Reddit mentions: The best printer ink & toner

While I don't have Kon-Peki, I do have plenty of Iroshizuku ink, and they all handle really well on low quality paper.

I've got three different inks with me today and some crappy paper and I want to show you something.

Here is the image in question.

The first ink is Pilot Iroshizuku Kosumosu.
The second is J Herbin Eclat de Saphir.
The third is Noodler's Heart of Darkness.

If you look at these three inks, you will notice that the Iroshizuku does not feather(well maybe just a bit), that the J Herbin feathers a lot, and that the Noodler's feathers a little. In my opinion, the Iroshizuku is the best behaved of these three.

This is interesting to me for a couple of reasons. The first reason is the nib sizes that were used. Generally, the more ink that goes down, the more feathering there is. The iroshizuku was written with a medium nib, the J Herbin with a fine, and the Noodler's with an extra fine. From just knowing this information, I would expect the Iroshizuku to weather the most, followed by J Herbin, and then Noodler's.

The second reason is because of the way that these inks are known to behave. J Herbin inks are not known to behave super well, so I'll ignore that one for now. Noodler's Heart of Darkness, however is well known for being resistant to feathering.
Taken directly from Gouletpens.com:

> This ink is popular for its very dark color and performance on absorbent paper, particularly its ability to resist bleed through and feathering.

Now, with an extra fine nib, you would expect this pen to be the best of the three, but it is not. The Iroshizuku ink is the best behaved, and in my opinion.. It may be feathering a bit, but I bet if I had it in an extra fine nib like the Noodler's, it wouldn't at all.

Now I've never used X-Feather, but from what you said you will be using it for, I think Iroshizuku would be fine, and you won't regret it when you have some nice paper for it too, If you can tell, even on this crappy paper, it shades like crazy.

You said you want black. Check out these three: Take-Sumi, Kiri-Same, and Fuyu-Syogun. Those last two are basically black but a bit different for some fun. I have Kiri-Same but haven't had time to use it yet, but from the pictures it looks beautiful.

One more thing to note: Iroshizuku inks are not water resistant.

With all of that being said, I promise I am not trying to persuade you into buying a certain ink, but rather I am trying to give you my opinion. I personally love Iroshizuku ink, and i think that they are fine on bad paper. They shade beautifully and resist feathering and bleeding. But if you are really looking for a lot of ink, or possibly the most bang for your buck, Noodler's is great. (If you are really trying to get the best bang for your buck, check out this.)

I just took another picture of the ink in case the last one wasn't good enough.

I once saw this planner (or one really similar to it) on Pinterest and always thought it looked awesome: LifePlanner

I think this could make for a great gift because it is customizable- you can choose colors and styles that will make it more personal for your friend.

I would also get some nice pens and highlighters in multiple colors for color coding, and maybe other cute office supplies like binder clips. I love the office supply section at Target, Michaels, and TJ Maxx, so those might be great places to look!

Another idea could be a purse caddy/organizer similar to this one.

My final suggestion would be either an electronic label maker or a laminator . These may seem like strange gifts, but they are super practical for getting organized and keeping things tidy. My mother-in-law is insanely organized- she’s received both of these as gifts and loved them! The label maker I linked is on the pricier end, but they sell similar products for much less.

Good luck!

(Edit: I think the low price is because you have to add the toner/cable - add that, and it will still come out very cheap but not suspiciously so. It's still cheaper than the non-duplex Brother I have which was sold together with a starter toner that lasted a long time.)

It is a very cheap printer especially considering it has duplex, much cheaper than mine too. Don't know how they managed it. I personally have even been able to use third party toner without hassle in my older Brother laser printer. I see third party toner being sold for the printer I linked as well.

Brother says TN660 toner prints 2600 pages if I'm not mistaken. On Amazon, that would be $45. I don't remember ever changing the toner in my printer either which I think has a similarly specced toner cartridge.

I suspect Brother's end game is just to embed itself in the public conscience consciousness by means of people like /u/AnalogDan and myself. Some (many) of the people and companies buying the printers will buy the original toner anyway - and since it typically allows you to print so much more than an inkjet cartridge anyway, even that's not such a bad idea. It's still a fair enough price IMO and should still give them ample opportunity to make a profit on the toner by selling large quantities at a smaller markup, rather than totally ripping off a small number of seething customers, as in the inkjet and color printing market. I'm guessing the printers themselves are just sold at cost.

I started with the toner transfer method and after getting ugly ground planes, no matter what I did, I decided to up my game and see how I could improve. The dry film photoresist method is great!

Stencil:

• Laser Printer: I got this one for $50,- at the time, price has gone up since then.
  
• Laminator: Cheapest and best laminator I could find - no modding or anything required.
  
• Transparency Film/Paper: This one seemed to work the best out of all the others I bought.
  
  Etch-resist:
  
  
• Positive Developer (Sodium Hydroxide): This stuff is dangerous - it's lye! The solution I bought was pre-diluted 10% and can be found here. My developer solution is roughly 1% lye. That means you need to dilute one part from MG Chemicals bottle with 10 parts water. This has yet to go bad for me.
  
• UV Light Source: I use this cheap one found on Amazon. Works well and is just big enough to fit my largest 4"x6" boards.
  
