# Anyone have any tricks for transferring graphics to foamboard?



## kauldron (Oct 17, 2011)

Just wondering what tricks and techniques everyone uses to transfer their tombstone sayings from printer paper to foamboard so they can be carved.


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## Dave Leppo (May 16, 2012)

I found a marble-looking background in MS Word, formatted the text to fit on 11X17, printed out the sheets and laminated the paper directly to the foam board.

this is the no-carve, low-rent method


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Tape the printed paper to the foamboard, use a scalpel to cut the outline of the letters through the paper into the foam, remove the now tattered paper, then either carve out the letters with said scalpel or dremel, or burn them out with a wood burning tool . That's how we do it.


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## Headless (Sep 4, 2011)

^ What Roxy said! I use long pins to hold the paper in place, and use a craft knife - sawing around the edge of the letters/design on a slight angle. Once the outline is done, remove the paper and scrape away the inside. Alternatively you can cut the letters/design out of thin foam and stick it on for a different look.


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## TerrorGate (Sep 4, 2014)

I use the temporary tack spray to place my master, trace the edges with a slightly dull pencil (which leaves a good impression on the pink foam without tearing the paper or puncturing the foam), then remove the paper, go over the outlines with a sharpie, and carve with whatever tool goes best with the design of the stone - exacto knife at a 45 degree angle, foam factory hot wire engraver, sometimes even a folding razor knife. Rarely use the Dremel anymore because I don't want to clean up the mess. If I want raised lettering, I outline the letters on a piece of foam (not my tombstone blank) and use my variable speed scroll saw to cut them. I use it more for foam than I ever did for wood projects!


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

You may also try using carbon paper between your printed piece and the "stone" then trace out the letters/artwork. If you use a water based ink in your printer, you can also print out your artwork in reverse, then dampen the paper and gently rub the backside of the paper to transfer the design to the "stone".
If nothing else, you can draw a grid on your paper layout and then one on the stone itself, then you have a guide-map of sorts to sketch/transfer the design to your stone.


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## beelce (Jul 21, 2007)

Overhead projector works well for me......
Also.....
For larger pieces I use an Electro-pounce burner that burns thousands of small holes in the paper so you can rub chalk through the holes to make a pattern transfer.


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## equi_design (Jul 21, 2013)

Another method that is similar to what fontgeek mentioned, is to print your image/design in reverse on the SHINY side of an inkjet transparency sheet. (The shiny side is the "wrong", don't-print-on-it, side.)

Carefully lay the inky side against your foam and just barely touch it down. Lift it away. Done!

_Helpful Notes:_
+ Only print one sheet at a time with this method. Otherwise the ink will smear everywhere when the sheets feed out to your printer's done tray.
+ When you touch down your inky transparency, don't wriggle it or you'll get smudges and puddles of ink.
+ Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. When you're ready for the next print, just wipe off the remaining ink on the transparency with a paper towel and load it back into your printer.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

If you want to have your stones look old, choose the proper typeface, and don't worry about the edges of the letters and ornaments being perfectly smooth or straight.
The wear and tear of weather and age erodes and wears away the stone, and until recent years, the stones were cut and engraved manually, so minor imperfections would be normal.


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## Shawn_wac (Sep 15, 2014)

*Use Laser*

Use a laser printer and print your design or words backward. The take an iron, on low heat, run it over the paper. The ink will transfer on to the foam. You can then trace or cut from that. Look on YouTube for tutorial.


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## azscoob (Oct 6, 2010)

Great ideas here everybody!


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## beaver state rich (Jan 25, 2014)

Similar to what was previously noted my method is to print on my computer and then using spray adhesive (loc-tite at HD) place pattern onto the foam. 

I will outline with Xacto to provide a sharp line and then use my plunger router base and 1/8" bit for the Dremmel to cut right through the paper. After I have carved the stone the paper will peel off. If the spray glue is being an over achiever that day a quick rinse with the hose will cause the paper to fall off. 

I find leaving the paper on while carving makes it easier to see and reduces tear out around the edges making a cleaner cut.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

You can also use a pounce wheel (think of a pizza cutter with teeth) to trace the outlines of your printed piece, then use chalk, charcoal, spray-paint, etc. to spray through the tiny holes made in the paper. This allows you to use the same template again and again. You can then mix and match elements, text, etc., to get a wide variety of layouts for your "stones".


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## DarkLore (Jan 25, 2009)

As Beelce said...an overhead projector works best. The common projector sold in art and hobby stores is called an Art-o-graph.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Art o graphs are fine, but a bit expensive for most people, especially when they will only use it a couple of times. They also have a VERY limited image size they can project from (They are made to hold smaller photos or prints).


