards, so since one self-adhesive vinyl costs the same as the next, I figure I might as well! You can actually sometimes find other products which are just as good, but may be a little trickier to apply; I've seen thick paper-based wraps which also have a nice texture and would do well enough as board game backing - the important thing is really just that you stick something on the back which has a similar moisture permeability to the front, because otherwise your board may warp if the local humidity changes from the day you built it. Good luck finding supplies!
Thanks so much for the reply. Searching for 100pt chipboard does get some results. There are some 12" x 12" and 8.5" x 11" sheets on amazon.com. I also found some on the Blicks Art Supply website (dickblick.com). They have larger sheets of 100pt chipboard (22" x 28" in store and twice that size online). It's half the price per square inch of what is on amazon if you don't have to pay for shipping, and lucky for me, I pass within a mile of a Blicks store on the way home from work so I picked up a couple sheets. It's brown like the chipboard on the back of a notepad, but much thicker of course. I also picked up the 18" wide Con-Tact vinyl. It is the faux leather type so it has the texturing. I don't think it would be nearly as nice if it was smooth. Blicks also has some double-sided tape with backing which I may try. Although I may also look at some other types of tape that are not double-sided.
@@johns8598 Try an archival supply company that sells bookbinding supplies for the double stick tape. talasonline.com carries four widths of 3M 415 double stick tape, as well as other useful items.
Greyboard is a dense paperboard made from recycled waste paper - often, as I understand it, the trimmings of other paper products from the same mill. (e.g. www.papermilldirect.co.uk/inspire/what-is-greyboard-and-what-is-it-used-for) I expect in the US it would probably be sold as 'chipboard', but that always seems to be a much more broad name for paperboard in general - greyboard is a specific kind of paperboard. Maybe it's the same as what Americans call 'binder board'? I'm pretty sure I've heard of it being used for book covers. For making game boards the important thing is really that it whatever you choose is a reasonable thickness, very stiff, and so far as possible resists warping.
In case of the trifold board how to keep the vinyl from peeling off the edges of the folding panes? I made a tri folding folding chess board on these lines and it turned out great but I am concerned about the backing vinly peeling off with use.
There's only so much that can be done about this, ultimately. Use a good-quality vinyl and if you need to add the adhesive yourself, use a strong one; other than that, it's all down to the handling. If you're rough with the cut edges, you're more likely to see the vinyl start to lift, but I've got boards that I've used many times which are years old now and show no sign of delaminating. If the edge does start to become unstuck and you want to repair it, try mixing a small amount of a two-part epoxy glue (here in the UK a common brand is Araldite) and use a thin slip of card to push some under the edge. Press the edge down, use a clean bit of card to scrape away any of the glue that's seeping out the edge, then fold something like greaseproof/waxed baking paper around the glued edge and rest a medium-weight book on top. Once it's cured - thirty minutes to a few hours depending on the particular glue used - you should find that it doesn't lift any more. You can use this technique with PVA glue if paper/cardboard layers start to delaminate (e.g. the edges of a commercial board game box, or the printed layer on top of most boards) but PVA needs to soak into the paper to work so it won't glue vinyl.
Great video. I want to make my own Carcasonne extensions and am wondering what acrylic lacquer do you use that is suitable for paper and card. Most of the ones I find advertised are for painted surfaces.
To be honest, in my experience the answer is that pretty much all of them are suitable for paper and card... but you do have to be careful how you go about applying them. If you glue the paper to the card and then spray, then you're introducing a moisture differential from one side of the card to the other, and it'll likely warp as a result. So you need to spray the paper first, and then glue it down to the card afterwards. (This is also why I don't like using water-based glues like PVA.) The other thing to be careful of is how well (or badly!) the lacquer interacts with your printer's output, and that's unfortunately something that can only be discovered by trial and error. Some inkjet ink will bloom out if you spray it with lacquer, although you can often mitigate that by spraying many really light coats rather than one heavy coat. The solvents in some lacquers will dissolve laser toner, but in my experience this isn't much of a problem so long as you don't actually touch the printed parts while the lacquer is drying. Unfortunately this part really comes down to experimentation, but I've had a lot more trouble spraying lacquers over different kinds of paint than I have over printed paper! If you're in the UK, I use Simoniz acrylic lacquer, and have previously had a lot of success with Halfords' own-brand stuff as well. I switched to the Simoniz brand largely because you can get it fairly cheap in bulk off of eBay!