• Dry film photo resist OR pre-sensitized photo resist boards: Pick any that you find will suit your purpose. I found some lying around at my university and have no idea where it came from. I've heard good things about Riston (eBay), and we use the pre-sensitized boards made by MG Chemicals at my university.
  
• Other: Rugged rubber / "vinyl" gloves, safety glasses (you should own these already if you solder), a respirator if desired, lots of plastic containers such as Tupperware big enough for your PCBs, acetone to clean the copper boards and to remove the photoresist, reasonably heavy duty scotch brite pads, and glass from a picture frame to hold the transparent stencil onto the board.
  
  Etchant:
  
  Here it really is up to you. I use the hydrochloric acid (muriatic acid) with hydrogen peroxide method, but any method will work fine. Be careful that your etchant isn't too strong and will somehow inadvertently strip off your photo resistive etch-resist!
  
  I hope I didn't forget anything...
  
  ---
  
  Pros:
  
  
• Cheaper than a CNC by far.
  
• Cleaner results than toner transfer, if done right.
  
• Reusable chemical solutions - depending on your choice of etchants.
  
• Photoresist also allows you to make your own solder masks. Take a look at my previous post here for pictures!
  
• High accuracy depending on your printer. I can confidently get down to about 6 mil before I get nervous with my printer.
  
  Cons:
  
  
• Still somewhat pricey if you have no materials on the list at all - somewhere around $200.
  
• Dangerous chemicals which require proper storage, safe handling, and approved disposal.
  
• Will probably take a few trial & error runs to tweak your procedure in order get good results; same as toner transfer.

Someone already made a list of price ratios here but it's only for Goulet Pens. Noodler's and Monteverde tops it with 7.2ml per dollar. It would honestly be pretty impossible to do the same for Amazon since the prices and shipping costs all fluctuate. If you want the best bang for buck, you should just get one of these 350ml Pilot bottles.

You can use a CON-50, 20, or 40 as others have said... but don't give up on the CON-70 just yet. The ability to take a CON-70 is one of Pilot's best features.

Try getting a blunt syringe. I got mine on Amazon - 6 for $5. Try this, but there are others: https://www.amazon.com/Syringes-refilling-Refillable-Cartridges-Continuous/dp/B006DN11DS/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1519645719&sr=8-10&keywords=blunt+syringe+ink

If you blast water ink to the CON-70 with a blunt syringe -- and you press the pump button down a few times -- you'll get all the ink out.

I'm a bit obsessive with my cleaning between color changes... but this method is actually pretty fast.

I always follow up by drying out the internals of my converters. I do this by twisting a paper towel into a very narrow straight roll and carefully insert it, dabbing at the drops of water left inside. That might be overkill but it works if you're careful.

Mainly though -- using that blunt syringe while pumping the button a few times will get your converter clean. I swear by it.

My thoughts on some of these things:

• Skip the Keurig. The only thing better than coffee is coffee that tastes good. There are a million ways to make good coffee with a hot water kettle and different types of relatively cheap tools like a french press. If thats too manual shoot for a drip machine that is SCAA certified. Bonavita makes a few that are not that much more expensive than a keurig and you are not tied to the week coffee coming out of pod machines.
  
  
• Second Monitor. I am a big fan of not looking at a laptop screen all day. I would go one step further and try to get a desktop with its own monitor. nothing like being able to jump on a desktop instead of plugging in a bunch of stuff to a laptop. More cost though.
  
• Bose headphones get the job done, but I can't spend 300 bucks on these kind of headphones. Monoprice 8323 get the job done for me. They don't have active noise canceling but keep a lot of sound out based on the over the ear design. They also cost 16 bucks.
  
• In undergrad I had a laser print and it was great but then I got turned on to Brother inkjet printers. The carts are not as efficient as a laser printer one, but brother knock off ones (likely what you would be buying for the laser anyways) are hella cheap for ink jet and you get the benefit of the wireless/all in one being cheaper and printing in color.
  
• External harddrive is a great idea and everyone should be using one in conjunction with a cloud service or services. Your laptop and external harddrive could be in the same bag/house/car/airplane/whatever and get lost/stolen/destroyed/peed on.
  
• These are my preferred highlighters

Canon Pixma for the win. I own two of them (ip8720 large format) and have printed on 100# cover for the last 4-5 years. Buying ink cartridges non-OEM on Amazon (CLI-250 etc) is super cheap and the color prints fantastic.

I've been able to purchase just color cartridges for <$2 a tank and not worry about black inks...and yeah the non OEMs probably last 75% as long but it's still WAY cheaper - and for other printers I've had the Pixma inks are the cheapest to replace compared to my Epson workforce and Dell laser printer. They are also the most reliable. Have printed thousands of cards, hundreds of full color planners and more. Cleaning the printhead and taking it out, as well as realigning the print head is super easy compared to all other printers I’ve owned (Epson, Dell, etc) cost is <$200.

How do I know if it is overclocked, I dont think it is but is there a way to check, also I wouldnt mind buying a new psu if the one I have isnt very good.

For which 970 to get I guess the best and coolest looking one, I've never really looked into overclocking

This is the card I'm looking at getting from a quick search

Talked to some friends and they said this is the best card to go for? Can anyone confirm? this

go to amazon. look up cheap printer ink. like this kind. on that page look under "product description" and look at the long list under "compatibility." Look up those printers, like the PIXMA MX922. And then buy that brand of printer with the ink. That printer in particular is only 3.5/5 stars so I probably wouldn't get it, but you can find the one that has both the price and the features you want. If you searched all the compatible printers and don't find one you like, then search for a different generic ink and check out that one's list. I ended up paying $50 for my printer, and $15 for a large set of ink. good luck!

