Using Polyshrink

Q: I have a plan (only in my head, so far) of blending poly-shrink and beads, but it would also require running a sheet of the stuff through my HP Desk-Jet 560C. Has anyone tried this yet? Is it possible?

A: I suppose it would depend on whether the surface would hold the ink. Jet-printer ink has a tendeny to smear on anything that isn't designed for it (try running on a regular transparency sheet). If you're using a water-based ink, will it stick to the surface? An alternative would be to run the color design on white paper and hold it under the shrink and "trace" in like colors with markers or colored pencils. I've used it in an HP laserjet printer. It works fine, you just have to manually feed it in the printer and make sure it comes out the back of the machine and not out of the top. I don't know how it will work in a Desk-jet. Could someone please tell us ignorant folk out there WHAT is polyshrink? All this talk is just getting us more and more CURIOUS!!! CJong I don't know which specific printers the plastic will work in (and my gosh the disaster with the stuff shrinking in the printer sounds awful!) but many printers and copiers can handle transparency film. I would think they could handle shiny polyshrink as well. What would happen when you baked it may be another story--our printer can't handle photocopied pages from our copier, because the toner heats up and smears. But if it's lying flat on a baking sheet--maybe. Map pencils? I've seen them colored with various markers, but I'm not familiar with the term map pencil. As for utility, the same company sells the stuff to grown-ups under the name Shrink Art Plastic. They sell it as a pre-printed button kit, among other things, and a version that is specially prepped to accept rubber stamp ink. For the buttons, you use a 1/8 inch paper punch to make the holes before shrinking. Once shrunk the holes are the size of normal sewing holes in buttons. Most of the designs are aimed at putting them on kids clothing, but they are pretty cute. Using the same concept you could make holes to insert ear wires or to hang the items as charm pendants on necklaces or bracelets.