For the vinyl wrapped board, are you NOT putting binders tape for the back hinge, like for the Dune game? I am guessing the vinyl itself acts as a hinge tape?
I am in the USA. using an injet printer, which has water soluble ink, which is not ideal. Any idea as to any specific type of spray that would safely coat it?
Pretty much any spray should be fine so long as you're a) using suitable paper for your printer, and b) do light coats with the spray lacquer. You should only have trouble - even with inkjet printing - if you spray the protective coat on too heavily. By way of example - there exists inkjet waterslide decal paper! This stuff requires you to print the image on the paper, coat it carefully in spray lacquer, then soak the paper in water to slide the decal off the sheet and onto a model. If you couldn't spray inkjet printing the printing would be destroyed when you soaked it! I've used this several times and it's worked fine - you just have to do several light coats of the spray instead of one thick one.
It could certainly work, but you'd need to be careful of a couple of things: Firstly, you'd need to be careful to trim the vinyl neatly so it's an even measurement all the way around to ensure that it doesn't have uneven edges over the top of the board and doesn't cover up any important stuff on the board. Secondly, like that the vinyl is stuck down with only a narrow strip of adhesive on that side of the board, and over a step (first to the greyboard itself, and then stepped up to cover the printed game board), which means there's two reasons there it might not stick so well. It'd probably be fine, but it is generally a bit stiff and stretchy, which means that it's liable to pull away a bit from where it's wrapped around corners over time. When it's trapped underneath the game board layer, that's fine; if it's on top it may lead to it coming loose after a while.
Most regular tape is very glossy and often self-adhesive glues don't stick to it very well. They'll stick down at first, but lift from the back of the tape far more easily from the card, which is rougher and slightly porous. Double-sided tape is an easy way to make sure that that's definitely not a problem!
I've looked at a handful of businesses that'll do custom prints but I've failed to see the self adhesive option that you used on the last board you made in this video. What businesses have you/did you use for that option? Also I realize this is a how to guide but have you ever done commission boards for people before?
The place I got that particular print from was Zip Posters, here in the UK: www.zip-posters.co.uk/high-tac-self-adhesive-signs/ It's actually printed on vinyl, it's intended for outdoor signage and so on, but it works great for boards. Nearly all poster-printing places will print large-format prints which are great for boards. If you don't find one that does self-adhesive but you can get your board printed on regular paper at the size you want, there are a number of options anyway. There'll be a tips video on it at some point in the future, but the short version is: - Check out sign-making suppliers for "adhesive film" or "mount film". This is basically a layer of glue - or glue-covered vinyl or similar - which you can stick to your board graphics, then peel back the backing to stick to something else. It's like giant double-sided tape. - For a quick-and-dirty option, spray the back of the board all over with spray-glue, then immediately lay down greaseproof baking parchment. This doesn't stick very well (if at all!) to the glue, but you can use it as giant sticker-backing to position the board artwork - then you can tap down the edge and peel the baking paper out from underneath, just like a full-sheet label that happens to be board-sized. - As a last resort, use PVA glue... but spread it onto the thick substrate and not the paper artwork, or the artwork will go all wrinkly. Spread it as thinly as possible, then use a roller to roll down the artwork to make sure that it's pressed well down and to prevent it going wrinkly. It might help to have another sheet over the top of the artwork so the roller doesn't mess up the print while you're rolling.
dudeeeeeeeee what a beast, specially that last one
I saw the paper board and was like
“Hmm, this guy seems unprofessional”
Then I saw the final board, and realized I was absolutely wrong
Posterazor is a great free program for spreading large items over multiple pages. You can select the justification on the sheet and how much repeated overlap is on each page and on which 2 sides the overlap areas are.
thanks a lot
Watching these videos makes me realize how much bang for the buck I get when I spend $50 on a game.
ruclips.net/video/vaITIYGeAjY/видео.html
Watch this
I don't think you realize the thought that went into box creation, box organization, using distribution networks and most of all, playtesting. All your board games are actually dirt cheap, a sign that the market is oversaturated.