Nope, thats about right. I'd probably still swap out the Samsung EVO for the 90$ Kingston (You can keep the evo if you want they're both quality SSDs), and since you're not overclocking take out the cooler (Intel CPUs + Nvidia GPUs are very energy efficient and usually run very cool/silent)

So it'll look more like this.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor | €167.86 @ Amazon Deutschland
Motherboard | ASRock H97 PERFORMANCE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard | €51.07 @ Amazon Deutschland
Memory | G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory | €76.83 @ Amazon Deutschland
Storage | Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | €89.89 @ Amazon Deutschland
Storage | Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | €55.50 @ Amazon Deutschland
Case | Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case | €95.37 @ Amazon Deutschland
Power Supply | XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply | €61.13 @ Amazon Deutschland
Other| Gigabyte Geforce GTX970 Gaming Grafikkarte| €340.00
| | Total
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | €937.65
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-05 22:25 CET+0100 |

You'll probably have a hard time finding a better value on ink than basic Pilot Black in the 350ml bottle. I'm not certain where you can get a sample of this ink, because I never suggest people with exacting standards purchase a bottle without trying it a bit first. That said, I've had two nibmasters work on my pens while using the Blue/Black in the same line, and I ended up buying a bottle. Really nice ink, bonus that it is waterproof. For someone who uses as much ink as you do, this could be a great match for you.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor | €166.79 @ Amazon Deutschland
CPU Cooler | Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler | €32.99 @ Amazon Deutschland
Motherboard | ASRock H97 PERFORMANCE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard | €51.07 @ Amazon Deutschland
Memory | G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory | €76.83 @ Amazon Deutschland
Storage | Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | €54.99 @ Amazon Deutschland
Case | Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case | €95.37 @ Amazon Deutschland
Power Supply | XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply | €61.13 @ Amazon Deutschland
Storage| Samsung 840 EVO 250GB| €110.00 @ Amazon Deutschland
Graphics Card| Gigabyte Geforce GTX970 Gaming Grafikkarte| €340.00 @ Amazon Deutschland
| | Total
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | €989.17
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-05 21:15 CET+0100 |

You don't need the cooler tbh, but if you're anal about temps/noise it's a good choice. Else save the €33.

edit2:

Fixed links and titles, PCPartpicker doesn't list some stuff from amazon.de

For good quality inexpensive "everyday ink" ink you cant go wrong with pilot black or pelikan 4001 black (they are a wet and dry ink respectively). Jet pens has a nive overview of some good of different black and blue inks to consider. If you want to be economical you can get a giant bottle of pilot ink that will last a looong time.

If you want more color I would say most brands are fine though as a beginner I would steer clear of super sheen organic studio inks as they are annoying to use (dry out the pen, smudge even days after writing)

For my 21st birthday, I went to Las Vegas, I think that is pretty hard to beat. It was a good time, not sure I'll ever go back, but 21 and in Vegas is pretty extreme!

This is a bit over $5.25, but it is cute, and I really need a stapler!

Laser!

You had me looking at office supplies for hours last night. These sushi staplers are my favorite under $5 office supplies!
(DCI Sushi Mini Stapler, Assorted Styles, 14444
http://amzn.com/B005EYCBZE)
Let's Celebrate! And congrats on your raise!

Would something like this be what you're looking for? https://www.aroundtheoffice.com/Typewriter-Ribbon-IBM-Selectric-1136076/productinfo/SC-062-IBM-COM/ I have Around the Office Ribbons in three of my manual machines and they seem to work pretty good.

​

Wait I think I found it! https://smile.amazon.com/IBM-Selectric-Typewriter-Ribbon-Compatible/dp/B001D4F9E4/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=ibm+selectric+typewriter+ribbon&qid=1554498085&s=gateway&sr=8-6 I had to do a few searches to find out what the ribbon looked like. The Fact says its the film not a cloth ribbon.

​

The Quink black you have is a good ink that is widely available at a good price as long as you're not concerned about water resistance. A couple of really popular, very affordable options if you want some water resistance are either Pilot Black (also in ridiculously large bottles if that's your thing) or Noodler's Black or Heart of Darkness. You could also go with Noodler's Black Eel, which would help keep the piston lubricated in your 2k.

I've got a Brother inkjet that accepts third party ink cartridges. Was $15 for 10, yes, 10, ink cartridges. I placed the order last year and still haven't gone through the first batch. Well, second black, but it comes with 4 of those, and 2 of each color.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GSZ7D2Y

I'm never buying a different printer as long as this one lives. It's got WiFi, Google print, auto document feeder, great scanner, and prints at a decent speed.

Here are some links for the product in the above comment for different countries:

Amazon Smile Link: http://smile.amazon.com/syringe-blunt-needle-refill-cartridge/dp/B00B3OL8RG/ref=sr_1_5


|Country|Link|Charity Links|
|:-----------|:------------|:------------|
|USA|smile.amazon.com|EFF|




To help add charity links, please have a look at this thread.

This bot is currently in testing so let me know what you think by voting (or commenting). The thread for feature requests can be found here.

