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Direct To Paper (DTP)
Nancy Elrick nelrick@home.com
Colorbox Direct to Paper Technique
choose any colour of cardstock to begin and cut to desired size - I find a darker coloured cardstock works the best -choose a variety of Colorbox (or pigment) inks that complement each other and the cardstock -beginning with the lightest colour, begin applying the ink directly to the cardstock by smooshing, dragging, tapping etc -move on to the next lightest colour and continue until you have used all of your chosen colours and have the effect you desire I find it is best to overlap *you do not need to cover the entire surface of the cardstock to make a glossy look to your paper, cover the entire surface with clear embossing powder after applying all your inks and heat to keep a dull surface, which is suitable for stamping onto, leave to dry as is or speed it up using your heat tool. Ensure that all of your ink pads are well inked before starting - if they are not, they may come loose from your container/holder. If a pad does come loose from the holder, try re-gluing with Crazy Glue or contact the company to see if they will replace them
Colorbox Direct to Paper Technique
choose any colour of cardstock to begin and cut to desired size - I find a darker coloured cardstock works the best -choose a variety of Colorbox (or pigment) inks that complement each other and the cardstock -beginning with the lightest colour, begin applying the ink directly to the cardstock by smooshing, dragging, tapping etc -move on to the next lightest colour and continue until you have used all of your chosen colours and have the effect you desire I find it is best to overlap *you do not need to cover the entire surface of the cardstock to make a glossy look to your paper, cover the entire surface with clear embossing powder after applying all your inks and heat to keep a dull surface, which is suitable for stamping onto, leave to dry as is or speed it up using your heat tool. Ensure that all of your ink pads are well inked before starting - if they are not, they may come loose from your container/holder. If a pad does come loose from the holder, try re-gluing with Crazy Glue or contact the company to see if they will replace them
Tyra Cloud9@netnet.net
I like this tech a lot..this Direct To Paper (DTP). There's really no mystery to it, though the name would imply otherwise. Initially..DTP was just that...using an inkpad pressed directly to the paper to create a cool type background. However, we have "mutated" the tech some...and also have one that I feel is a "pseudo DTP" type tech...meaning that we use a tool of some sort (anything BUT a rubber stamp) to transfer the color from the inkpad to the paper. Some tools used for the pseudo DTP would be, but not limited to: the colorbox stylus kit, sponges, brushes, condoms/balloons filled with various stuff, fingers ..etc. OK..you get the general idea. You can also DTP with paints....use an old CD as your "palette", plop some paint of choice on it...then use whatever tool you want to transfer the color/paint from the palette to your cardstock. THe longer the color medium will stay wet, the easier it is to blend on your cardstock. One little "thing" I've used for some DTP type techs is the "reverse image stamp" that came out a while back. I bought that silly thing, thinking it would work better than it did, found out I didn't really like and set it back on the shelf. All that stamp is, is a huge piece of rubber, all flat with NO stamp image at all..on a hunk of wood. OK..so I got a big piece of rubber right? Sounds like a palette to me...so I took various color mediums, splashed them around on my reverse image stamp...then stamped onto cardstock. Pretty cool if I say so myself. (Yes, I could have just done this directly to the cardstock, but I got kinda crazy and was looking for a way to make DTP harder than it needed to be...you KNOW how I can be somtimes..hahahahaah. ) OK..so now you get the general idea of DTP...moving color from one place to another, either using a pad directly TO paper, or using a tool to move the color from the inkpad/palette to the cardstock. What type of cardstock to use? Well, that depends on your color medium. If you color medium will dry on glossy, go for it. If not, switch to matte. If you try it on glossy and it doesn't dry, toss some clear EP on it and hot it up..call it good. If you are using a paint that has a short wet time, such as acrylic paints...then mix a little flow extender into the paint on the palette prior to moving it with a tool to your cardstock. The longer your color medium stays wet, the easier it is to blend. Now...to stamp on TOP of a DTP background is also quite easy. First make sure your background is fully dry. Then I would advise you to use an anti-static bag on top of it, then stamp and emboss. I use Gayle Page-Robak's "A Little Bag" for my anti-static product because it won't leave a residue on my background, and if it does look a little powdery, it is easily wiped off when you are finished with a soft cloth. If you don't want to emboss...and the cardstock is matte..use one of the semi-permanent/watercolor inkpads..I prefer to use Ranger Archival inkpads...but there are others on the market as well. If your DTP background is dark...dont' use black ink to stamp. The image will just get lost in the background because there is no contrast between the stamped image and the background. Try using gold or silver...or white...or a lighter color. If your background is fairly light, use black or about any other color to stamp with. Ok..so that isn't working for you. Try this. Stamp your image of choice on a light cardstock, color it as you like. Then cut it out and glue it onto your background. Or you could use foam mounting tape or pop dots...that is nice as well. Make friends with your exacto knife and try this out!! ;-) OK..if you can use your scissors with any degree of competance..you can probably just use them..but I find an exacto knife to work best for me when I detail cut anything. Personal preference you know..use what works best for you. So, in a nutshell..DTP is simply moving color from one place to another, either using the inkpad directly ON the cardstock or using a tool of some sort to transfer the color to the cardstock.