@@kosterix123 well not all games are dirt cheap, those can be beneficial for rare games that aren't being made anymore, or games that maybe come with a lot of parts and aren't exactly sold in store, games like DnD and making a custom map board comes to mind. or maybe shadows of brimstone that costs almost a hundred bucks to play it, and using the methods of this video would reduce to about half if not more depending if you have the tools at your disposal.
Jake I enjoy all the videos you have done about board games. Great job at explaining and attention to detail. I have already made some of my own cards and now I need to make a board. you make it look effortless . Thanks for your time.
i‘ve always wondered how to make a board game as good as manufacturers do, now i know, thanks alot
Thank you I am making a board game for DT (I’m in GCSE right now) as my final project and this video might have just saved my life
How'd it go?
This was satisfying to watch because it took me back to my college book arts class.
Exactly what I was looking for, and you included other options. Thank you for the great detailed video.
Very great channel. I was just thinking couple days ago about starting to study up on fabricating different aspects of a game again,as I had some games of my own design I have wanted to work on for years and just never take time to do it, and so I look at making game parts sporadically but then just get too busy with work again and drop the hobby stuff again for awhile.
I've just been researching past games from way back to 80s and 90s that I didn't even know about and playing catch-up on buying some that I really liked,( Master Labyrinth, Wiz War, Secrets of the Lost Tomb, Delve, Clank,etc.) and studying the way they are made and game mechanics so I can use ideas for my games so as not to just simulate someone else's game but still create the game that I envisioned long ago and make it interesting.
So really appreciate your work and experience.
This is also good knowledge for someone who wants to repair old boardgames.
Thanks for this! Your video helped me increase the quality of my prototype. It's way more fun playing my own game on something that feels like a real board
First of all, thank you so much for this video, mate. Last, but not least, that vinyl board just blows up my mind. I will try that out, that's for sure.
This guy is a wizard.
Hi! Your videos - not only this one, but all about making different gaming material - are very good and interesting. Even when I decided to do some things in a little other way, I could find helpful hints for my own projects. I also learned about useful tools from your videos (eg rotary cutter, ...). Thank you very much for your excellent videos!
I don’t understand why would people dislike videos when there good
Hey mate, great videos (I also watched the cards one), thank you for sharing them. I was able to rebuild my lost Hero Quest game using your guides.
Youe video are really clear explained and useful for who is willing to start and avvio the beginner mistakes
Good video mate me and my daughter have invented loads of bourd games gona give the last one more professional board a Try this time
this was extremely satisfying to watch.. you're a true artist
Wow! This is perfect and what I have been looking for and hoping to find! Now I can finally start working on artwork, have it copied on A3 format paper and glued onto greyboard! You have saved - not only my day - but the weeks to come! Thank you!!!! :)) I'll be making my first 50 board games to distribute to friends, family and others very soon!
This video helped me alot for my project. Thank you so much. Keep up with the good work sir.
I just printed a couple Age of Steam maps using something similar first method. There's a function in Adobe Acrobat it allows you to print posters. it splits the image up automatically onto multiple pages. My maps were split across 6 pages to form a trifold board.
First I laminated each page and then trimmed them down. Then I lined them up but left about half a millimeter space in between each page.
I taped them using clear tape on both sides. Then I just cut the tape on the bottom left and top right joints. This allowed the board too easily fold.
8:26 for the best version
I use a "laminator a 240 combo" which is a device that can laminate and cut paper. I just print on A4, laminate it (which adds protection and a bit of thickness), then cut it. Which is quick and easy. But yes, your vinyl-wrapped boards are in a whole different league.
too hot to replicate right now but amusing to watch.