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## T-rex (Feb 7, 2011)

I recently finished a tombstone, I made the text in iMovie, setting the text to appear for about 5 seconds and then burned it to DVD. I projected the text onto my tombstone using portable DVD player and projector,and I traced it from there.


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## wandererrob (Aug 8, 2007)

I print out the page, use a cheap Elmer's glue stick to glue the whole text area, lay it on the stones (I'll typically set up several stones at a time) then stack the stones on each other with some weight overnight. 

The next day I skip the tracing step and Dremel right through the paper. Then peel off what's left of the paper. I find a v-shaped high speed cutting bit works nicely.


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## Mr_Chicken (Nov 26, 2008)

I used to do the paper printout method. Now I just use a projector. Cuts out several steps


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

:jol:I used the print out the lettering method onto paper and tape the lettering to the foam and cut it out with an exacto knife for years. Effective, but getting the lettering right and printed out, took a bit of time. Last year I invested in a used projector, after renting one from the rental place for $25. For a few bucks more you can actually buy a used one. You can find them on Craig's List fairly cheaply. The only thing not cheap is the film you have to print the lettering on to use on the projector. But if you make the initial purchase it does tend to last a long time. I'm not sure how I lived without the projector, I guess now I'm spoiled.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

You might look at your local public library system, often times they have projectors to loan out, or available for use in rooms onsite. The latter would mean you have to bring your "stones" to the room to use the projector, but that's the easy part. They give you the use and you don't have to worry about storage, maintenance, etc. of the projector. A suggestion though, make full sized paper templates in addition to the direct tracing of the artwork on the stones, this gives you templates you can work from in the future without having to do the whole projector setup again.


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## KreepyKents (Oct 11, 2015)

Shawn_wac said:


> Use a laser printer and print your design or words backward. The take an iron, on low heat, run it over the paper. The ink will transfer on to the foam. You can then trace or cut from that. Look on YouTube for tutorial.


I have used this technique for gravestones and it works well. The insulating properties of the ink alone make the transfer, and while it is not a perfect transfer, enough is left behind to use it for dremelling or whatever you plan to do.


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## tarpleyg (Nov 4, 2014)

I just print out what I want onto how many pieces of paper it takes to make it actual size them tape everything together. I lightly spray the foam with some light duty contact cement and let it sit for like 5 minutes then stick the paper on. From there I can use an Exacto knife or a Dremel to do what needs to be done. I have also used a similar technique where I use carbon paper and then trace over the design onto the foam. I have to do that if I am removing material with a wood burning iron.


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## equi_design (Jul 21, 2013)

I'm still using my technique i(nkjet printing on the wrong side of transparencies) for transfers onto foam/wood/glass/etc, but I discovered two new tips.

1. Do NOT go to buy transparenices at Office Depot. $70.99 for 50!!! Same brand & quantity is $11.49 + free shipping on Amazon.
2. Freezer paper is awesome for making stencils or iron-on transfer. 
* Stencils: Print design on non-glossy side of freezer paper; cut out; set freezer paper - glossy side down - on whatever you want the stencil to stick to; iron onto your chosen material. Use pressure! Stencil away!
* Iron On: Print your (reversed!) design onto the glossy side of freezer paper; place printed side down onto your material; iron & press. Do not move the iron around quickly - instead just press the iron down firmly, then pick up & move to next spot. Peel off freezer paper when done. If you ironed into fabric, throw the item into your dryer for 15-30 minutes to further heat-set the ink. This works great for T-shirts, fabric, & wood. It also give a vintage look to the design on clothing.

Stay spooky y'all,
Jami


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## camsauce (Oct 16, 2009)

The inkjet transfer method is great. For those that don't want to buy transparency, cut yourself a couple sheets of 8.5x11 using the WAX PAPER in your kitchen. Same advice applies as above comments with smudging and printing in reverse.


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## SouthBayJT (Oct 10, 2010)

2 ideas I use:
1) If you want to transfer a letter that can fit on a single sheet of paper, I increase the font size in Word until one letter takes up the entire page, then I set the font to outline only (so it saves toner), then print it and use an Xacto knife to cut it out, then use the cutout letter to trace onto the foam.
2) If you want to transfer something HUGE (like for Christmas I made a big Snoopy on a 4'x8' sheet of plywood), I print the image (for ex, the Snoopy cartoon) onto a piece of graph paper, then trace a large grid onto the big foamboard (or plywood), and meticulously reproduce the Snoopy from the graph paper onto the large grid on the big material.


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