I know everyone is saying go laser, but if you want to print color I have an epson artisan 835 which I got at staples for $50 (probably not normal price) and a CIS continuous ink system for 30 http://www.amazon.com/System-Epson-Rx580-Rx680-Rx595/dp/B001KSZTM0/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1335817470&sr=1-3 You get a huge refillable resivoir system for super cheap and it lasts forever. Refills are even cheaper.

Gift One - There is so much stuff for me to label for our reptile-sitters before we go on our trip in November. My current hot-pink-duct-tape-and-Sharpe labels are awesome... but a bit ghetto.

Gift Two - I've been wanting a tripod for a long time, but never seem to get around to buying one. So..... C'mon...gimme. ;)

By the way, you people look absolutely ravishing today. Who does your hair? Are those designer jeans? Tell your fans your workout secrets!

Ooooh never thought of those. I just use these ink cartridge syringes, but I keep losing them lol, so it might be good to get that 100 pack haha.

Well, I’m pretty sure I have the wireless version of that. Just got a generic from Amazon that was way cheaper that did the job fine.

Lightning sale for $10 ending in 3.5 hours: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NY6OLCK

This just popped up on my pcpartpicker alert!

FYI I used the Amazon link on Flubit and got the card for £244.98. Although the price is higher on Amazon at the moment, so you might get a better deal using the ebuyer link on Flubit.

Id get a laser printer, a higher initial cost, but the toner last 3x as much as ink and is less expensive. Id recommend a Brother printer, it isnt a scanner, but you could probably find a usb scanner pretty cheap.



https://www.amazon.com/Brother-HL-L2340DW-Monochrome-Wireless-Replenishment/dp/B00LZS5EEI/ref=sr_1_1?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1496773097&sr=1-1&keywords=brother+printer This is the printer for $80




https://www.amazon.com/E-Z-Ink-Compatible-Cartridge-Replacement/dp/B00NY6OLCK/ref=sr_1_4?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1496773170&sr=1-4&keywords=brother+tn-660 This is the generic toner for $16

Pilot black ink 350ml cost you like $22 via Amazon USA. Great ink. See here Ink 350ml INK350B (japan import) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001P2XUAY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_P5vrzbF91036J

[Toner for my brother printer. $32] (https://www.amazon.com/Brother-TN420-Toner-Cartridge-Packaging/dp/B003YFHCK4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1486923272&sr=8-1&keywords=brother+tn+420+toner) Honestly a laser printer is the best thing you can get if you don't need color. I was "low" on toner for about 2 months of light use. Finally ran out once i started printing a textbook.

I have the Brother HL-2270DW. It supports duplex, has a very quick page per minute print speed, and toner lasts forever (I used the included toner for over a year printing a ton for school, probably over 50 pages per week). This is the aftermarket toner that I use and it has been exactly as good as the oem toner. I highly recommend it.

Hi, Acetate sheets you'll likely find in the kitchen department for chocolate making. The office versions are usually called Transparency Film. There are two types that I know of, the transparency film for printers and the ones that say 'not for use in printers' and they direct the user to special markers that can be cleaned off easily.

The former, printer version is like this.

The latter, writing and drawing version is like this.

Sorry, I don't know what they're like though. Never tried.

Good luck :)

This Epson works great, has good tape and options, a bit spendy.
https://www.amazon.com/Epson-LabelWorks-LW-300-Label-C51CB69010/dp/B005J7Y6HW/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1550720757&sr=8-7&keywords=epson+label+maker

Damn yeah it's tough finding any good priced GPU in spain, maybe I don't know spanish enough :p. But I found 3 shops in France that sell the R9 290 4GB for 240€ - 250€, which I guess is better than the 380 / GTX 960 if they do ship to spain.

Cdiscount, Materiel.net, LDLC

From what I saw the GTX 970 in Spain is at minimum 345€, in France there is one at 310€ (again, don't know if shipment is possible) so harder to fit in the build.

This is an example toner refill that costs just under $7. You always want to get a recommended type of toner for your printer because you want a shade that your printer will not have trouble with, otherwise your shading might be way off.

http://www.amazon.com/Compatible-MFC-7460DN-MFC-7860DW-DCP-7060D-DCP-7065DN/dp/B004WSO73W/ref=pd_sim_229_4?ie=UTF8&dpID=41CZlKuC03L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=0D5136FJFXWZ5HJKVAF0

You can also buy the drum with toner already in it, off-brand. Typically branded drums cost about $45-$150. But off-brand, which I've never had issues with in over 5 years, cost $8-$25. This is an example, and if your friend is paying $600 for refills then they're probably for corporate grade printers. But typically it costs around $150-$300 for a cartridge that prints out 25,000 to 50,000 pages.

http://www.amazon.com/Compatible-Toner-Cartridge-Replacement-TN450/dp/B0062ZNYFK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1458062293&sr=8-2&keywords=brother+laser+cartridge

An example of a cartridge for a corporate grade printer:
http://www.amazon.com/Xerox-4250MFP-Toner-Cartridge-1-Pack/dp/B0059LU9KG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1458062513&sr=8-4&keywords=Xerox+4250+Copier

I recommend trying Pilot's too. I did Quink and it back to back and found the latter better lubricated. I tested this with a juicy Waterman Phileas, various Jinhaos, and a fine Wing Sung 698.

