talkmagic.co.uk

I'm having difficulty creating the gimmick. Specifically, it is 'darker' and 'blurrier' than it should be (you'll hopefully know what I mean), and just doesn't seem credible. I have tried adjusting the relevant equipment settings (including certain replacements), but the final product is always phony looking. My equipment is not new, although it's not that old either.

Has anyone else experienced this problem? Is it supposed to look quite close to the real thing? (I am using US dollars)

thanks

I don't think it would cause you much trouble. People rarely carefully look at their currency and I don't think they'll notice that it looks phony at a glance.

People won't be looking at it at a glance, they will be staring at it for hours. It is meant to look as close to the real thing as possible. I have never had people take out another note and compare the two marks but keep it as close to original looking as possible. Make sure there are no immediate differences between the two that spectators might pick up on just by looking at it.

It's your equiptment. Mine comes out too crisp, which is easily remedied.

Thanks for the replies. I should add that when I "create" the first one on the blank, it looks basically OK. But when I then repeat the process with the item I need on top, the result is darker and not as crisp.

If anyone has experience with American money, I'd love to know if this is a common problem.

Django wrote:It's your equiptment. Mine comes out too crisp, which is easily remedied.

What brand is your equipment? Mine is HP, and I'm having the same problem benAbbuyah is having. Mine is new and very good for other applications.

I'm not using HP (I have an Epson Stylus that's about 5 years old), and it just produces a poor result on the item itself (normal print is OK).

With the equipment Daniel says NOT to use (on the video), I got VERY GOOD results - with the caveat that the item is then not advised to hand out permanently (i.e. while it can be examined, the final product has a 'temporary' nature which prolonged contact with it might reveal)

all the best,
elisha

benAbbuyah wrote:I'm not using HP (I have an Epson Stylus that's about 5 years old), and it just produces a poor result on the item itself (normal print is OK).

With the equipment Daniel says NOT to use (on the video), I got VERY GOOD results - with the caveat that the item is then not advised to hand out permanently (I.e. while it can be examined, the final product has a 'temporary' nature which prolonged contact with it might reveal)

all the best,
elisha

Now THAT"S really interesting. Since I've had absolutely terrible results with an inkjet, guess I'll try it with a laser. This problem is, by the way, very annoying - particularly given one poster's account that his specs examined the product under a magnifying glass without any problem. I'd love to know the brand printer he was using!!

rosariorose9

If the problem is that the color is coming up too dark, I like to grab a kneaded eraser and an emory board - a little touch-up work and it blends rather nicely with the rest of the bill.

There's another discussion on this topic here, which explains how to do it perfectly.

The correct results for almost any currency are achieveable. I would seriously suggest you watch the DVD again.

When printed with a laser, the ink is not properly absorbed (in my experience), and using an eraser to lighten it may only end up erasing it entirely. One solution to the 'darkness' problem may simply be to change your print settings to print it with more gray than black (or change to a different color, maybe a greenish black)...

elisha

Aside from the occasional touch up, I just carry the bills in my wallet - nothing makes it blend like good old standar wear-and-tear, really.

seige wrote:There's another discussion on this topic here, which explains how to do it perfectly.

The correct results for almost any currency are achieveable. I would seriously suggest you watch the DVD again.

I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, seige. Other than cautioning the viewer not to use a laser printer, Daniel offers no tips on how to produce "correct results."

The problem, at least in my case (and I've tried 3 different ink jet printers, and every different printer setting available on them), is NOT that the image comes out too dark - it's that it's not sufficiently detailed. It's BLURRY, and would never, ever stand any reasonable inspection. So, letting it sit in a wallet, for example, would not solve the problem.

Given my experience (and that of others on this forum) that the image looks GREAT on regular paper, but not good at all on the bills, the problem would seem to be the result of the fact that bills are actually a cloth material. Again, however, I'd love to know the brand and model number of printers which the successful posters are using.

rosariorose9

Well, if this makes any more sense, it seems the original post on this forum was edited due to 'tipping the gaff'.

However, if you carefully watch the DVD, and follow the instructions of getting the bill FLAT on the paper (even if it means ironing it!) then that's one of the best pieces of advice available...

Secondly: try sending the print using different paper settings. Here's a quick explanation...

1. Plain: plain paper is absorbent, and soaks up a lot of ink. Not good for bills.

2. Photo: photo papers are less absorbent, and need finer droplets. Therefore they get less ink sent to them. Better.

3. Transparency: transparency film (for overhead prodjectors etc.) isn't absorbent at all... it's covered in a very thin layer of absorbent material which catches the ink and lets it harden. Hardly any ink used at all. VERY GOOD OPTION FOR FRAUD.

So... there you have it.

Please—go ahead and use that advice. Coupled with the advice given by Daniel on how to attach the bill to the paper, this should produce good results.

Oh, and if your printer has an 'envelope' lever on it, set it to envelope.

Near-perfect results ARE achieveable. With INKJET. AND with Laser.

With laser printing, you get an even better result for UK currency in my own opinion. Daniel gives a really shoddy reason not to use Laser printers... however, if you know what you're doing, it's a great method, and yes—you CAN get the toner to soak into the paper.

That's all the advice I'm going to give on this.

seige,

Thanks so much for the detailed reply. I'd already tried all of those printer settings, with the exception of 'transparency.' Interesting. I'll give that a try tonight, along with your 'ironing' tip, and I'll report back with my results.

Thanks again.

rosariorose9