3:17 that ruler is GOLD.
Your series has been incredible to watch; I learned a lot. Thank you for sharing your expertise!
Please make a video on how to make friends to play these games with.
I am enjoying these videos! So thorough and many options. These videos are just what I have been looking for!
I like these tutorials a lot. Easy to follow and very detailed. Thank you.
Binge watching the hell out of these videos!
this series is very relaxing and I thought I was a total nerd but there are others apparently just as crazy as me ;-) Still the hardest part is designing a good box. pnp creators only rarely bother with boxes. ziplocks tend to get lost or are otherwise irretrievable.
The best thing about the Internet is that whatever your hobby there's always some people around as crazy as you!
As to boxes: tell me about it... I have a generic template I use for anything that folds down to about A5 size, and tuck box templates are pretty easy to come by, but yeah - nobody seems to want to design boxes at the same time as the game. I'm not innocent of this either, I've released several PnP games and probably only one box template... I think part of the problem is that the actual size of the build can vary wildly depending on how it's actually made - if you tape together paper for the board it's much thinner than if you mount it on heavy card; if you stuff paper into sleeves it's thinner but wider than if you glue up your own cards, and so on.
Great video!
Great tutorial, direct and clear. Thank you!
This is exactly what I needed. Thank you!
@ 9:35 I see you've got essentials for Fish & Chips holding down 3 of your 4 corners. Pepper (could be salt?), Malt Vinegar and a Beer mug! Cheers!
Great video, enjoyed watching it, but not sure I will have the patience and skills to apply your tips!
Resultado increible.....y encima parece facil hacerlo
Thank you so much! This is what I need to know for my artwork.
Very helpful!
Thank you!
So glad i found this video, vert helpful
One of the best videos about games I found, thanks a lot, Hope one day I'll be brave enought to do it
I feel like you could make some AMAZING dm screens with these techniques, as well.
You're probably right!
Meanwhile, my actual GM screen is half an old Risk board with some FATE reference sheets taped to the inside...!
@@DiningTablePrintPlay well then my friend, I think you have a project!
Really nice work. By the way I really enjoy Todd Sanders' games as well. Many pnp players do, I believe. Man is an artist.
Great video! Very thorough and well edited.
Thanks for the video.
QUESTIONS:
- What laser printer do you recommend to have?
- What is "qood quality" paper?
- You also mention some protection spray, I did not understood, said so quickly. Can you write dwon what spray is that?
- What kind of paper cutter do you use? Is it tonic cutter fine, or even a cheap chinese guillotine from ebay $10 fine or they go blunt easy and cant cut straight?
I can't really make a proper "recommendation" for a laser printer since I've only used a few myself. Personally I have a Xerox Phaser 6600 - I chose it because I've had a Xerox printer before that was really reliable, Xerox customer service was excellent (I damaged my previous printer being careless and they were going out of their way to help with it), and most importantly third-party toner was easily available and the printer has control over fuser temperature. That last bit is important - first party toner is seriously expensive, but cheap third-party toner often needs to be fused at a higher temperature to make a good bond. You can achieve this by telling the printer it's printing on thicker paper, but then you lose the possibility of printing on thicker paper.
"Good quality" paper is... well, good quality. The cheapest copier paper you find will be fine for printing letters, but it probably doesn't have a perfectly smooth surface and may not be especially bright white, and these things will affect the quality of the print. If I talk about good-quality paper I mean the kind of stuff that gets sold for printing off presentation documents. I buy "silk finish" laser-printer-specific paper which is slightly heavier (100gsm compared to typical copier paper at 75-80gsm), brighter white, and has a silk-smooth finish which produces a higher print quality.
The protection spray is an acrylic lacquer. Basically a varnish that you spray on things to protect them. Some types of lacquer will soak very quickly into the paper and make it look greasy - this can happen with acrylic lacquer if you put it on really heavily, but if you're not heavy-handed it's fine. It helps protect the printed surface, and often makes the colours pop a bit more.