​

https://www.amazon.com/Ink-350ml-INK350B-japan-import/dp/B001P2XUAY/ref=pd_sim_229_1/134-7712605-0769349?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B001P2XUAY&pd_rd_r=a1014561-71f2-11e9-ad11-c3d8451968d7&pd_rd_w=jiEuX&pd_rd_wg=FS046&pf_rd_p=90485860-83e9-4fd9-b838-b28a9b7fda30&pf_rd_r=XS0RYV2XMRB274ZR13SW&psc=1&refRID=XS0RYV2XMRB274ZR13SW

Just fyi on replacement carts. These have worked great for me.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NY6OLCK/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Ok thanks. How long should it take to dry? In a science exam I will need to turn the page very quickly so I can't really wait for long. I ordered the pen to write faster and not get cramp so that could be an issue.
This is the ink I ordered https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003VW13ZU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I've got a blue one of these. Great typewriter. I order my ribbons here: https://www.amazon.com/Smith-Corona-17657-Ribbon-Typewriters/dp/B00006RVRZ/ref=sr_1_11?crid=3GRLFGDKLVB69&keywords=smith+corona+typewriter+ribbon&qid=1573170854&sprefix=smith+coronoa%2Caps%2C184&sr=8-11

Anecdotal evidence: My replacement cartridge - 1200 pages, $30, never dries out. The printer I bought was like $100. And the cartridge that came with it has been good for about 500.

I bought these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B3OL8RG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They work great!

Doo-da-doo... make your own!

Glass plate, 200mm, ferrofluid, glass clamp, EL Tape, Transparency film.

This is just how I'd build it - though, 0.2mm film may be too thick.

• Cut a 200mm circle of transparency film, then cut a 180mm circle into that (so you have a ring with an OD of 200mm, an ID of 180mm, and a wall of 10mm)
  
• Clean your glass plates, add the transparency, and measure the thickness of the sandwich without the fluid in, using a micrometer (should be roughly 6.2mm). Trim your EL tape to a strip of that thickness (should be a little less than a third the base thickness of the EL tape).
  
• Place the film onto the plate, and tape it down at the edges. You don't need a seal, just enough tape so the transparency doesn't walk.
  
• Drip 5 mL fluid onto the plate (0.2mm pi (90mm)^2 = 5mm. Get a micrometer and measure the thickness of your transparency film to get the correct thickness; 0.2mm is assumed).
  
• Carefully place the top plate on
  
• Wrap the EL tape around the loose sandwich, using the bottom plate for the majority of your support. Tape it tightly in place.
  
• Carefully add the clamps at 90ᵒ angles along the plate's edge. Clamps should be unable to move from light vibration, but not so tight you risk breaking the glass. The transparency layer helps here.
  
• Apply power, and have fun!
  
  If the transparency layer leave too thick a film of ferrofluid, my second thought:
  
  

• Thoroughly wash a plate
  
• Cut a 180mm circle of waxed paper. Lay it in the center of a plate, and hold it in place with a dot of ferrofluid in the middle.
  
• Use cheap, thin packing tape to make a solid layer, starting from the middle of the waxed paper and moving outward.
  
• Carefully cut away the center
  
• Proceed as above, but using the ring of packing tape instead of transparency.
  
  Also, if you don't like cutting curves, there's no reason you couldn't do this with square or rectangular glass; you just wouldn't get consistent illumination along a given circumference. If I build this successfully, and proceed to design a segment display, I'm going to almost certainly use rectangular glass for it.

u/powerful-witch is correct! It's this one from Muji. I use it for my inks that have sheen or whatever neat thing, since it's cheaper and I don't feel like I'm risking ruining anything with it. It doesn't come with a converter, but I got this one and it works just splendidly.

Hmm well I use an HP Laserjet printer, color ink, and this transparency paper. So far I have had only success. The images come out crisp and in color. They are all slightly see through when held up to light but its not bad at all. The larger minis tend to bend over because it isn't the must sturdy paper ever, but I havn't had a single one get bent in any corners or anything yet.

I've had a Brother that I got almost 7 years ago now. It prints slow, and the colors are a little muddled, but I can say without a doubt it's still the best printer I've ever had. You can get a 4 pack of CMYK for like $12 on Amazon, it prints way longer after it warns you colors are low, and I've had in that I didn't use for 2 years while my printer was in storage and as soon as I started it back up it could print again.

Now only if I could get to stop running out of paper...

Edit: Also wanted to mention it's the only printer I've never had issues with hooking up and connecting to Wifi. All of their drivers are online, and you can still scan with no ink.

A printer like this [Referral link] or this [Not referral link] is pretty affordable.

Here [Refferal] and here [Not referral] is the toner cartridge, which isn't as cheap as an ink cartridge but lasts a heck of a lot longer.

For these two items you'll have a printer that'll last and toner that won't dry out and will print way more than regular ink.

I used to be a process engineer for a large printing company. We hand hundreds of epson inkjets going at any given time, and each one used a continuous ink system such as seen here http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001KSZTM0
No major issues when compared to OEM carts, and much cheaper and easier to maintain this way.

The coronamatic 17657 is the Black Nylon ribbon and is either still in production or of very recent manufacturer. Amazon listing with correct picture is here: https://www.amazon.com/Smith-Corona-17657-Ribbon-Typewriters/dp/B00006RVRZ/ref=pd_sim_236_2?ie=UTF8&dpID=41ASCQE7TJL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&psc=1&refRID=J2MJF5KB6JBTRMJ395V2 (This is the one I have for mine)

Selectrics, with the exception of the the Model 72 (Selectric I Fabric ribbon) only have third party film ribbons available new, the Model 72 which used the fabric ribbon cartridge has nylon ribbons available for it.

