Hacking Random11's Credit Card Sized amiibo cards

[TerryG]

Anyone try or know if this printer with addon tray will work.
Printer https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AVWKUJS/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
Printer Card Tray https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00P25H0BA/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1GYMVIZIMSYWM

Just need to find PVC cards with ntags in stock somewhere. Similar to these.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01L0WV9Z6/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1GYMVIZIMSYWM

I'm using that exact printer and a very similar tray. Printing to inkjet printable cards works fine, but I'm having a hell of a time getting the images properly sized and aligned for printing.

 

[Sum Pro]

I'm using that exact printer and a very similar tray. Printing to inkjet printable cards works fine, but I'm having a hell of a time getting the images properly sized and aligned for printing.

Cool thanks for the info. Itching to pull the trigger on all 3 items. Are those cards you speak of ntag'ed or just pvc plastic cards?

 

[TerryG]

Cool thanks for the info. Itching to pull the trigger on all 3 items. Are those cards you speak of ntag'ed or just pvc plastic cards?

They're ntag215. Aside from the jacked up print the cards themselves work great. For that matter, what did print turned out nice as well, it was just way too small and not aligned properly.

 

[DocKlokMan]

They're ntag215. Aside from the jacked up print the cards themselves work great. For that matter, what did print turned out nice as well, it was just way too small and not aligned properly.

May I ask where you got NTAG215 Inkjet printable cards? I attempted to order some that were advertised as Inkjet printable only to find they were not.

 

[Random11]

They're ntag215. Aside from the jacked up print the cards themselves work great. For that matter, what did print turned out nice as well, it was just way too small and not aligned properly.

Doesnt that tray come with a template for the cards?

 

[DocKlokMan]

Doesnt that tray come with a template for the cards?

It does, it took me two tries before I got the settings correct though.

 

[Random11]

here are the corrections to the character art for these

Edit: and now the maps + logos

 

[TerryG]

Doesnt that tray come with a template for the cards?

It does, it took me two tries before I got the settings correct though.

Mine didn't, and the first few I found online didn't work out. The third one, however, worked like a charm.

May I ask where you got NTAG215 Inkjet printable cards? I attempted to order some that were advertised as Inkjet printable only to find they were not.

Ntag215 card, ntag215 inkjet printable Card for Espon printer, Canon printer
http://s.aliexpress.com/vQJzUv2Q

A little pricey, but they work great.

 

[ganons]

@Random11 you work fast, was about to make them.

 

[Random11]

@Random11 you work fast, was about to make them.

Well. I have to redo them though. After seeing the box art. They changed the logo and the name font. It's not 30th anniversary anymore. And need to get the proper map images. I'll probably get that done tonight.

Probably end up make making a new back too

 

[ganons]

Well. I have to redo them though. After seeing the box art. They changed the logo and the name font. It's not 30th anniversary anymore. And need to get the proper map images. I'll probably get that done tonight.

Probably end up make making a new back too

Only saw the figures, do you have a link to the box art please?

 

[Random11]

Only saw the figures, do you have a link to the box art please?

https://www.reddit.com/r/amiibo/com..._there_a_look_at_the/?st=J1GDVRWD&sh=a528e9eb

The design is similar to wolf link. The logo is placed and sized slightly different though.

 

[ganons]

Look at this guy, seems like he cut the cards blindfolded http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/292083946823

Cant believe he got a bid

 

[Sum Pro]

https://www.reddit.com/r/amiibo/com..._there_a_look_at_the/?st=J1GDVRWD&sh=a528e9eb

The design is similar to wolf link. The logo is placed and sized slightly different though.

If you don't mind, you think its possible you can possibly give me an example/idea on how to make two images blend in for use on a inject pvc card non ntag? I plan on using two ntag215 stickers on the back of a pvc card and having only the front printed on. See my crappy example. Thanks.

 

[DocKlokMan]

Alright, I've finished dealing with the vendor that sent me the wrong cards. They jerked me around until the purchase protection kicked in and the site forced a refund in my favor and since it wasn't settled through the seller I got to keep the cards. So I went out and bought $14 worth of 8.5x11 label paper and decided to make the best of the cards I was given. This is the result of two pieces of label paper on a normal PVC NTAG215 card and then sprayed with matte fixative:



I made 16 cards in all (since SSB Link and Twilight Link are the same and SSB Toon Link and 30th WW Link are the same I didn't bother to make duplicates). If I did it again I'd likely use semi-gloss or gloss fixative. My process was to print out 8 images a sheet, roughly cut them out, peel them, stick one side to the card then trim the excess with an exact-o blade, put the other side on and trim that too then I filed the corners and edges with a nail file to make it smooth. Then I sprayed them with two layers of fixative which had about 20 minutes of drying time in between.