I use a rotary cutter for most of my cuts, cutting along a steel ruler. I have a video explaining how to use them, but they're not for everyone - if you don't get on, I'd advise a craft knife against a steel ruler rather than using a guillotine. It's much harder to line the cuts up precisely on most guillotines, and they don't leave the cleanest cut edge. But if you find your guillotine cuts accurately enough for you, that's all that matters!
thank you
would you recommend xerox 6600dn for cards like Dixit, Catan, and landtiles like Carcasonne and Small World?
Very cool!
That was great. Very handy. Thank you.
excellent tutorial. Thanks for sharing
Excellent job on these!
I'll be trying them out soon!
nice video, one question which spray do u use for protect the board ?
This is a great channel! Love it.
Excellent video man!
Can you tell me where you bought your Adhesive backed Print on the Quad Fold Board? It looks really nice and I'm struggling to find a source that I trust and that it will look good.
Amazing
That last board is glorious… but i have zero faith in my abilities… how much would you charge for said service? 😅
Top Ace!!!!
Hey mate. I love your job. I just have one question. If we want to give a linen finish on our game boards, like most games have, how can we do it? Do you use a specific paper for that job? If you do please let me know what kind of. I am from Greece and here I am struggling to find these kind of papers..
This is a lot harder than I thought. I thought we would at least be able to find the card board folded prepared already somewhere. And all we had to do would be just add the artwork to it. But it looks like that's not the case.
Great work!
Well done!
stunning work! thanks for sharing
just kidding best RUclipsr ever
Thanks! Great stuff.
Aside from the general tutorial, the thing I like most about this video is the small tips embedded throughout (like pulling the backing off the vinyl from _under the chipboard_). I am making a board with chipboard and vinyl. I am at the last step - attaching the artwork. However, my artwork is not adhesive-backed. Any suggestions on the best way to adhere it while keeping it perfectly aligned?
That's a good question!
One of the easiest and most reliable options, albeit also more expensive, is to use "mounting film" - basically giant sheets/rolls of double-sided tape. Unroll it, stick it down to the back of your board, then peel the backing off in the same way you would a self-adhesive print. There's a variety of options from single A4/US-Letter sheets (e.g. Graphix Double-Tack) right the way up to big rolls of the stuff often used by signmakers/shop dress people (e.g. Neschen Gudy).
A cheaper but potentially-messier option _might_ be contact adhesive. This comes in cans or tubes and is often thinned with volatile organic solvents, so do it outside or in a well-ventilated space... and also double-check that it doesn't react badly with the vinyl! Test on a bit of scrap if you can, but the packaging may give you an idea. You smear a thin layer of the adhesive on both the back of the print and also the top of your chipboard, wait for it to dry to a rubbery tack, and press them together - you can put a large sheet of paper between them to allow you to position before they touch, because once they stick they're not coming apart easily. Press down firmly with a roller or squeegee to get a really strong bond (with a bit of paper over the top if you're worried about damaging the print). You may want to map out exactly where you want the adhesive on the chipboard first and lay masking tape around to allow you to cleanly remove the adhesive from the edges if you spread it a bit too far.
A heavy-duty spray adhesive may work - something like Super77 - but again, try it on a bit of scrap first if you can, just in case. To aid in positioning you can often lay spray-adhesive-covered material down on the waxed side of greaseproof baking paper, and use that as a makeshift sticker backing.
Thank you kindly for your reply, this is great information! I looked into some of these ideas as well as supplies I already had at home. I had great success with your suggestion of "creating my own backing" for Super77. I found that Reynold's Freezer Paper worked perfectly for this. It stuck to my Super77 covered artwork almost exactly like a "sticker backing" then peeled off cleanly as I needed it to while deploying onto the board. :-)
Nice Job. Thank you for your channel
Superb video
beautiful
amazing!
For the graphics (paper you put on top) what type of paper is it and what finishes do you put on it
Great video. It has me wanting to give this a try. I have already acquired the tools, but I'm having difficulty locating some of the materials here in the USA. Can you share details about the type of double-side tape you use?