Amazon Examples (none are actual IBM, but third party):

Model 71 (film spools): https://www.amazon.com/IBM-Selectric-Typewriter-Ribbon-Compatible/dp/B001D4F9E4/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1467922700&sr=8-12&keywords=selectric+ribbon

Model 72 (Fabric Cartridge): https://www.amazon.com/Typewriter-Ribbon-Selectric-General-Fabric/dp/B000HRXI1E/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1467922700&sr=8-18-spons&keywords=selectric+ribbon&psc=1

Selectric II: https://www.amazon.com/Nukote-Nk86hy-Selectric-Ribbon-Cartridges/dp/B00TRUOBHM/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1467922700&sr=8-5&keywords=selectric+ribbon

Selectric III: https://www.amazon.com/Typewriter-Ribbon-Selectric-Compatible-typewriter/dp/B007JNYNVI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1467922700&sr=8-3&keywords=selectric+ribbon

I got one of those on Craigslist for $30. I've been feeding it $7 bottles of toner for over a year (2 so far, not sure on the page count), it's great. I get these: http://www.amazon.com/MFC-7360-MFC-7460DN-MFC-7860DW-DCP-7060D-DCP-7065DN/dp/B004WSO73W

Switched over to laser and haven't looked back. One $25 drum prints over 1,000 pages, and you could even get the drums cheaper from knock-off manufacturers who make pretty much the same thing.

What I have: http://www.amazon.com/Brother-HL-2270DW-Compact-Wireless-Networking/dp/B00450DVDY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371151438&sr=8-1&keywords=brother+printer

Drum: http://www.amazon.com/Brother-TN420-Toner-Cartridge-Packaging/dp/B003YFHCK4/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1371151647&sr=1-2&keywords=brother+tn+420

No problems!

Fountain pens can be filled by a number of ways. Cartridges are "bullets" of pre-filled ink which you simply insert into the pen, and swap out for a new one when it runs empty (see here). Converters, on the other hand, looks very similar and functions as a cartridge. However, it comes empty, you have to fill it up yourself (with ink purchased separately), and refill it when it runs empty. The advantage of this is that you can use your own preferred ink, since cartridges are pre-filled and you might not like the supplied colour, consistency etc (see here). Pistons are what's seen in higher end pens, like the Montblancs and Pelikans, where you simply dip the pen tip into the ink well and turn a piston (located on the barrel) to suck up the ink into the pen. The advantage of this is the capacity is much, much larger than cartridges or converters (from my eyeballing, at least 5 or 6 times larger). There're also other methods of filling such as rubber sacs and eyedroppers, but they're usually found in vintage pens and are much rarer in pens made today.

Left handedness shouldn't affect your fountain pen usage, especially with a stock (i.e. out of the box) nib which comes with a Lamy Safari. The nib tip in this case is round, so essentially the same shape as a rollerball. It'll be able to write in any direction and feel the same way in each direction. The difference is that ink may take a little longer to dry and you want to avoid smudging it, but since you're lefthanded you're probably aware of this already. The issue of lefthandedness only comes in if you want to customise your nib tip - in that case, the direction of writing can result in a lot of interesting results (see here for examples). However, as a beginner, a standard nib will not be affected by handedness.

Pilot Black is pretty cheap per milliliter and works decently on cheap paper. It's not the blackest though.

You really aren't going to need a set a needles hiking in Tibet. You will need toilet paper, water purification, and some kind of anti-diuretic pills. Also like any alpine type hike I'd bring a climbing rated helmet because some of the ascents/descents can be very steep with the real risk of rock fall. Ditto for hiking any unkept portions of the great wall.

On a side note you can totally buy hypodermics on Amazon.

Edit: wrong link. This is the correct one: http://www.amazon.com/Protective-refilling-Refillable-Cartridges-Continuous/dp/B006DN11DS/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1398369835&sr=8-10&keywords=hypodermic+needle

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00B3OL8RG?cache=264302404b3507a28a5c78b4296ffe1d&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70&qid=1406406329&sr=8-28#ref=mp_s_a_1_28

I got these. I haven't had to use them yet. But might help?

I haven't thought out a price and won't have pics on hand until after work, but I think this would fit the bill and your price point:

• 5 or so unused and barely used Jinhao 599s
  
  
• 5 packs of 7 different colors international cartridges
  
  
• A nearly full bottle of Waterman Mysterious Blue
  
• A couple of syringes for eyedroppers
  
• A couple of B5 dotted notebooks
  
• A faux leather pen roll

Not to slight Himiko, but I think the converter is overwhelmingly the way to go over refilling cartridges (something required for some pens but inherently messy, they wear out, and it's not a great experience A for your first fountain pen). I have this one that works perfectly in my Muji. I have heard that most international converters leak in this pen, so I'd be careful to get either this one, or I guess the Schmidt that Himiko mentions above, although I don't have the link for it. I know that everyone has preferences on something so subjective, but I'll also suggest that you buy yourself a bottle of Diamine or Iroshizuku ink first time around, you'll be obsessed in no time. I mean, there's a ton of wonderful ink out there, but both of these brands are so well behaved on all paper, and and have very few duds. Make sure it says 'fountain pen' on the front, as dip-pen ink will ruin your pen. Oh, and welcome to the world of Fountain Pens!

https://www.amazon.com/Compatible-Brother-TN450-Toner-Cartridge-Black/dp/B0062ZNYFK

You're welcome.

