When I have the time, all of these are going to be hosted on tg-16.com and given a page...
So, please! Any advice on best practices for printing would be great.
I have a standard blurb I use, but I actually don't print much stuff, ever..so any useful advice for printing/folding (paper/card stock, folding with a straight edge, types of ink to use/avoid, etc. ) to create the nicest results would be appreciated
In my opinion, the most important factor is good quality paper. Obviously a good printer with good quality ink and the correct print settings is important as well, but if you use the best printer in the world to print on standard copy paper, it will look like crap. I use a few different types of paper for printing depending on the type of case I'm going to use. I typically use a high quality matte paper for larger cases like UGCs or Sega cases. However, for CD jewel cases like the ones in this thread, I tend to use a slightly thinner semi gloss photo paper. I find it's easier to bend this paper for the spines in the jewel case. I don't have specifics in front of me at the moment, but I can get some brand names and paper specs later tonight.
Semi-gloss photo paper (left) vs. copy paper (right).
Matte paper (right) vs. copy paper (left).
As far as printers go, I've found that any standard ink jet printer will do the job just fine. I use a Cannon which was around $90 new. I've had bad luck using generic ink so I always buy the Cannon brank ink. However, I recommend buying the XL cartridges since you get about 3x the numbers of prints for only 50% more money. I always print on the highest quality setting and make sure the paper type matches what I'm printing on (whether it's matte or semi gloss).
After printing, I use the following paper cutter. It's extremely easy to line up the cutting blade with the edge of the cover to get a perfect cut. The blades can be easily replaced. There is also a strip underneath the cutting blade that can be replaced over time. This strip helps with guiding the blade and providing a clean cut completely through the paper. They sell a scoring blade for this cutter, but I haven't used it. I purchased mine at Michaels. I don't remember the price, but it was reasonable and it's pretty easy to get 20 to 40% off coupons there. They also sell the replacement parts. The best advice I can give is this. If the cutting blade doesn't line up perfectly flush with the straight edge, DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY. Many paper cutters are setup this way making it extremely difficult to get a perfect cut along the edge of your cover.
And lastly, to bend the spines, I just take a utility knife and straight edge and LIGHTLY run the knife over the paper twice. This provides a good score to pend the paper. Once I put the paper into the jewel case, I run the back side (non-sharp) part of the knife along the back side of the crease to push it into the jewel case. This usually gives me a perfect bend and crease.
Hopefully that's helpful. I'm sure there will be differing opinions on the best way to print this stuff, but I've printed many covers for my personal collection and these methods have worked really well for me.