If anyone else has any recommendations, please share them.
When I search for double-sided tape, all I find is the 1/2" wide (and sometimes 3/4" wide) Scotch double-sided tape, which does not have the non-stick liner. The Scotch tape seems to work all right for tuck boxes, but I would like to find a wider tape with a non-stick liner like shown in the video.
As for chipboard, it seems to always be labeled "medium weight" or "heavy weight", never by the exact thickness, and even the heavy weight stuff is usually well under 2mm thick.
As for the Vinyl backing, there are some DC Fix options on Amazon, but no black faux leather. Instead, there is a Con-Tact brand option at Home Depot. It is only 18" wide, but since the backing is cut in half right after the chipboard is stuck to it, I think it should work.
I'm in the UK, so I can't give you specific product pointers, but I can offer some general advice!
Double-sided tape: I've seen the same Scotch tape over here! I generally find my double-sided tape in stationery shops here in the UK - the type with the peel-away backing is definitely rarer than the type which just has glue both sides of the plastic film, but it's often found in larger stationers. If you don't find it there, though, try DIY shops - carpet tape is basically the same product but wider. As a last resort, you could look at specialist woodworking supply places as well - I know I see American woodworkers on RUclips using double-sided tape with a peel-away backing quite frequently to stick blanks together in order to cut an identical shape in multiple parts, for example.
Board: It might be worth looking for "greyboard" instead of "chipboard". Greyboard (I guess maybe "grayboard" in the US?) is the stuff that bookbinders use for hardback covers, which is largely what I use for PnP boards, so as a last resort you could try a bindery supplier... but it'd probably be more expensive! From what I understand, US suppliers often measure in "points", which really just means "thousandths of an inch". So my UK 2-3mm greyboard would turn into 80-120pt greyboard/chipboard in the US; a 1-1.5mm greyboard that's good for tokens and small player boards would be a 40-60pt board in US terms. 2mm/80pt is absolutely fine for game boards like these; 3mm is super-thick. If I search US Amazon for "60pt chipboard" or "80pt chipboard" a fair number of results come up, so hopefully it's widely available by that kind of measurement.
Vinyl: The DC-Fix brand I use (which seems to be widely available across Europe) seems to be generally intended to dress up the sides of kitchen cabinets and similar, so if you're looking for larger rolls, you might try looking at DIY shops, interior-design suppliers, that kind of place. There are some other brands available around here which are just as good, and obviously it doesn't *have* to have the leather effect - it's just a common feature of commercial game boards, so since one self-adhesive vinyl costs the same as the next, I figure I might as well! You can actually sometimes find other products which are just as good, but may be a little trickier to apply; I've seen thick paper-based wraps which also have a nice texture and would do well enough as board game backing - the important thing is really just that you stick something on the back which has a similar moisture permeability to the front, because otherwise your board may warp if the local humidity changes from the day you built it.
Good luck finding supplies!
Thanks so much for the reply.
Searching for 100pt chipboard does get some results. There are some 12" x 12" and 8.5" x 11" sheets on amazon.com. I also found some on the Blicks Art Supply website (dickblick.com). They have larger sheets of 100pt chipboard (22" x 28" in store and twice that size online). It's half the price per square inch of what is on amazon if you don't have to pay for shipping, and lucky for me, I pass within a mile of a Blicks store on the way home from work so I picked up a couple sheets. It's brown like the chipboard on the back of a notepad, but much thicker of course.
I also picked up the 18" wide Con-Tact vinyl. It is the faux leather type so it has the texturing. I don't think it would be nearly as nice if it was smooth.
Blicks also has some double-sided tape with backing which I may try. Although I may also look at some other types of tape that are not double-sided.
@@johns8598 Try an archival supply company that sells bookbinding supplies for the double stick tape. talasonline.com carries four widths of 3M 415 double stick tape, as well as other useful items.
Great video, thanks for all the tips.
One question: what is the “grey board” you used for the final board?