Good enough?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-GTX-970-Graphics-Card/dp/B00NZT6D68

Makes sense. Something like these little guys?

well: https://www.amazon.de/GIGABYTE-nVIDIA-GTX970-DDR5-Overclock/dp/B00NZT6D68/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1467135660&sr=1-2&keywords=gtx+970
a brand new gtx 970 OC for 249€ exactly the amount i can spare (i really really savewd up money for that rx480).
so it doesnt matter what card i buy? can you point me out some generic pro´s con´s? im not that into graphic cards, but my 660 is dying right now.

btw, pls correct my english!

I got laser all-in-one from Brother for $100 it takes 3rd party toner cartridges that cost $12 and yields 2,600 pages of text.

Lasers really aren't expensive at all, I'm still on my first toner cartridge at 1,156 pages. I would have needed to buy a full set of ink cartridges at least once (either they run out or dry up) which, initial purchase included, would add up to more than I've spent on the laser.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NY6OLCK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is what I got. You get like 2600 pages for 15 bucks versus 700 in an ink cartridge for the same price.

Plus you get the lower quality print with the inkjet and slower PPM.

For me, it was an investment for sure that was long overdue.

Nice work, moss is the hardest imo. Keeping them moist enough, especially in a non-closed environment is tricky to say the least!

I notice you seem to be watering with a spray bottle... one thing I've found handy for avoiding water on the glass is to water with a long needled syringe...

something like this => https://www.amazon.com/Syringes-refilling-Refillable-Cartridges-Continuous/dp/B006DN11DS/ref=sr_1_49?ie=UTF8&qid=1481153534&sr=8-49&keywords=syringe

Bungbox? The Sailor ones? Yeah, they’re quite cheap.

Can’t beat that per ml though: Pilot 350 ml bottles, black, blue black, red.

Depends on which model you get. I have the Starwalker Extreme (in black) and am using a Pelikan Converter Link.
While investigating which the issue, I heard about Pelikan, Schmidt K5 and Faber Castell converters working.

I’d recommend going to a nearby shop that sells one of these converters and seeing if it fits.

Yeps been buying this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0062ZNYFK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Lasts like 3 months and I print about 30 pages a day.

It should be all over Amazon. You just have to look at the ink code on your specific cartridge (I think mine is LC103) and search it on amazon and possibly even eBay where you might find a direct China seller even cheaper.

Sure thing buddy.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0062ZNYFK

yes it is, I was actually cleaning it up to try out the pelikan converter, which I've just put in right now. So far so good, but I'll report back tomorrow in case of leaks!

You might consider getting a cheap set of blunt syringes instead (like these). With a syringe, you can easily empty a Preppy cartridge and refill it with any ink you want. I have refilled cartridges many, many times.

Try getting the refills of Amazon. They cost $10-15 and last a crazy long time.

Edit: like this E-Z Ink (TM) Compatible Toner Cartridge Replacement for Brother TN630 TN660 High Yield (1 Black Toner) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NY6OLCK?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

Don't forget Amazon will deliver here too for some items. Amazon DE comes to a total of ~$350 including delivery.

http://www.amazon.com/MFC-7360-MFC-7460DN-MFC-7860DW-DCP-7060D-DCP-7065DN/dp/B004WSO73W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404876339&sr=8-1&keywords=toner+refill+kit+brother

http://www.amazon.com/Epson-LabelWorks-LW-300-Label-Maker/dp/B005J7Y6HW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1465155197&sr=8-2&keywords=epson+label+maker

Pilot Namiki Black, link.

Edit: Alternatively, if you need a lot of black ink, this is the same but...bigger to say the least.

http://www.amazon.com/syringe-blunt-needle-refill-cartridge/dp/B00B3OL8RG/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1397422227&sr=8-5&keywords=blunt+tip+syringe

I have the Brother DCP-L2540DW which takes TN630 (standard 1200 pg $31) or TN660 (high yield 2600 pg $48). I bought the TN660. I had previously purchased [this] (http://www.amazon.com/Z-Ink-Compatible-Cartridge-Replacement/dp/B00NY6OLCK?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00) for $13.

I don't know how much it would cost in Europe, but Pilot is quite cheap in America, especially if you buy it in large bottles. Here's a 350ml (almost 12oz) bottle of black ink for 20 USD. It's also available in blue-black and red. That comes in at

Try this one! https://www.amazon.com/Syringes-refilling-Refillable-Cartridges-Continuous/dp/B006DN11DS

November 22nd and it's a boy!