These pre-made Credit Card sized images with the bleed really helped make this project super easy and I appreciate your hard work @Random11. I've been wanting to make cards like these for ages now and I'm glad you have not completely removed them in light of the improper usage.

 

[DocKlokMan]

If you don't mind, you think its possible you can possibly give me an example/idea on how to make two images blend in for use on a inject pvc card non ntag? I plan on using two ntag215 stickers on the back of a pvc card and having only the front printed on. See my crappy example. Thanks.

I don't have any advice on the blurring for you but I really like your idea! It's a good way to conserve cards and shrink the amount you need to carry around. It also gave me an idea to put two of the same tags on one card so that I can scan that amiibo twice in a row without needing to save scum or change the date. Hmmm...

You can also do what Magic the Gathering does, turn the card sideways and print two mini cards side-by-side. That works for trading card sized images since they are about a 1:2 aspect ratio but credit cards aren't, so there'd be some cropping. I'll mock something up here in a moment.

EDIT: Quick mockup of two cards together, properly sized to maintain 5mm bleed. You can fancy it up with a divider line or by lining the amiibo logos on the back up so they're centered.


EDIT2: The backs are the wrong way in this mockup but you get the gist.

 

[Random11]

If you don't mind, you think its possible you can possibly give me an example/idea on how to make two images blend in for use on a inject pvc card non ntag? I plan on using two ntag215 stickers on the back of a pvc card and having only the front printed on. See my crappy example. Thanks.

It looks like you have deleted the bottom of each card. Use a layer mask instead.

Place each full card on separate layers. Apply a layer mask to the top layer. Use the gradient tool to draw a small gradient to form the blend. If you need instruction on how to use any of those tools I think looking up video tutorials would be easier then me explaining it.

The other option is to put them sideways. You will have to recreate the crop marks though as the ones on the images will get shrunk and off placed. However, depending on how you are doing this you might not need the crop marks. Regardless copying the crop marks is pretty easy.

Rotate the images 90 degrees. Place the outer edge along the edge of the document and then uniformly scale the image down until the inside crop marks line up with the exact middle of the document. This will leave the center bleed sections over lapping you can either just cut off the bleed sections and have a straight horizontal seam or I've also found cutting on an angle looks decent. Again I would stick to using layer masks for this instead of deleting parts of the image. That way you can always go back and modify it easily. Its "non-destructive" editing.

Here are some examples. I have darkened the parts of the card that will be getting cut off.



Edit: Actually I would align the corner crop marks too. (while keeping the center crop marks on the center of the document). This way you know none of the logos or text is going to get cut off or appear to close to the edge of the card. The bleed gets smaller but that's what its there for.

Alright, I've finished dealing with the vendor that sent me the wrong cards. They jerked me around until the purchase protection kicked in and the site forced a refund in my favor and since it wasn't settled through the seller I got to keep the cards. So I went out and bought $14 worth of 8.5x11 label paper and decided to make the best of the cards I was given. This is the result of two pieces of label paper on a normal PVC NTAG215 card and then sprayed with matte fixative:

View attachment 84173 View attachment 84174 View attachment 84175 View attachment 84176 View attachment 84177 View attachment 84178

I made 16 cards in all (since SSB Link and Twilight Link are the same and SSB Toon Link and 30th WW Link are the same I didn't bother to make duplicates). If I did it again I'd likely use semi-gloss or gloss fixative. My process was to print out 8 images a sheet, roughly cut them out, peel them, stick one side to the card then trim the excess with an exact-o blade, put the other side on and trim that too then I filed the corners and edges with a nail file to make it smooth. Then I sprayed them with two layers of fixative which had about 20 minutes of drying time in between.

These pre-made Credit Card sized images with the bleed really helped make this project super easy and I appreciate your hard work @Random11. I've been wanting to make cards like these for ages now and I'm glad you have not completely removed them in light of the improper usage.

They really look good... Im definitely not going to go waste my money on a id card printer. lmao. What brand of label paper did you use, and what fixative did you use? Also are you saying you used a nail file on the edges of the label paper? Wouldn't that fray the edges?

I don't have any advice on the blurring for you but I really like your idea! It's a good way to conserve cards and shrink the amount you need to carry around. It also gave me an idea to put two of the same tags on one card so that I can scan that amiibo twice in a row without needing to save scum or change the date. Hmmm...

You can also do what Magic the Gathering does, turn the card sideways and print two mini cards side-by-side. That works for trading card sized images since they are about a 1:2 aspect ratio but credit cards aren't, so there'd be some cropping. I'll mock something up here in a moment.