Greyboard is a dense paperboard made from recycled waste paper - often, as I understand it, the trimmings of other paper products from the same mill.
(e.g. www.papermilldirect.co.uk/inspire/what-is-greyboard-and-what-is-it-used-for)
I expect in the US it would probably be sold as 'chipboard', but that always seems to be a much more broad name for paperboard in general - greyboard is a specific kind of paperboard. Maybe it's the same as what Americans call 'binder board'? I'm pretty sure I've heard of it being used for book covers.
For making game boards the important thing is really that it whatever you choose is a reasonable thickness, very stiff, and so far as possible resists warping.
Very nice! Thank you!
Great
Nice! Good job!
Legend! Thank you
High quality vinyl wrapped board 8:26.
This is awesome! Love this! Thank you!
In case of the trifold board how to keep the vinyl from peeling off the edges of the folding panes? I made a tri folding folding chess board on these lines and it turned out great but I am concerned about the backing vinly peeling off with use.
There's only so much that can be done about this, ultimately. Use a good-quality vinyl and if you need to add the adhesive yourself, use a strong one; other than that, it's all down to the handling. If you're rough with the cut edges, you're more likely to see the vinyl start to lift, but I've got boards that I've used many times which are years old now and show no sign of delaminating.
If the edge does start to become unstuck and you want to repair it, try mixing a small amount of a two-part epoxy glue (here in the UK a common brand is Araldite) and use a thin slip of card to push some under the edge. Press the edge down, use a clean bit of card to scrape away any of the glue that's seeping out the edge, then fold something like greaseproof/waxed baking paper around the glued edge and rest a medium-weight book on top. Once it's cured - thirty minutes to a few hours depending on the particular glue used - you should find that it doesn't lift any more. You can use this technique with PVA glue if paper/cardboard layers start to delaminate (e.g. the edges of a commercial board game box, or the printed layer on top of most boards) but PVA needs to soak into the paper to work so it won't glue vinyl.
@@DiningTablePrintPlay Thanks. I think the Araldite idea is great 👍🏻.
Pretty informative. :o
Bravo!
Fixing spray makes sticking paper to board or foamboard much easier.
Great video. I want to make my own Carcasonne extensions and am wondering what acrylic lacquer do you use that is suitable for paper and card. Most of the ones I find advertised are for painted surfaces.
To be honest, in my experience the answer is that pretty much all of them are suitable for paper and card... but you do have to be careful how you go about applying them.
If you glue the paper to the card and then spray, then you're introducing a moisture differential from one side of the card to the other, and it'll likely warp as a result. So you need to spray the paper first, and then glue it down to the card afterwards. (This is also why I don't like using water-based glues like PVA.)
The other thing to be careful of is how well (or badly!) the lacquer interacts with your printer's output, and that's unfortunately something that can only be discovered by trial and error. Some inkjet ink will bloom out if you spray it with lacquer, although you can often mitigate that by spraying many really light coats rather than one heavy coat. The solvents in some lacquers will dissolve laser toner, but in my experience this isn't much of a problem so long as you don't actually touch the printed parts while the lacquer is drying. Unfortunately this part really comes down to experimentation, but I've had a lot more trouble spraying lacquers over different kinds of paint than I have over printed paper!
If you're in the UK, I use Simoniz acrylic lacquer, and have previously had a lot of success with Halfords' own-brand stuff as well. I switched to the Simoniz brand largely because you can get it fairly cheap in bulk off of eBay!
Wow. Thanks for such a full and detailed reply and the reminder to spray before gluing. Looking forward to making my pieces :-)
uhm, how if i wannathe board into 6 part not 4, any idea? sorry if my english bad but i think you know what i mean
For the vinyl wrapped board, are you NOT putting binders tape for the back hinge, like for the Dune game? I am guessing the vinyl itself acts as a hinge tape?
I am in the USA. using an injet printer, which has water soluble ink, which is not ideal. Any idea as to any specific type of spray that would safely coat it?
