Help, please: Computer transfer software

Karlspinks

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I just bought a pc to help me with my transfers.

So I'm not great with computers and need some help.

I don't have a scanner (nor the space for one) so I'm taking photos of my drawings. When I print them for transfer purposes they are not clear.
Even when I download line drawing images and resize them smaller for print I lose resolution and my transfers are fuzzy.

What softwate do I need to get to turn the images into a clear printable state? Is this even possible?

Hope you guys can help. Even If I get a scanner I wouldn't know what to do next and i don't know what I should be googling as it's specific to transfers.


I should also add that I print onto parchment paper as my transfer method.

Thanks
 

Eugene Carkoski

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use your cell smart phone to capture images, send them via email to home computer, then use word or some image program to print.
 

dlilazteca

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How are you drawing your images to be tranfered? How are you getting them on the computer to print now?

Are you just wanting to print Internet images of engravings for practice?


Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk
 

monk

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ummmm, a lot of questions arise there. personally, corel draw is the software choice i made years ago. all such programs will require a bit of a learning curve-- perhaps even a lot. the solution i used prior to the hitech crap-- direct draw. or draw on a smooth, flat surface and lift with tape to transfer.
remember-- one can cut a variety of scroll sizes and effects on a copper plate, then later use the cut designs to provide a fairly quick layout/transfer method.
if you can get sams' dvd on pattern transfer, that may be a help. i used to draw large, scan, then resize in corel. but without a scanner and software you're really limiting the good ways to do transfer.
even worse, with your apparent lack of computer savvy, all the q&a's you'll develop will require a huge amount of forum space to bring you into the "computer age". i pray i have not discouraged you, but you're in for a real experience tryin to learn all that in short order
 
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Gemsetterchris

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If you want to scale pictures to different sizes clearly, they need to be vectorized.
Or you could draw straight onto the metal...
 

tdelewis

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Go to Amazon.com or ebay and look for older copies of corel draw. There may also be some older copies of adobe as well. They are inexpensive as compared to the latest versions. You really don't need fancy stuff as you are just dealing with black and white line drawings. Once you learn to use them you will be very happy with them.
 

monk

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as td mentioned, i use corel v11. it's ancient, but it works. i even use it to plotter cut vinyl for making signs.
 

tdelewis

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I would say no. I draw in pencil. When my pencil drawing looks good I go over in black ink. I scan it into computer, size and adjust for transfer. The reason I go over it in black ink is because pencil lines may not be dark enough to get a good transfer.
 

Karlspinks

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I would say no. I draw in pencil. When my pencil drawing looks good I go over in black ink. I scan it into computer, size and adjust for transfer. The reason I go over it in black ink is because pencil lines may not be dark enough to get a good transfer.

Today I enlarged my original drawing and printed. Then I used tracing paper and a 0.8 fine liner to create thicker lines.

Then using that image photographed and uploaded to the pic I was able to get a much clearer trainsfer.

Still planning on trying Corel draw
 

jerrywh

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I use Adobe 4.0. It is an obsolete photo processing program but it works great and it can be run in compatibility mode on most windows versions and it is cheap or free. You must have a high resolution photo to begin with if you want clear results.
 

horologist

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As jerrywh says it is important to start with the highest quality image you can. Storage is cheap and you can always reduce the image quality later.
When working with images the first thing I do is to create a folder called Originals and throw copies of all the photos in there. Some programs are not forgiving if you make a mistake and it is always good to have a backup of the original images.
I am unfamiliar with Corel Draw but have heard good things, I wonder if an image editing program might be in order. Adobe Photoshop is a wonderful program but I would avoid this one as it has a fairly steep learning curve. At work they substituted Ulead Photoimpact as a cost savings for a while. It was a remarkably powerful program and I thought easier for people to learn. Corel bought it out and a quick scan shows copies for $20-$30, make sure whatever software you buy will run on your machine.
If you buy a scanner try to find one with a decent depth of field. It can be a great way to photograph small items or details of objects. Great for cataloging your cartridge collection or pocket watch movements. The old style HP flatbed scanners were quite good but it has been some time since I have had to purchase one and most local stores only carry the all in one units. Cannon used to have a sweet compact scanner that used the USB port for power but alas anything that wasn’t in direct contact with the glass was a blur. If you can try it in the store a quick scan of your keys will tell all.
 

Karlspinks

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I just ordered a hp all. In one printer scanner.

It's an ink jet. I already have a mono laser printer.

I have lightroom on my pc already and have discovered that by adjusting, black, white shadows, clarity and exposure I can really get clean lines for my transfer. I will probably skip on corel draw now as I have solved my own problem.

I know lightroom if for photos predominantly, but it seems to work for me

Edit: also for anyone looking at software. A download and key on eBay for light room is only £5-£10
 

Ausmithe

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Ultimately, you will be best served to use software that will allow you to create vectorized images. The distinction here is that a vector image is not pixel based, like any image taken with a camera and scanned images are. This is what is creating the fuzziness when you try to scale the image. There is a learning curb to creating vector based artwork, but it's worth it in the end due to the scaling flexibility that you gain. In just about any software program that is vector based, you can still "place" a non-vector image into the bottom layer of your canvas allowing you to trace over it with vector lines. This isn't terribly hard once you get a feel for the tools in the software of choice. The other great advantage to vectorized artwork is that you can truly create perfect curves and lines. Something that is a challenge for even the most experienced artist with a free-hand drawing. This perfect artwork as your template for engraving will go a long way towards improving your final outcome in the engraving.
 

dave gibson

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Karlspinks, I didn't read all of the posts but before I had a printer I transferred all my designs by hand. Saral transfer paper works just like carbon paper, tape it face down on your metal then tape your design face up on top and trace.

You can even make your own transfer paper by blackening a piece of tracing paper with a soft pencil and smearing it with an alcohol soaked rag,, benzine or acetone works too.
 

Eric Olson

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paint.net and gimp are two free drawing/photo editing programs.
Gimp is more complete but a bit harder to learn.

In gimp you can filter out all the color to make it a gray-scale image,
then maximize contrast to give you a strictly black & white image,
which should print and transfer clearly.
 

TallGary

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with that inkscape can you draw something and import it to add or change something within the original drawing ?

I usually draw over a JPEG, GIF or similar image that I have imported into Inkscape. Then dump the imported image and keep the vector graphic drawing to resize, add, subtract, etc. and then print my pattern from the SVG file.
 

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