For information on related topics see:
Tutorials: Grid Technique
I like this tech a lot..this Direct To Paper (DTP). There's really no mystery to it, though the name would imply otherwise. Initially..DTP was just that...using an inkpad pressed directly to the paper to create a cool type background. However, we have "mutated" the tech some...and also have one that I feel is a "pseudo DTP" type tech...meaning that we use a tool of some sort (anything BUT a rubber stamp) to transfer the color from the inkpad to the paper. Some tools used for the pseudo DTP would be, but not limited to: the colorbox stylus kit, sponges, brushes, condoms/balloons filled with various stuff, fingers ..etc. OK..you get the general idea. You can also DTP with paints....use an old CD as your "palette", plop some paint of choice on it...then use whatever tool you want to transfer the color/paint from the palette to your cardstock. THe longer the color medium will stay wet, the easier it is to blend on your cardstock. One little "thing" I've used for some DTP type techs is the "reverse image stamp" that came out a while back. I bought that silly thing, thinking it would work better than it did, found out I didn't really like and set it back on the shelf. All that stamp is, is a huge piece of rubber, all flat with NO stamp image at all..on a hunk of wood. OK..so I got a big piece of rubber right? Sounds like a palette to me...so I took various color mediums, splashed them around on my reverse image stamp...then stamped onto cardstock. Pretty cool if I say so myself. (Yes, I could have just done this directly to the cardstock, but I got kinda crazy and was looking for a way to make DTP harder than it needed to be...you KNOW how I can be somtimes..hahahahaah. ) OK..so now you get the general idea of DTP...moving color from one place to another, either using a pad directly TO paper, or using a tool to move the color from the inkpad/palette to the cardstock. What type of cardstock to use? Well, that depends on your color medium. If you color medium will dry on glossy, go for it. If not, switch to matte. If you try it on glossy and it doesn't dry, toss some clear EP on it and hot it up..call it good. If you are using a paint that has a short wet time, such as acrylic paints...then mix a little flow extender into the paint on the palette prior to moving it with a tool to your cardstock. The longer your color medium stays wet, the easier it is to blend. Now...to stamp on TOP of a DTP background is also quite easy. First make sure your background is fully dry. Then I would advise you to use an anti-static bag on top of it, then stamp and emboss. I use Gayle Page-Robak's "A Little Bag" for my anti-static product because it won't leave a residue on my background, and if it does look a little powdery, it is easily wiped off when you are finished with a soft cloth. If you don't want to emboss...and the cardstock is matte..use one of the semi-permanent/watercolor inkpads..I prefer to use Ranger Archival inkpads...but there are others on the market as well. If your DTP background is dark...dont' use black ink to stamp. The image will just get lost in the background because there is no contrast between the stamped image and the background. Try using gold or silver...or white...or a lighter color. If your background is fairly light, use black or about any other color to stamp with. Ok..so that isn't working for you. Try this. Stamp your image of choice on a light cardstock, color it as you like. Then cut it out and glue it onto your background. Or you could use foam mounting tape or pop dots...that is nice as well. Make friends with your exacto knife and try this out!! ;-) OK..if you can use your scissors with any degree of competance..you can probably just use them..but I find an exacto knife to work best for me when I detail cut anything. Personal preference you know..use what works best for you. So, in a nutshell..DTP is simply moving color from one place to another, either using the inkpad directly ON the cardstock or using a tool of some sort to transfer the color to the cardstock.
For information on related topics see:
Tutorials: Grid Technique