Pretty much any spray should be fine so long as you're a) using suitable paper for your printer, and b) do light coats with the spray lacquer. You should only have trouble - even with inkjet printing - if you spray the protective coat on too heavily.
By way of example - there exists inkjet waterslide decal paper! This stuff requires you to print the image on the paper, coat it carefully in spray lacquer, then soak the paper in water to slide the decal off the sheet and onto a model. If you couldn't spray inkjet printing the printing would be destroyed when you soaked it! I've used this several times and it's worked fine - you just have to do several light coats of the spray instead of one thick one.
Hi... Can we use pvc flex banner material to print the game board??? So that we can roll it after use...
Thanks! :)
Omg why are you so cool?
what was the type of the black tape you used at 7:56?
2:11 Which shop for me to find this clip frame?
Where can I get my design printed on vinyl for the last board? (I’m in the UK)
if I put the vinyl wrap after sticking the board so the vinyl seals the edges, will it look nice or i'll look messy
It could certainly work, but you'd need to be careful of a couple of things:
Firstly, you'd need to be careful to trim the vinyl neatly so it's an even measurement all the way around to ensure that it doesn't have uneven edges over the top of the board and doesn't cover up any important stuff on the board.
Secondly, like that the vinyl is stuck down with only a narrow strip of adhesive on that side of the board, and over a step (first to the greyboard itself, and then stepped up to cover the printed game board), which means there's two reasons there it might not stick so well. It'd probably be fine, but it is generally a bit stiff and stretchy, which means that it's liable to pull away a bit from where it's wrapped around corners over time. When it's trapped underneath the game board layer, that's fine; if it's on top it may lead to it coming loose after a while.
@@DiningTablePrintPlay thank you
Hello, Great work! I just don't understand why you use double side tape. The artwork is self adhesive, so really any tape will work.
Most regular tape is very glossy and often self-adhesive glues don't stick to it very well. They'll stick down at first, but lift from the back of the tape far more easily from the card, which is rougher and slightly porous. Double-sided tape is an easy way to make sure that that's definitely not a problem!
@@JakeStaines I see, that makes sense. Thanks for shedding some light Jake.
Where can i buy that rotary cutter on Asia?
What board game boards are you using in the first part of the video ?
How you design that graphics? Which software you used for that design?
I've looked at a handful of businesses that'll do custom prints but I've failed to see the self adhesive option that you used on the last board you made in this video. What businesses have you/did you use for that option? Also I realize this is a how to guide but have you ever done commission boards for people before?
The place I got that particular print from was Zip Posters, here in the UK:
www.zip-posters.co.uk/high-tac-self-adhesive-signs/
It's actually printed on vinyl, it's intended for outdoor signage and so on, but it works great for boards.
Nearly all poster-printing places will print large-format prints which are great for boards. If you don't find one that does self-adhesive but you can get your board printed on regular paper at the size you want, there are a number of options anyway. There'll be a tips video on it at some point in the future, but the short version is:
- Check out sign-making suppliers for "adhesive film" or "mount film". This is basically a layer of glue - or glue-covered vinyl or similar - which you can stick to your board graphics, then peel back the backing to stick to something else. It's like giant double-sided tape.
- For a quick-and-dirty option, spray the back of the board all over with spray-glue, then immediately lay down greaseproof baking parchment. This doesn't stick very well (if at all!) to the glue, but you can use it as giant sticker-backing to position the board artwork - then you can tap down the edge and peel the baking paper out from underneath, just like a full-sheet label that happens to be board-sized.
- As a last resort, use PVA glue... but spread it onto the thick substrate and not the paper artwork, or the artwork will go all wrinkly. Spread it as thinly as possible, then use a roller to roll down the artwork to make sure that it's pressed well down and to prevent it going wrinkly. It might help to have another sheet over the top of the artwork so the roller doesn't mess up the print while you're rolling.
What is the vinyl wrap you used? Is that similar to car vinyl wrap? Because that’s what I see while searching on Amazon
I7rag0n its different I used table finishing vinyl
Tried this today. Mine was a mess😞. Sigh. Will attempt it again.