$20

$40

This isn’t exactly answering your question, but if you don’t go for the fancy stuff, there are some pretty affordable inks out there

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006RVRZ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_vRJ8Bb1N9HZ50

http://www.amazon.com/Brother-Yield-Toner-Cartridge-TN450/dp/B003YFHCKY/ref=pd_bxgy_e_img_y

or

http://www.amazon.com/Compatible-Brother-TN450-Cartridge-2270DW/dp/B0062ZNYFK/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1412965800&sr=1-2&keywords=TN450

Literally the only thing you needed to do was type "HL-2270DW toner" into the search bar.

http://www.amazon.com/Compatible-Brother-TN450-Cartridge-2270DW/dp/B0062ZNYFK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412965711&sr=8-1&keywords=hl-2270dw+toner

then whats the difference betwenn that MSI 970 and this Gigabyte 970, that makes the gigabyte need the extra 50w?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-GTX-970-Graphics-Card/dp/B00NZT6D68/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1419179683&sr=8-6&keywords=gtx+970

i5 4690k and a GTX 970
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-GTX-970-Graphics-Card/dp/B00NZT6D68/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420767625&sr=8-1&keywords=gtx+970



http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-i5-4690K-Processor-Graphics-LGA-1150/dp/B00KPRWB9G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420767652&sr=8-1&keywords=intel+core+i5-4690k

Smith Corona 17657 Ribbon for Smith Corona 2100 Typewriters https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006RVRZ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_rZqWDbBTQT469

I get 1800 to 2000 prints out of this

Here is the best converter really.

Actually you can just get the goulet syringes too, however I got these, and the only real problem it is difficult to not overfill the cartridge because it is a 10 ml syringe.

https://www.amazon.de/GIGABYTE-nVIDIA-GTX970-DDR5-Overclock/dp/B00NZT6D68/

Edit: Sorry Guys. The Card for 249€ is sold out.

It's a good card, but a GTX 970 is just as fast and uses a lot less power so no need for a new PSU unless your current psu is less than 550w. The gtx980 is much more expensive and not in your price range.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00NZT6D68/?tag=pcp0f-21

The minor downside is that you will have to uninstall your current video drivers and install new ones with the 970 and you will not with the 290x. Takes 5 minutes to do though.

strangely enough here in italy the cheapest one is actually the gigabyte one
http://www.amazon.it/Gigabyte-GTX-rev-1-0-Scheda-Grafica/dp/B00NZT6D68/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1418413971&sr=8-3&keywords=GeForce+GTX+970

for 350 euros

Simple B&W brother laser- $70 -$200 on sale.
TN-420 replacement toner - $60.

Your numbers make no sense unless you're buying refurbished stuff.

Ps. I literally am mentioning Toner in my original post, so idk how you're getting confused with inkjets.

tried to do a 980ti system but it ended up costing 1550 without the speakers.(+33)

If you want a 980ti in there you will have to drop the cpu to i5 or the ssd(i guess you need the 16 gigs)

https://www.amazon.fr/Intel-1150-INTEL-E3-1231V3-SR1R5/dp/B00K64I0S4/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1462980991&sr=1-2&keywords=xeon

https://www.amazon.fr/ASRock-B85M-Carte-Intel-Socket/dp/B00MI8D2D4/ref=sr_1_31?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1462981228&sr=1-31

https://www.amazon.fr/HyperX-HX316C10FR-M%C3%A9moire-1600MHz-Rouge/dp/B00J8E90NW/ref=sr_1_6?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1462981338&sr=1-6 x2

https://www.amazon.fr/Seagate-ST1000DM003-Barracuda-Disque-interne/dp/B005T3GRNW/ref=lp_430345031_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1462981103&sr=1-1

https://www.amazon.fr/Disque-SanDisk-vitesse-lecture-SDSSDHII-240G-G25/dp/B00M8ABEIM/ref=sr_1_16?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1462981299&sr=1-16

https://www.amazon.fr/GIGABYTE-nVIDIA-GTX970-DDR5-Overclock/dp/B00NZT6D68/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1462984185&sr=1-1

https://www.amazon.fr/Seasonic-S12II-520W-Alimentation-520-BRONZE/dp/B00390P1NO/ref=sr_1_45?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1462984132&sr=1-45

https://www.amazon.fr/ARCTIC-F12-Ventilateur-performance-boitier/dp/B002KTVFTE/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1462982595&sr=1-1

https://www.amazon.fr/Thermaltake-Versa-Bo%C3%AEtier-tour-avec-ventilateur/dp/B00P9OES28/ref=sr_1_104?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1462982417&sr=1-104

https://www.amazon.fr/Acer-GN246HLBbid-Predator-FullHD-1920/dp/B00IG0Z0HY/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1462983738&sr=1-1&keywords=Acer+GN246HL

https://www.amazon.fr/Logitech-Speaker-System-Haut-parleurs-Subwoofer/dp/B003LNXT7Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462984316&sr=8-1&keywords=logitech+z313

final cost 1261,73 with all costs included

I've used spray adhesive, but I used it with [this]9https://www.amazon.com/Apollo-Printer-Copier-Transparency-Sheets/dp/B0040YC7FI/ref=sr_1_sc_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1481164639&sr=8-3-spell&keywords=trasnsparency+sheets0 as my stencil.

As long as you LIGHTLY spray the adhesive on it works fine. Spray too much and it's a gigantic PITA. I'd suggest practicing with the spray before doing your project.

http://www.amazon.com/Brother-HL-L2340DW-Monochrome-Wireless-Printing/dp/B00LZS5EEI

$90 shipped. Note that it comes with "starter toner" which only lasts 700 pages, but the high-yield cartridges are $49 and last 2600, making for very cheap printing.

I've been using a Brother HL-2170W for years, and the thing just won't die. I share it between two Macs and a Windows machine. No complaints at all.