For my friends birthday I plan on buying a Monopoly board and customizing it by making the various properties the various TVshows and movies he liked over the years (since he likes such a wide variety of things I can’t just buy an officially licensed one). I know they make versions of Monopoly you can customize yourself the problem is that all of those require using a color printer and my current printer completely sucks at printing small detailed images which these stickers will be used on both the board spaces as well as the title deed cards. I want to put the logo of each show on the card and space itself overwriting the space.
Is there a website I can make a few pages of artwork for with a sticker backing so I could order it, get it sent to my house, then when it gets here I can cut the stickers out with scissors and immediately apply to the board? Places that sell stickers online seem to expect you to buy single images in 60 print order groups.
I would say the easiest way would be to design the artwork in the right size on your computer (appropriately sized boxes in Word or Powerpoint should do the job), carry it to a local copy and print shop and have it printed on adhesive sticker paper by them.
Or, if you have a printer at home, just order some sticky-backed paper and print it yourself. There’s a lot of sticker paper made for home/office printers-- most of it is already cut into mailing-label sized pieces, but if the large label sizes are too small, you might be able to find uncut whole sheets.
Yeah, this. Look for a shop that says they do signs, graphics, shirts, etc. many of them can take whatever graphics you have and cut them from adhesive vinyl (single color) or print on white vinyl and cut it.
You can also try a FedEx Office (formerly FedEx Kinko’s, formerly Kinko’s) or similar office/copy/print store, if there’s one that’s still open near you.
A couple of issues to be aware of.
Due to COVID, a lot of printing services cut back or shut down entirely. They’re opening back up, but a lot of them still aren’t back up to the volumes they were a few months ago, and most of them also have weeks or months of backlogs to get through. You may experience “significant delays” in getting your order printed.
Another issue is that some print services may be reluctant to print out images which contain, or appear to contain, or potentially contain, someone else’s Intellectual Property. Some services, or particular clerks who process your order, won’t care, but some can be sticklers on properly identifying IP and will refuse to print even what are obviously amateur one-offs for personal use.
Avery 5265 is a full sheet 8.5x11" of white adhesive paper. Normally comes in a box of 25 sheets, selling for $12-$17. Ask for Avery 5265, or the equivalent in their brand.
Think about a new colour inkjet printer, seriously.
Two years ago I got my daughter an HP combo inkjet printer / scanner from Best Buy for her dorm room and it was $29 (Canadian, so maybe $19 US.) Plus <$50 for cartridges. I was shocked by how cheap they are.
Then use the Avery adhesive sheets that Tim@T-Bonham.net suggests.
I’d at least compare that price versus getting something custom printed.
Recommend laying out the entire cards (there’s lots of template and changing whatever you want on them. Print them on glossy or semi-glossy cardstock* and print them out on an inkjet or laser/copier. Will look and wear way better.
*VERY IMPORTANT…inkjet and laser/copier cardstock are not interchangeable. Inkjet cardstock likely jam and possibly damage a laser printer/copier and laser cardstick in an inkjet won’t absorb the ink correctly. The ink will probably smear no matter how long left to dry.
Doesn’t matter for a one off project. There should be enough ink to complete the printing. A few years ago I bought two $150 dollar printers for $40 each. I never used the second one, just bought it for the ink carts.
Thanks Didi44, my point exactly. It’s not a lifelong commitment, it’s about comparing pure cost / benefit of a one-off project that you can do in your home at your leisure with as many revisions as you need versus getting a lot of stuff custom printed and all the back and forth and cost that entails.
Not saying it makes sense, only saying it’s worth comparing IMO.
And you could probably just use the included cartridges for such a low volume printing. They don’t last as long as the full ones, but I’m sure they could handle one job–even if you had to redo it a couple times to get it right.
Maybe you could take a very high resolution shot of a whole board. Then do you custom stuff on the squares. Create them on the pic or cut, resize and paste them in. Then get the whole thing printed with a large format printer at some commercial place. Glue the whole sheet to a Monopoly board.
If the OP wants to put logos of TV shows onto a customised board, then I think we’d be talking trademarks rather than copyright. As to whether any reputable copy shop would refuse to do such a print shop for what would obviously be private non-commercial use: Well, I think that is kind of a “no true Scotsman” argument - I’m sure many shops wouldn’t mind doing it, and then it’s in the eye of the beholder to determine whether such a place would deserve to be called “reputable”.
You’re right that it would be trademark infringement, but trademark infringement is worse than copyright infringement, from the perspective of the copy shop.
And as to whether the copy shop will do it - I speak both from personal experience and from broad, second-hand anecdotal experience. I am a tabletop gaming hobbyist. From my personal experience, and from the experience of literally every other tabletop gaming hobbyist I’ve ever heard or read who discussed the issue, the default for copy shops and printing services is to avoid printing or copying anything that could be construed as copyright or trademark infringement, even for what is very clearly one-off, micro-print run, private non-commercial use.
I’m not saying you can’t find a shop that will do the job. It’s possible to get a clerk that isn’t really paying attention or just doesn’t care that will do a job that other clerks at the same location will refuse to. And some shops or services may as a general rule not care. But the chains (FedEx, Office Depot, Office Max, Staples, etc.) and major online printing services have explicit rules about this and tend to err on the side of avoiding even the appearance of aiding in infringing on IP.
It’s just something the OP should be aware of.
And, to the OP: I also think it’s probably the best idea to just buy a cheap color inkjet printer and a ream of sticker paper. Printers are generally sold at a significant loss to get you hooked to the inflated toner/ink cartridges. Especially if you get one on sale, it may not actually be significantly more expensive than getting the stickers printed professionally, the quality probably isn’t going to be noticeably worse for a project like this, and it’s likely to be the least hassle, and give you the most control over the outcome. If you don’t like how the images come out or look on the board, just adjust the images and run another sheet.
I worked at the copy shop at Officemax and the first day was told that if I had any doubt something was copyrighted or trademarked to refuse the job. Was told stories of employees being fired after being tested by a secret shopper.
A story that I confirmed through grapevine was true, that a manager at Kinkos was fired because she the graduation photo of a student on an in-store banner because she knew the photographer and he gave the okay. Well, the girl’s Mom came in one day, saw the poster and demanded it be taken down.
A story that I confirmed through [the] grapevine [and found out] was true. [A] manager at Kinkos was fired because she [put] the graduation photo of a student on an in-store banner because she knew the photographer and he gave the okay. Well, the girl’s Mom came in one day, saw the poster and demanded it be taken down.
Given that pretty much every document and artwork produced since the 1920s has been copyrighted from the moment of creation, Officemax must turn away an awful lot of customers.
I suppose the intention was to stop people from making illegal copies of copyrighted and trademarked works, though given that copyright law provides for a number of exceptions to the rights holders’ exclusive use, and that merely copying a trademark doesn’t infringe it, how are the Officemax employees supposed to know one way or another that the copies are for illegal purposes?
They aren’t, which is why the policy is, if there’s any doubt, don’t copy/print it.
Most of what places like OfficeMax print is (or was) things like business presentations and invitations, which are generally original works or use clip art and other public domain images. Not many people go to places like OfficeMax to print out copies of artwork or books, so they’re not likely turning away many customers, certainly not enough to make it worth their while to risk being party to an IP-infringement suit to not turn them away.