EDIT: Quick mockup of two cards together, properly sized to maintain 5mm bleed. You can fancy it up with a divider line or by lining the amiibo logos on the back up so they're centered.
View attachment 84184 View attachment 84185

EDIT2: The backs are the wrong way in this mockup but you get the gist.

lol. we had the same idea. (rotating the images)

with your cards though since they are already ntags if you added another sticker to it wouldnt it not know which is which? It might be a pain scanning them if you keep trying to scan your extra but the first one gets scanned instead. If they were normal PVC cards and you wanted to add two stickers to them I get that. But a PVC tag antenna covers the whole card... so adding an extra sticker would be overlapping the cards antenna. Was that your plan or am I missing something?

Edit: Also I wouldnt bother trying to mix the two backs if the two amiibo are from the same series. I would just use the normal back. Thats my personal preference though, you can obviously do what you want.

 

[Sum Pro]

Thanks Really appreciate it Analogman and Random11. That is way better than the cut and paste job that I did. I also like both of your visions, makes way more sense and looks a lot better.

 

[DocKlokMan]

It looks like you have deleted the bottom of each card. Use a layer mask instead.

Place each full card on separate layers. Apply a layer mask to the top layer. Use the gradient tool to draw a small gradient to form the blend. If you need instruction on how to use any of those tools I think looking up video tutorials would be easier then me explaining it.

The other option is to put them sideways. You will have to recreate the crop marks though as the ones on the images will get shrunk and off placed. However, depending on how you are doing this you might not need the crop marks. Regardless copying the crop marks is pretty easy.

Rotate the images 90 degrees. Place the outer edge along the edge of the document and then uniformly scale the image down until the inside crop marks line up with the exact middle of the document. This will leave the center bleed sections over lapping you can either just cut off the bleed sections and have a straight horizontal seam or I've also found cutting on an angle looks decent. Again I would stick to using layer masks for this instead of deleting parts of the image. That way you can always go back and modify it easily. Its "non-destructive" editing.

Here are some examples. I have darkened the parts of the card that will be getting cut off.

View attachment 84186

Edit: Actually I would align the corner crop marks too. (while keeping the center crop marks on the center of the document). This way you know none of the logos or text is going to get cut off or appear to close to the edge of the card. The bleed gets smaller but that's what its there for.

View attachment 84189



They really look good... Im definitely not going to go waste my money on a id card printer. lmao. What brand of label paper did you use, and what fixative did you use? Also are you saying you used a nail file on the edges of the label paper? Wouldn't that fray the edges?

Brand of paper was Avery, 15265. For Fixative I used Rust-oleum American Accents 2x Ultra Cover Matte Clear. Makes the cards look and feel more like those cardboard tokens you punch out for use in board games, so if you want a more shiny, card like appearance with a smoother texture I'd go for semi-gloss. As for the filing, the nail file is like this: http://images.nailsmag.com/post/1-M-na1010implementnailfile.jpg

Basically the same as a sanding block. It was used gently and I only moved it in one direction, not back and forth. It was mostly for the corners but also because the fixative stiffens the paper and can make it a little sharp. The paper doesn't fray much because the sticky side of it holds it together.

lol. we had the same idea. (rotating the images)

with your cards though since they are already ntags if you added another sticker to it wouldnt it not know which is which? It might be a pain scanning them if you keep trying to scan your extra but the first one gets scanned instead. If they were normal PVC cards and you wanted to add two stickers to them I get that. But a PVC tag antenna covers the whole card... so adding an extra sticker would be overlapping the cards antenna. Was that your plan or am I missing something?

Edit: Also I wouldnt bother trying to mix the two backs if the two amiibo are from the same series. I would just use the normal back. Thats my personal preference though, you can obviously do what you want.

I did not intend for this method with my current NTAG cards, it would be only for use with professionally printed playing cards or plain PVC cards. I also would use the two backs as I line the NTAG up with the amiibo logo on the back, so it helps with the scanning.

 

[Random11]

Brand of paper was Avery, 15265. For Fixative I used Rust-oleum American Accents 2x Ultra Cover Matte Clear. Makes the cards look and feel more like those cardboard tokens you punch out for use in board games, so if you want a more shiny, card like appearance with a smoother texture I'd go for semi-gloss. As for the filing, the nail file is like this: http://images.nailsmag.com/post/1-M-na1010implementnailfile.jpg

Basically the same as a sanding block. It was used gently and I only moved it in one direction, not back and forth. It was mostly for the corners but also because the fixative stiffens the paper and can make it a little sharp. The paper doesn't fray much because the sticky side of it holds it together.
I did not intend for this method with my current NTAG cards, it would be only for use with professionally printed playing cards or plain PVC cards. I also would use the two backs as I line the NTAG up with the amiibo logo on the back, so it helps with the scanning.

Im surprised the spray wouldnt make the ink run. But ill definitely try it out. And ya I see what you mean with the sticker placement.